• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, July 1, 2016

In April, Audience Buying Insiderreported on the initial stage of a broadcast television-targeting test conducted by U.S. International Media (USIM) for a retail client. Now, as promised, we can report on the updated results.

To recap the test: Data for a secondary audience demographic was used to select television time slots to hone impressions targeting — while maintaining the integrity of standard equitable rotation objectives (the impartial horizontal and vertical placement of spots), and without increasing the client’s cost or reducing the stations’ revenue.

To test the method — dubbed “equitable optimization” by USIM programmatic TV strategist Mitch Oscar — two station groups, Sinclair Broadcast Group (SBG) and Tribune Broadcasting, came together to create a national, unwired network buy reaching more than 80 million homes, or about 75% of the U.S.

In addition to a first-ever national guarantee on comScore age and gender data, USIM and SBG agreed to test an enhanced data set, from both Nielsen and comScore (formerly Rentrak). The client’s primary audience target is adults ages 25 to 54. The secondary demographic data set tested was households with income under $30,000. The test set-up was designed to allow valid simultaneous comparison of Nielsen and comScore data.

Three markets that have either a Sinclair or Tribune station were chosen for the test: Washington, D.C., Cincinnati and Little Rock, Ark. They were chosen because they are among the markets in which the desired income demographic is available from both Nielsen and comScore, and because a different Nielsen methodology is used in each of these markets. (Nielsen’s Local People Meter or LPM is used in Washington, its Set Meter in Cincinnati, and its diary system in Little Rock.)

The buy was for weekdays over 20 weeks (January 25 through June 10), and over three dayparts: early morning (6 a.m. to 9 a.m.), daytime (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.) and early fringe (4 p.m. to 7 p.m.).

For the first seven weeks, only standard rotation delivery of the primary audience demographic was tracked, in order to get a baseline on that demographic. 

The initial results from both Nielsen and comScore confirmed that the primary target impressions guarantee was, on average, being more than delivered — although the Nielsen data, which is based on smaller sample sizes, was significantly more variable.

The comScore data, for example, showed that the selected quarter hours indexed higher — by 11.7% —  than the traditional rotation method in delivering homes with the desired income level. At the same time, the age and gender impressions continued to be delivered per the guarantee.

Then, the first’s week’s Nielsen and comScore data showing the numbers of households with under $30,000 in income was overlaid on the basic demographic data to identify optimal quarter-hour placements within each daypart.

Stephen Spencer, senior financial analyst for SBG, presented the next phase of testing and results at a USIM “Secret Society” meeting on June 2.

SBG’s team used comScore data for the first seven weeks to identify 33 stations across 29 DMA’s (out of a total universe of 99 markets or about 175 stations in the buy) that were: 1. already showing the highest ratings overall among households with under $30,000 in income and 2. had significant availabilities of “optimal” quarter-hour spots.

“We defined optimal quarter-hours as ones that we’d identified as pulling the highest ratings among the secondary demographic — and that also could be used without interfering with the rotation goals for the primary demographic target audience.”

The optimized quarter-hour placements were run on those 33 stations, which, prior to any optimization efforts, had ratings among the secondary demo that indexed at 115%, on average.

The results after the first four weeks of optimization: Even in these already best-performing markets, using equitable optimization resulted in average ratings indexing at 130.5% — a 15 percentage-point improvement.

As intended, the guarantee for the primary demo of adults 25 to 54 was also met (indexing at 101.5% for the 33 stations, compared to 109.1% for the entire buy).

“The test results to date support continuing to explore how this equitable optimization method may enable practical, cost-effective use of more targeted buys in linear television,” says Oscar.

In upcoming 2017 planning meetings, the client, USIM and SBG will discuss the test results to date and determine the plan for the next testing phase, he reports.