MIAMI – Former Starcom MediaVest Group advanced television specialist Tracey Scheppach not only believes that addressable TV advertising works for all marketers but that a sweet spot exists in terms of spending. “An area that I think is ripe for this innovation is what I call mid market,” Scheppach explains in an interview with Beet.TV. “Somewhere around $40 million in TV budget, maybe a little less. TV is opening up for the first time to this mid market.”
Before starting her own agency, Matter More Media, Scheppach spent 15 years in the advanced TV space. Over the last three years she was involved with more than 250 campaigns and executed about $100 million of media.
“I’m a firm believer in addressable advertising, taking really advanced datasets and being able to finally deliver it to individual households,” says Scheppach.
Asked by interviewer Tim Hanlon, Founder and CEO of The Vertere Group, to cite examples of potential clients suited to addressable TV, Scheppach says, “I do believe that addressable television works for all advertisers.”
This is because all advertisers have a “true target” and Scheppach believes that target constitutes less than the 30% of U.S. households that can be reached via addressable ads. Her professional background also includes direct mail campaigns, which like addressable TV targets households by name and address.
“Direct mail is another place that I’m interested to see if I can convert some direct mail budgets to sight, sound and motion of television, because it’s the exact same principles,” she says.
Scheppach points to the Peloton indoor exercise bike as an example of a product well suited to very targeted messaging. The $2,000 spin bike is sold with a $30 monthly subscription to workout videos that can be viewed on its built-in screen.
“It’s a high-priced item with a fairly defined target set that’s below 30% of the U.S. population,” Scheppach says. “I think there is a key place for advertisers like that, the blue aprons of the world.”
Asked by Hanlon what drove her decision to leave the mega agency world for a startup of her own, Scheppach says she asked herself what it is she truly enjoys about the business. “It stemmed from a love of television and concern over the fact it wasn’t being properly monetized,” she says. Hence the name Matter More Media.
Direct-response TV advertisers also have much to gain from addressable ads, according to Scheppach. “It’s a really interesting category because they are incredibly data driven,” she says of DRTV. “That too is a potentially ripe category for matter more.”
This interview was conducted at Beet Retreat 2016: The Transformation of Television Advertising, an executive retreat presented by Videology with AT&T AdWorks and the 605. Please find more videos from the event here.
