club catalyst. Taking the ads beyond the box

Business houses around the world are expected to spend nearly $202.51 billion this year on TV advertising. TV is still one of the most robust mediums out there. Almost all brands and firms adopt some or the other kind of advertising tool to reach their customers. A lot of hard work and toil is invested in creating over-the-top advertising solutions to hit the psyche of the viewer but is it really generating the desired results? Sadly, the answer is ‘No’!

The multi-screen era has made it harder for marketers to judge the efficacy and impact of their TV ad campaigns. Undoubtedly, gross rating points (GRPs) and television rating points (TRPs) have always been placed on a high pedestal when marketers talk about evaluating television advertising and demarcating their target audience. However, the scenario has evolved over the years and multi-screening is the new trend.

Television no longer commands the full attention of a viewer. As per eMarketer, multi-screening has become the new norm in South-East Asia with nine out of 10 people in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam frequently using their smartphones while watching TV. As per a Millward Brown Study, simultaneous use of an additional screen with TV accounts for 31 per cent (91 minutes/ 1.31 hours) of the total screen time that includes cumulative time spend on consuming media on TV, desktops and mobile devices. It is a clear indication that almost the entire TV viewing experience is accompanied by the use of another screen. In India, the simultaneous use of TV and a second screen for related content as a percentage of total screen time (14 per cent) is on par with the global average. TV viewers are no longer passive spectators. They are browsing online, tweeting, liking posts on social media, messaging and shopping online in front of the TV.

Boatloads of money is being invested worldwide in TV advertising validating the fact that television still has a good impact on mass audiences. Studies also state that the majority of people have TV playing in the background while they finish their chores during commercial breaks. This makes it harder to target the correct audience at the right time. As a result, TV alone cannot do much for a brand’s advertising campaigns. In addition, when an advertisement is aired on television, it makes waves on social as well as digital platforms. With the growth and advancements in technology, reaching out to consumers through advertisements on all platforms, social or digital, has become simpler by leaps and bounds.

However, most of the advertisers are not able to measure this impact. Isn’t it time we stop and ponder over the fact that a marketer’s funnel from TV campaign could be completed by measuring the impact of a TV ad on digital screens?

Major advertising campaigns are backed by the traditional or the so called conventional reports that yield a ballpark figure of the impact they create through TV. One of the biggest challenges an advertiser faces is having the access to the ad impact report after their entire campaign. Moreover, in conventional style of reporting, the impact of a specific TV ad on different digital platforms remains unattended. The traditional way of analysing different ad campaigns does not have the potential to consider granular-level details and can assist advertisers with only limited information about the impact of an ad campaign. Essentially, this implies that a lot of money gets invested with no substantial returns, leaving advertisers directionless and without a solution for further ad planning.

Customer buying preferences and choices change every other day, so it becomes extremely crucial to know what kind of impact an ad campaign is creating in real time and on a day-on-day basis. Unfortunately, traditional tracking process of TV advertisements does not provide data on real time basis, thus leading to wastage of resources as well as money. Imagine a scenario wherein the ad curve made by a TV advertisement on different platforms such as social media, Google and YouTube could be assessed along with the impact an ad made on organic searches made through mobiles. This effective multi-screen marketing strategy sounds potent, doesn’t it?

There is an intricate link between the social, digital and the TV world. Hence it becomes extremely crucial to trace and study this link with complete thoroughness so as to target audiences that would help advertisers generate better visibility and business outputs. Social giant Twitter states that the platform not just leads to more commercial viewing but its users are also more positively affected by ads. Another study by Millward Brown Digital found that Twitter users had an average TV ad recall of 53 per cent, versus 40 per cent among viewers watching TV without a second screen. These viewers were also 13 per cent more likely to discuss shows and 3 per cent more likely to recommend programmes, making TV x Twitter a win-win for advertisers and networks.

Advertisers may wonder how they can measure the impacts of their TV ad campaign by integrating other screens and digital media. Is it possible for them to measure the ROI on their TV spends beyond TRPs and GRPs? Is the probability of effectively closing and utilising the interest created by a TV commercial with digital media high? Can an advertiser figure out the impact their TV ads create on different channels and the channel that had the maximum impact? Is it possible to close the loop?

The answer to all the above questions is a ‘Yes’. The advent and growth of digital media technology has made it possible to analyse the impact and reach of a specific advertisement in real time. Advertisers can now ascertain the impact created by their TV ad on all social platforms, that too in real time with cross-screen measurement technology. This technology can help an advertiser trace the wave a TV ad makes on social media channels, on other online platforms and on mobile.

Cross-screen evaluation technology works in real time and also helps advertisers understand the ad impact on specific audiences on different platforms. It assists advertisers in getting a better picture of where they are investing their resources, both monetarily as well as intellectually. This enables an advertiser to create highly targeted campaigns that surely end up changing a prospective customer into a buyer.

Essentially, the grand scheme of the advertising world is to bridge the gap and unite the online as well as offline modes of advertisement and take advantage of multi-screen marketing. It’s time we break the conventional style of measuring ad impact and combine the offline world with the online universe to revolutionise the advertising industry.