• by March 2, 2015

In the throes of planning upcoming campaigns, any major marketer may well utter the following phrase about his or her media mix: “I’m always going to need my TV. It gives me invaluable reach.”

Sure, TV still gives you reach. But this argument will become less persuasive as we enter the final frontier of the digital media disruption, where precision targeting becomes paramount, and must-see prime-time TV programming become a thing of the past.

We’re in the golden age of television, but also witnessing the “beginning of the end of the beginning” of the new television marketplace, with the pre-eminence of TV on the edge, and new multiscreen TV viewership increasing. More and more, the best of all possible worlds includes linear TV’s reach combined with streaming’s precision. Marketers will continue to buy TV spots, but via a greatly expanded palette of choices, given all the new targeting and measurement practices that have emerged.

Yes, there are still folks agitating in favor of traditional TV and its future. But I feel as if they’re making my argument for me, and denying — overly and excessively denying, in fact — what we in digital media have been arguing for the past 20 years: That the fragmentation of how we consume video content is inevitable, pronounced and becoming ever greater.

We’ve seen the birth and growth of two brand-new media: first the Internet, and now mobile media consumption. During the same period, we’ve also witnessed major changes in print and radio consumption.

Meanwhile, the new world of computing wearables — smart watches, yes, but also smart devices of all shapes and sizes — will provide us with unprecedented and useful information and interconnectivity. Some call it the Internet of Everything.

All of which leads me to my original point. Yes, television provides undeniable reach. But TV networks, still enjoying strong viewership, are doing so over an increasingly fragmented ecosystem of screens.  Nielsen’s recent The Total Audience Report, detailing viewership in 2014’s third quarter, pegged TV viewership at 282.7 million, down slightly from last year. Meanwhile, video consumption on smartphones hit 125.7 million in that quarter, up by 25%. The fact is, TV is being watched by a lot of people, but those folks are doing it on the device of their choice.

The February 2015 launch of the streaming network Sling TV is further evidence that younger viewers in particular are finding second and third screens increasingly attractive for vibrant new content. And who knows what new TV ecosystems will emerge over the next 12 to 18 months?

So while brands may need to support their product launches with TV, the share and audience numbers are substantially less if the campaign relies only on network TV and cable. There unquestionably will be a hole in that particular marketing plan, a hole that can be filled by considering other screens.

As digitization of traditional linear television grows, as well as connected TV and video-on-demand, it’s only a matter of time before we can effectively and efficiently marry the old and new ways to buy video advertising. TV will always be the “first screen,” but a new approach is already here, as the ad tech economy furiously evolves courtesy of data, measurement, analytics and ad-serving enhancements. These are providing a precision in reporting that previously was unthinkable. 

The lesson is simple: Know how your audience is consuming media in 2015 and beyond, and budget accordingly. With TV, brand marketers can have their cake and eat it, too — just with some different ingredients.