For advertisers, the US local cable TV market has historically been bought using broad geographies, demographics and programming day-parts to try reaching the right audiences.
But Comcast’s ad sales division is now helping buyers use data and advanced analytics to more precisely reach the viewer of their dreams, no matter what screen they are watching on.
Comcast Spotlight is bringing advanced audience targeting and buying to the local level, across cable TV, satellite, telco, online and VOD, and across more than 50 networks. That means geographic targeting that goes more granular than the typical media market definition,.
And it means reach that extends from mobile back to TV screen, including premium video inventory tapped through Comcast’s ownership of Freewheel, through its Xfinity app, TV networks’ apps and over-the-top TV devices.
In this video interview with Beet.TV, Comcast Spotlight data strategy VP Justin Evans shares four lessons for how advertisers can harness the new powers to make an effective campaign…
1. “Identify who your customer is”
“Our first step with the clients is to size that market. (For example), in Atlanta there are 100,000 homes that have an SUV in the driveway that’s four to five years old. So, to an (advertising) buyer, they’re saying to themselves, ‘This is my total opportunity for selling in Atlanta’.”
2. “Anytime, anywhere”
“Often, the clients want to just be in the top five cable networks because they assume that’s where the reach is. We’re able to show them that 87% of the viewing is happening off of the top five cable nets. It’s not just about prime time, and it’s not just about news and sports.
“(Many clients are) afraid of time shifting. (But), if you take live viewing and DVR viewing together, live viewing is 95% of the viewing time. If you’re going after an audience you have to find them wherever they are.”
3. “Run long”
“We see that, if a client (campaign) goes 10 weeks or more, they’ll see a 400% lift in reach by the end of the campaign versus what they’re able to achieve in the first week. The hockey stick happens well.
4. “Optimization philosophy”
“Clients who use the data, who look at the post-campaign metrics report and who take a continuous improvement approach – we’ve seen (they) increase their reach from the first campaign to the last campaign by 10%, which is mammoth. (That) is 10,000 more SUV owners who could be buying cars from you.”
This video is part of a series The New Marketplace for Television Advertising, presented by dataxu. Please find more videos from the series here.
