LAS VEGAS — In the world of media and advertising, the quest for inclusiveness and representativeness in audience measurement has taken center stage.
Samba TV is hoping a new partnership building on its own data set can help improve the state of play.
In this video interview with Beet.TV, Ashwin Navin, CEO & Co-Founder of Samba TV, sheds light on the challenges and advancements in capturing diverse audiences, revealing a landscape where data integrity is paramount.
Bridging the Diversity Gap in Audience Measurement
“Having grown up in an ethnic household in the US, there was a lot to be desired about making sure that our voice was heard,” Navin shares, underscoring the underrepresentation in programming and advertising decisions.
“It was shocking to me just how little focus there is on inclusiveness.”
Samba TV has taken strides to ensure that the data utilized for measurement truly reflects the diversity of ethnic groups. “We got probably the closest to census level parameters,” Navin boasts, emphasizing the company’s commitment to unweighted, geographically, and demographically representative data.
He envisions a shift where a growing focus on diversity by marketers will pressure the measurement ecosystem to improve. “I think that’s going to put real pressure on the whole measurement ecosystem to level up their game,” he predicts.
The #SambaTVWeeklyWrap is here! #Reacher showed some muscle with another week in the top three, fighting through a #Netflix lock. #FoolMeOnce kept its hold at #1 and #KevinHart's #LiftNetflix took the 3rd slot. #SocietyoftheSnow has risen the ranks this week, going from 9th to… pic.twitter.com/iZsigEuG1k
— Samba TV (@samba_tv) January 18, 2024
Beyond Currency: The Real Measure of Quality
Debates over currency in measurement, according to Navin, detract from the core issue of making media representation more accurate and messaging more relevant.
“We stuck to our knitting of basically building data sets that we felt were represented and truthful,” he says, explaining Samba TV’s decision to bow out of the traditional TV currency race.
Instead, Samba TV focuses on democratizing its data, making it accessible to the broader industry for innovative use. Navin highlights a partnership with HyphaMetrics as an example, where they offer an improved dataset to enhance panel measurement.
The Promise of HyphaMetrics
In January, Samba TV announced a partnership with HyphaMetrics to to unify the historically disconnected worlds of linear, streaming, and digital TV data.
The company announced:
“The partnership will exclusively leverage Samba TV’s first-party data in the U.S., pulling from millions of opted-in televisions calibrated by HyphaMetric’s complete and individualized measurement of all content, ad consumption, product placement, and brand sponsorship across all devices through its opt-in panel.”
“They came to us with a desire to augment with big data, maybe even to calibrate our big data using their panel,” Navin explains, revealing a synergy where Samba TV’s data is enriched by HyphaMetrics’ technological capabilities.
The interview was conducted by Mike Shields, CEO, Shields Strategic Consulting.
You’re watching “Unlocking the Power of Diverse Audiences: How Data Is Changing the Formula, presented by Extreme Reach”. For more videos from this series, please visit this page.
