MIAMI – The traditional television ecosystem—buying on age and sex demographics—is “pretty well oiled.” So when some advertisers consider advanced audience targeting, there’s a certain amount of inertia, along with financial constraints, that can hold things back.
Take low-penetration brands. Advanced targeting is challenging “because you may not find the reach that you want, but you can certainly find the audience,” says Matt O’Grady, CEO of Nielsen Catalina Solutions. “We can deliver the audience and if you’re using real data, which we are, we can ensure that these are actual buyers and not bots because buyers go shopping, bots don’t.”
As O’Grady goes on to explain in this interview at the recent Beet Retreat Miami 2017, a high-quality buy sometimes means less reach. “Advertisers are used to certain CPM’s and certain reaches, so it’s different. Everyone’s got to be willing to put up with the disruption that goes along with that change.”
Categories like food and beverages, which traditionally spend large amounts on TV, have already taken the plunge with advanced targeting. But brands that probably need it the most—low-penetration, niche players—typically don’t have the resources.
“But the bigger brands, particularly in the salty snacks and beverage categories, which are highly competitive, for any percent or micro percent of a share, they’re using it quite actively,” O’Grady says.
While most agencies “listen intently” to a discourse on advanced targeting, many “are really tightly strapped, but the creative ones are looking for ways to buy those audiences.”
One of the biggest unspoken challenges: the size of the buy and its cost per thousand impressions, given that many marketers are used to paying what they have in the past.
“You might have a far greater sales lift, but they may not want to put up with the tradeoff of lower reach,” says O’Grady.
While Nielsen Catalina is knee-deep in consumer segmentation data, it’s not about simply selling segments. “They’re just not buying a heavy Tide buyer. You also will understand the reach and frequency,” says O’Grady. “That’s nirvana I believe for the advertiser because that will bring the accountability and disciplines that a lot of the CMO’s in the CPG space have been very vocal about.”
This video was produced at the Beet Retreat Miami, 2017 presented by Videology along with Alphonso and 605. For more videos from the event, please visit this page.
