The rhetoric of late between networks and digital upstarts has been almost as provocative as this year’s presidential campaign. At the recent upfronts, all sides argued that their content will reign supreme for advertisers.
In the advertising race, the winners will be those that evolve their thinking toward a new world order that puts audiences — not content — first.
NBCU is a prime example of embracing an ‘audience-first’ mind-set. In the NBCU upfronts, the network put an end to its traditional time-based schedule of programming in favor of aligning around audiences and genres — a direct reflection of digital influence.
It’s a move that shows the importance of putting audiences first and allows the net to think about reaching them more holistically: linear TV, connected TV, digital, mobile.
Audience First Defined
Audience behaviors are rapidly evolving, the way in which content is discovered and consumed is very different today than it was five years ago. With an “Audience First” approach, the goal is to reach individuals most likely to respond favorably to a brand’s message.
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How you reach them becomes a dynamic exercise that can change at any given moment, based upon a multitude of factors.
For example, Gen Xers have TV habits dependent on how they are connected, what device they are on and where they consume media. For advertisers, reaching these viewers has never been more complicated. It is a far cry from the delivery of an ad into the prime-time block vs. streaming via connected TV at random times.
Successful strategies that incorporate an Audience First approach turn targeting challenges into powerful engagements that build loyalty and sell products. Audience First means discovering, expanding and engaging with a desired audience on their terms.
The right
technology can find whatever audience your brand needs, wherever they are, whenever they are consuming content. Brands’ relationships with their audiences are constantly evolving.
I doubt that anyone at NBC would have the slightest idea what the author of this article is talking about---even though this TV network has supposedly "embraced" a new kind of "digitally based" thinking in their programming strategy for the 2016-17 primetime season.