• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, June 11, 2016

Programmatic TV deals can outperform certain digital video buys -- somewhat surprisingly for one digital media agency.

In doing a programmatic TV deal for clothes-maker Gildan USA,  Steve Parker Jr., ceo/co-founder of Charleston, SC.-based Levelwing, speaking at MediaPost's TV Insider Summit, said: “It was interesting that [programmatic TV] outperformed online and mobile pre-roll.”

In phase one, Gildan, whose competition is the likes of Fruit of the Loom and Hanes, targeted males 18-34, with income of $50,000 to $100,000. Parker said programmatic TV drove 20% in reduction in cost per thousand [CPM] prices versus traditional TV deals. “We optimize away from connected TV -- it was a lot more expansive.”

In the second phase, Gildan wanted to increase their reach beyond traditional TV and as well as finding flexible ways of moving dollars around. “We were able extend the buy 25% to 37% without increasing budget.”

“We [as an industry] tend to over complicate things,” says Parker. “Don’t overthink programmatic TV.”