Cross-platform advertising buys are soaring at DISH Media Sales as more media agencies create advanced-television teams, while the operational efficiency afforded by programmatic technology continues to grow.
This is Jim D’Antoni’s snapshot of the advanced TV and addressable advertising space explains how more marketers are integrating addressable buys into their strategic planning instead of integrating them further down the timeline.
While addressable TV has been available for several years, programmatic addressable is “relatively new,” having been pioneered by DISH Media Sales less than two years ago, says D’Antoni. “That’s something on both the DISH as well as the Sling side of the house is growing very, very quickly.”
With the rise of advanced-TV groups within the major media agencies, probably 70% now have them versus closer to 20% just two years ago, according to D’Antoni.
“You’ve seen these groups increase, you’ve seen their influence increase. That helps us actually, because their job is to educate not just the agency but the client base overall.”
It’s still not uncommon for DISH to work with one of these groups while simultaneously transacting with linear buyers on linear buys. “I see these advanced TV groups growing in a much bigger way,” D’Antoni adds.
Both DISH and Sling are seeing lots of conversions to cross-platform addressable buys. In 2017, there were seven cross-platform deals. “So far this year, we have eighty and counting. So the marketplace has responded to this bigger reach, more diverse set of audiences.”
Most buyers view an impression as an impression, regardless of where it appears, D’Antoni says. “It’s not about buying an impression on an OTT pool and then on a DISH or TV pool. It’s an impression is an impression. If you grow that reach, you’re going to help your message.”
Regardless of the category, besides having a good understanding of their first-party data combined with data overall, brands that have done the best are the ones “who are not in it for the short term. The ones who’ve had the most success have been doing it longer and have mastered it.”
Testing, learning and optimizing can provide insights into, say, the proper length of commercial flights. “How close should a flight be to a car launch or a film release? It’s that iterative process.”
It’s a process that includes figuring out where addressable fits into an overall media mix. Advertisers that buy the vast amount of their video impressions in the broadcast Upfront begin planning in December or January but don’t negotiate until July.
“And there’s more and more players that are involving addressable as a line item early on as opposed to more reactive,” says D’Antoni. “Just buying it and then kind of ramming it into the media mix. It’s becoming a key part of that media mix for a number of autos and a number of other players who have adopted it.”
This video is part of the Beet.TV series titled Targeting Today’s TV Viewer sponsored by DISH Media Sales. It is published along with this DISH Media Sales Straightforward Guide in ADWEEK. For more videos from the series, please visit this page.
