Commentary

Optimist For Unified Cross-Platform Measurement: TiVo's Walt Horstman

Walt Horstman, SVP/GM, analytics and advertising at TiVo, has a background steeped in data and analytics. As the original founder of the programmatic TV platform AudienceXpress, his focus was, he noted, “on automating the workflow and applying advanced audience data to TV inventory in order to increase its value and provide targetability for agencies and brands.” This was geared towards the multichannel video programming distributors’ (MVPDs) two minutes per hour.

This passion is now being applied to TiVo’s national broadcast and cable inventory. “The industry has been looking for an automated solution to use advanced audience data at scale across national broadcast and cable premium inventory,” he added.

Charlene Weisler: What is your strategy going forward in your new job at TiVo?

Walt Horstman: After Rovi’s acquisition of TiVo last year, the company collectively focused on a strategy of using our relationships with MVPDs to build a very robust set of set-top-box data, which is a significant development strategy of the merged companies. That’s because TiVo has a number of devices in market and also relationships with MVPDs. Rovi has a number of relationships through the guides business with a number of MVPDs.

advertisement

advertisement

With the growth in the industry of advanced audience data and analytics measurement, we believe that there is a significant opportunity to collect this data and make it nationalized for use in the ecosystem in a number of new ways. That is a big foundational part of our strategy and goals for the future.

Weisler: I recently attended the Cynopsis Data and Measurement conference, where attendees were asked, “How soon do you think we will get to a unified measurement for cross platform?” I was surprised that 60% reported “never.” What do you think?

Horstman: Really? Never? I am optimistic, but it is a process. It will continue to get more efficient as we move through this together as an industry.
It’s not as if there is a choice not to have a unified measurement. The industry is, in fact, demanding this from both the sellers’ point of view and the agencies’ and brands’ point of view.

We now have this robust pool of people-based deterministically matched households, which allows us to match those datasets against other platforms, whether it be mobile or tablets or non-linear video.

I think this is a matter of having enough data from the linear TV side and then to really start building the relationships across the advertising landscape to match it across other platforms.

We will get there. We are starting to get into cross-platform combined planning, which becomes complex, especially when we get into truly measuring reach and frequency holistically. We have more data than we ever had before, and better technology applications to execute against it.

Weisler: What might the metric be to bridge it all together?

Horstman: We’re going to see the metrics we are using now in linear TV become the standard. These are the advanced audience datasets that are matched against behavioral characteristics, as well as first-party data, which is a very big growth part of the business.

If we take the first-party data scenario, we can apply the data in different fashions depending on the targetability of the underlying inventories.

Currently, in linear TV, we target based on concentration down to the program level. In a unicast video environment, we can do direct one-to-one targeting. And of course, in digital or mobile, the same applies because it is a unicast targeting platform.

Weisler: What are some of the data applications being done now?

Horstman: We have put a strategy in place that has a data layer, a software application layer and a business intelligence and analytics layer. Through this three layer stack we have assembled a best-in-class advanced advertising platform. With this platform we go to market and solve two fundamental challenges in the media industry.

The first is to drive audience loyalty in the ecosystem. The data is used for promotional advertising, for program recommendation, and for advanced search capabilities.

With that loyal audience, we have the second use case: to increase ad sales inventory value using advanced audience analytical data and improving the targeting and effectiveness of the campaigns.

Weisler: Where do you see TiVo and data ecosystem three years from now?

Horstman: By 2020, the majority of TV inventory will be executed using advanced audience dataset through its targeting and delivery requirements. That is where I see us in the ecosystem.

I think we will see a great deal of scale at using a similar dataset across multiple media channels and a collapsing of the silos between different platforms in how they are targeted and measured.

1 comment about "Optimist For Unified Cross-Platform Measurement: TiVo's Walt Horstman".
Check to receive email when comments are posted.
  1. Ed Papazian from Media Dynamics Inc, August 23, 2017 at 9:34 a.m.

    I hope that everyone has noted Walt's prediction that in three years the "majority" of TV ad time will be executed  by "audience" based metrics. Since the current figure is well below 1% and it's not really "audience" buying as the term is used in digital Walt's prediction seems a tad optimistic I would say. But, by all means, let's see.

Next story loading loading..