A+E Networks, dentsu Reimagine Ad Buying

For decades advertisers have focused broadly on adults 18 to 34 years old or 25 to 54 years old emphasizing their purchasing power and openness to new brands and services However when advertisers limit their campaign to a particular age group they could miss out on a large swath of eligible consumers That39s why AE Networks recommends a broader approach known as a quottotal audience strategyquot where brands direct messaging to adults 18 years old and up By targeting a larger group brands expand both their reach and their ability to connect with receptive consumers particularly older AmericansquotTraditional demobased buying and targeting was constructed decades ago and was constructed out of necessity based on the data targeting that were available at the timequot said Marcela Taberas Senior Vice President Ad Sales Research and Strategic Insights quotThe reality is today this approach this system and model really constrains all of us and doesn39t include really important consumer prospectsquotRather than limiting their scope to traditional demos brands should reorient to an audience and household profile Taberas suggested That broader umbrella could capture viewers of different race age gender identity ethnicity and sexual orientation as well as multigenerational households and coviewingIncluding older Americans should be a key consideration AE Networks said Typically marketers have disregarded older Americans because they assumed their buying habits and brand loyalties were already established and couldn39t be influenced Not so fast according to AE Networks researchOlder Americans represent a large population group with considerable spending power There are 95 million Americans 55 years and older compared with 82 million 3554yearolds and 74 million 1834yearolds And older Americans have massive sales potential representing 53 percent of all household dollars spentContrary to popular belief older Americans are open to exploring new consumer behaviors In fact 93 percent of adults 55 and older have tried a new product or service in the last month AE reported Another study on sales impact revealed that consumers 55 had higher ad responsiveness and conversion rate than younger groupsquotBrands that focus just on demographics could be missing outquot noted David Ernst Vice President Ad Sales ResearchOlder consumers are also experiment with new technology creating new avenues for marketers On AE Networks adults 55 consume 93 percent of their video viewing on linear TV while seven percent are on digital and the digital audience is growing Younger demographics view about 70 percent on linear and 30 percent on AE39s digital platforms A total audience approach on linear and digital would capture more of all of these available viewers Ernst notedAE is working with advertisers to embrace a fuller picture of the consumers they want to reach including households behavioral and cultural targeting quotWe39ve been very focused on representation and how to do a better job of more authentically representing viewer segment and cohortquot Taberas saidWhen audiences feel that an ad campaign is reflective of their values and life experiences they39re more responsive and engaged Ernst addedquotConsumers of all ages are bombarded by thousands of messages a dayquot he said quotIf you don39t have brand relevance message relevance and talk to certain group it will just be cluttered to themquotSimilarly advertising agency dentsu is trying to improve its clients39 ad effectiveness Dentsu and its client AnheuserBusch are working to reimagine media buying currencies and guarantees pivoting from age and gender to strategic audiences attention and viewability They want networks to make guarantees on these metrics rather than older methodsThis new thinking is radical but it comes as the video marketplace is rapidly changing Linear TV audiences are shrinking and competition for their attention is fierce At the same time digital streaming is growing and offering marketers new alternatives for their dollars quotFragmentation is at an alltime high and consumer choice is at an alltime highquot noted Cara Lewis dentsu39s Executive Vice President Head of US InvestmentIf brands combine a total audience 18 approach with an emphasis on viewability they can reach a large and relevant audience Lewis notedBy digging into data Lewis said dentsu can find ways to improve viewability So far she said the agency is working with two TV network groups on pilot programs to buy based on viewability and attention She said she hopes additional network groups will sign on by third or fourth quarterBy thinking of linear and digital as one pool of video the ad industry can adopt similar metrics for measurement and effectiveness allowing for more efficient and effective investment quotWe need to change legacy behaviors on behalf of clients and marketing industry as a wholequot Lewis assertedKey to dentsu39s work is reorienting sellers to guarantee delivery based on performance and outcome and to do so requires measurement and data One critical metric is viewability or who actually sees an advertising message when it airs Very often when commercials come on viewers use the break as a moment to grab a snack or use the restroom As a result a brand message might be playing to an empty room In fact 30 to 40 percent of the time when an ad airs no one is watching said Paolo Provinciali Head of US Media for AnheuserBusch quotThink about that wastequotTo measure viewability and attention Anheiser Busch works with video technology company Tvision which measures who is watching linear and connected TV and the attention paid to the content Tvision data shows that 30 percent of the time no one is in the room when an ad airs Provinciali noted His company and dentsu use that data to help optimize their campaigns quotWe want to understand the environments that command the attention in the roomquot he saidBrands play an important role in this new order as well In order to capture attention creative needs to be culturally relevant compelling and authentic Lewis noted That39s why she advocates a total audience approach that is as inclusive as possiblequotWe want consumers to buy our products and feel really good about our adsquot she said quotWe want them to feel positive with what they seequotClick the social buttons to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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A+E Networks, dentsu Reimagine Ad Buying

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