“Waste not, want not”. The origin of that aphorism apparently goes back centuries but, in the super-charged TV ad market of 2019, it may be as relevant as ever.
Especially for brands. In this video interview with Beet.TV, an ad agency leader says, when he buys ad campaigns across media types, he sees a lot of wastage in television.
“What we’re seeing across dozens and dozens of campaigns is that, generally, 80% of the total impressions delivered in linear television is going to about 25% of households,” says Doug Ray, Dentsu Aegis’ head of media in the US.
“That’s pretty significant if you’re trying to reach a very large audience and also you’re generally driving about three times the average frequency. So (there is) massive, excessive frequency that’s inherent in the system.”
Ray is talking about the problem which arises when ads purchased to reach a particular target audience do exactly that – but too often.
Whilst modern digital platforms can narrow the scope of target audiences so as to not waste ads on undesired targets, traditional TV lacks that relative power.
But there is a solution to be found in the way TV itself is evolving, says Dentsu Aegis’ Ray.
“We’re looking at things like addressable TV, OTT, other advanced TV platforms to essentially help us mitigate that, to rebalance the delivery, to help clients achieve more, more reach, more even distribution of impressions for the same amount of money,” he says.
“Effectively, (we could be) getting more value for the same dollars by including multiple platforms in their overall approach to video.”
This video is part of a series of interviews conducted during Advertising Week New York, 2019. This series is co-production of Beet.TV and Advertising Week. The series is sponsored by Roundel, a Target company. Please see more videos from Advertising Week right here.
