Why I’ve been so emotional about TV

I continue to wonder why some in the industry believe TV is dead or on its way to extinction. Maybe it’s related to traditional TV technology and distribution where TV content viewership is shifting to digital platforms. Or maybe it’s the scaling of digitally native tactics, such as audience targeting and closed loop, deterministic attribution that are being adopted in the marketplace – but that doesn’t mean TV is dead, it’s just evolving!

• If TV were dead, would we be reading about the single and double-digit increases coming out of the recent Upfront marketplace? NBCUniversal, CBS, the CW, Univision and Fox all saw healthy CPM increases this year – the fourth consecutive year of gains according to Variety.
• If TV were dead, would there be award-winning and highly rated content coming out of the legacy broadcast networks – or the record-breaking fees paid for iconic programming like The Office, Seinfeld and Friends? Yes, SVOD and AVOD are still TV.
• If TV were dead, would we be seeing the great innovations in data collection, audience targeting and performance-based solutions of TV content across platforms?

TV is about content, not the delivery mechanism – whether it exists on the tube (can I still say that?), the tablet or a mobile device – TV is very much alive!

What is also exciting to see is the increasing accountability of television and the growth of performance-based guarantees for advertisers. Although accounting for a smaller percentage of industry transactions at the moment, the push to understand TV’s impact on advertising effectiveness is scaling – and the results continue to show TV dominates non-TV based platforms in digital and social environments.

The innovations around data collection and technology continue to advance, and the shift to move beyond legacy metrics from the likes of Nielsen and ComScore are in sight. This all plays well into the viewer experience, which continues to improve in a more addressable world with relevant ads and creative personalization served and guided by robust, meaningful data.

Consumers want privacy but are open to targeted advertising.

While consumers generally don’t want their personal data collected, they are less hesitant about permission-based data being used to sell them products and services that match their needs. Magid’s 2019 Mobile Lifestyle Study found that smartphone users are generally accepting of targeted advertising. While 57% of users said they were unlikely to continue using an app or service that collects personal data without permission, just 36% said they were unlikely to continue using an app or service that uses personal information for targeted advertising. Ultimately, consumers are opting into and embracing a more relevant experience with advertising that suits their needs – great for brands, even better for TV.

Today’s most successful media organizations often look to complementary datasets that can enhance existing understanding and build on data already held to improve intelligence that can be gathered about audiences. With today’s leading CMOs and their teams of brand marketers focused on delivering personalized and engaging creative that’s contextual and relevant to the platform and emotional state of the consumer, one of the many use cases for our EmotionalDNA® dataset is to do just that.

There are many rich and important datasets out there that help with audience insights and consumer targeting, but those such as EmotionalDNA are unique in that they bring another layer to address how to speak to these consumers to drive greater results.

Are you emotional about the future of TV? Ready to weave emotional insights into your ad sales offering? Let’s talk.