“TV measurement has gotten a lot more sophisticated, moving from reach/frequency to performance-based metrics,” stated Calum Smeaton, CEO and Founder of TVSquared. His company was
started in 2012, to move the measurement needle by making “TV a performance-marketing channel – one that could be measured and optimized quickly and easily, just like
digital.”
To do that, TVSquared’s platform, ADvantage, “combines real-time spot, response and audience data to give advertisers the who, what, when and where of
spot and campaign performance for linear and advanced TV.”
Charlene Weisler: What do you see as the state of TV measurement today?
Calum
Smeaton: Brands were the first to embrace performance analytics for TV. They’re accustomed to the real-time measurement and optimization of digital, so applying it to TV was natural for
them.
Today, most TV advertisers know exactly what aspects of campaigns are working and not (creatives, programs, networks, genres, days, times, etc.), and then use those
insights to optimize for response. Agencies were the next to adopt performance-based measurement, recognizing that it’s a crucial component to establish trust and transparency with clients. And
while networks were the last holdouts, they are growing fast. There’s a real shift with how they are embracing analytics for proof of performance, tying TV to business outcomes.
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Weisler: What metrics are most important? Which ones have outlived their utility? Why?
Smeaton: Brands use TV for different reasons, so there will never be
one-size-fits-all metrics. Performance metrics used for TV should align to the specific KPIs of a brand, whether it’s driving sales, registrations, web traffic, app activity, you name
it.
I don’t want to say that ratings, reach and frequency metrics have outlived their utility, because that would imply they ever told advertisers much of anything. If
a brand uses TV for awareness alone, then these metrics can make sense, but for those that use TV for response, they are not as relevant.
Weisler: What new metrics
should TV be using?
Smeaton: Brand-specific, performance-based KPIs. TV drives second-screening viewers directly into the digital funnel. Measuring immediate actions like
online sales, app activity, registrations, etc., is a quick-and-easy process. Even for higher consideration brands, when the end result doesn’t happen right away, these metrics are often action-
or intent-based because measuring middle-of-the-funnel activities is an excellent indication of TV performance.
We’re also seeing networks such as multichannel video
programming distributors (and local/national broadcasters start to offer this type of tailored, brand-specific measurement to advertisers as proof of performance, which is a real game-changer in the
space.
Weisler: Tell me about your recent partnership with TiVo.
Smeaton: We measure the immediate and long-term performance of linear and
advanced TV by day, daypart, network, program, genre, creative and audience segment. With the addition of TiVo’s deterministic viewership data, we can analyze TV’s impact down to the
household (HH_ level, too.
Deterministic attribution is a hot topic, which makes sense, so understanding TV’s effectiveness at the HH level is invaluable. As an
emerging space, deterministic has value, but also limitations, including fragmentation, small datasets and privacy/security concerns.
A purely deterministic attribution
model can’t measure the true TV-driven uplift in response and sales. But adding a layer of HH/impression-level data with a high match rate (like TiVo’s), an advertiser can get deeper
insights into the “who” behind that response.
Weisler: How will connected TV impact the TV marketplace?
Smeaton:
Connected TV, advanced TV, whatever you want to call it, is just TV. Our platform measures “TV” whether it’s on linear, OTT, VOD, etc. While advanced TV is still in its infancy,
we’re seeing advertisers start to experiment with different platforms. By “experiment,” I mean they are doing a lot of testing and learning, and even taking insights from measuring
linear and applying them to advanced TV as a starting point.