Addressing the E̶l̶e̶p̶h̶a̶n̶t̶ Audience in the Room

But Iamp8217m not here to tout the opportunities for political ad dollars I already addressed that in October If you have not already read that October column Iamp8217ll save you some time with a spoiler alert Iamp8217m predicting another record for Midterm ad spending on linear TV And Iamp8217m not alone in that regardInstead I want to discuss an undeniable component of the projected growth in political spending advancements in audience targeting and addressabilityThere is a reason forecasters see connected TVsamp8217 share of the political ad pie growing at a far faster clip than that of other platforms its inherent characteristics enable a very direct yes connection with the viewer But local linear programmers and distributors are finding a more prominent seat at the table with political campaigns and their buying shops when they offer an addressability component to accompany their admittedly unrivaled mass localaudience reach and powerFor broadcast TV outlets local news programming continues to be a powerful recipient of political dollars For MVPDs spending can be directed at insertions during cable network news programming to reach politically engaged news viewers but weamp8217ve seen heavy spending directed at for example HGTV to reach women votersBut sports programming has always been at or at least near the top of the list of politicalad environments and its share is growing And viewers largely continue to look to linear TV providers led by ESPN and by local broadcast networkowned or affiliated TV stations for those bigticket sporting events Today they are literally unique in their ability to draw audiences across demographics in a fashion enabling both mass reach and for those applying the technology opportunistic targetingPolitical dollarsamp8217 disproportionately growing share of the total ad pie has rendered local linear television advertising a cyclical business In evennumbered years the sectoramp8217s ad revenue typically grows by at least a highsingledigit if not doubledigit percentage But in oddnumbered years it goes right back downSome in the investment and lending communities might view this type of cyclicality as a touch of kryptonite I believe this would be somewhat myopic Political ad dollars may come and go with each cycle but they constitute real money money that TV station and MVPD owners can reinvest in their businesses amp8230 including valuably in emerging technologies that can keep them at the advertiseramp8217s table not only during but in between political cyclesWhat do I mean by amp8220technologiesamp8221To the uninitiated amp8220televisionamp8221 and amp8220digitalamp8221 may be separate animals Theyamp8217re not they havenamp8217t been for years And theyamp8217re crosspollinating at an increasingly rapid rateYes local broadcast and cable TV are in the linear business but it39s transitioning and we39re in the middle of that transition periodIn fact the linear TV inventory provider today can even be regarded similarly to the digital inventory provider namely as the publisher Like a digitalfirst publisher the linear inventory provider in essence owns the rights to the content which the consumer is hopefully ready to embraceAnd the publisher can do anything they want with those media rights They can sell it direct They can sell it through brokerages They can sell it through a rep firm They can sell it through programmaticAnd for legacy linear TV inventory providers that opens up myriad new and incremental revenue opportunities They can turn their premium inventory into addressable programmatic inventory Forwardthinking local TV broadcasters seized on this evolving concept years ago and successfully effected a transition from legacy ratingsbased selling to a more comprehensive impressionsbased selling framework Todayamp8217s addressability technology enables them to capitalize on this transition ever more effectivelyViamediaamp8217s sales teams have been moving swiftly to capitalize on the tectonic shifts in audience consumption and measurement on behalf of our 100plus cable operator clients around the country who are embracing the newer options for selling premium local linear inventory As these operators migrate to addressable they and by extension we become the publisherThe objective in an addressable world of course is to put more demand on inventory This could put more pressure on salespeople to raise rates And that39s a good problemSo as sellers we have to look clearly and objectively at who39s buying media today and where the audience is and where it will be in the future The world39s changing in the way that we access and consume media and actually now how we have to sell mediaIn short we have to sell media to thousands more and newer buyers in a very different way Itamp8217s a daunting challenge and I doubt many executives at each end and every step along the way of the advertising and media equation are not in the same boat with us We39re all trying to figure it outOur recent acquisition of LocalFactor and the digitaltargeting DNA that drove their rapid success as well as our subsequent rebrand as Viamediaai were for us transformative We viewed these as critical steps toward getting us to where we need to goItamp8217s a new world in which marketers will expect targeted or addressable solutions in tandem with mass reach And weamp8217re focused on helping clients prepare for and embrace itPosted at MediaVillage through the Thought Leadership selfpublishing platformClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillageorgMyersBizNet

Become a Thought Leader. Share your thought leadership article with industry professionals & have them archived in Thought Leadership

Addressing the E̶l̶e̶p̶h̶a̶n̶t̶ Audience in the Room

Author

Publish date

Channel

David Solomon

Hispanic Leadership Roundtable: Inclusion, Mentorship, and Building the Next Generation (Video) - By Juan Ayala

More Videos:

Become a Thought Leader. Share your thought leadership article with industry professionals & have them archived in Thought Leadership

Addressing the E̶l̶e̶p̶h̶a̶n̶t̶ Audience in the Room

Enjoying This Commentary? There's More to Love

David Solomon

TAGS:

Hispanic Leadership Roundtable: Inclusion, Mentorship, and Building the Next Generation (Video) - By Juan Ayala

The payment was successful

Cookies