Power of Local and of Data. Interview with Spectrum's Kim Norris

The Redefining of Television Before and After the PandemicquotPrepandemic we were seeing a significant shift in the way that television was being consumed and the way advertisers were starting to think about TV as an advertising mediumquot she explained as digital technology expanded into the ecosystem and with television increasingly migrating to the IPbased digital platform quotWe have seen an expansion of capabilityquot she noted quotfueled by the use of data and its use in planning where linear television is increasingly employing digital techniques And all of this innovation has ramped up fairly quicklyquotShe explained that quotFor us at Spectrum Reach television service has been available on the Spectrum TV app for a number of years with ads That technology along with consumers timeshifting their viewing with VOD has propelled television viewing across devices and platforms in our households Crossplatform has become much more of a way to consume TVquotConsumer Viewing PatternsFor Norris this evolution in consumer viewing patterns has only accelerated during the pandemic quotWhat we are seeing is an interesting spike in the viewership All of television viewing has increased We are seeing it across live television across the Spectrum app and across VODquot she said It is an especially unique situation for advertisers who according to Norris need to reassess their messaging and take into account the sensibilities of the time while also keeping an eye on brand positioning and long term strategy quotDo they have the right creativequot she asked quotThe irony is that we have so much activity inventory and impressions at a time where some advertisers have had to stop and rethink their strategy It is certainly interesting times for both television and advertisersquotSeeing Opportunities for AdvertisersThe changing environment need not be a barrier to messaging In fact one could argue that viewers are paying greater attention in their viewing experiences The opportunity is there for advertisers quotOne of the ways we responded at Spectrum was to very quickly address the issue of creative Your creative message in television of all kinds is very importantquot she stated One of the first things that Spectrum did was to offer advertisers a turnkey approach to producing their own creative quotWe are already on the path of offering selfprovisioning creative platforms primarily for local and regional advertisingquot she explained quotand this is certainly available for big brands as wellquot Currently Spectrum quotwas able to offer these services at no charge to our local advertisers We saw a very quick response being able to flip creative very quickly And more of the agency holding companies and the large national advertisers came back to television with different types of messagingquotOne of the biggest changes Norris sees in the advertising ecosystem is the nature of the messaging quotIt39s almost a positive changequot she said quotBrands are trying to speak to their consumers in a very humanlike way with supportive messaging such as at a hyperlocal level by letting people know what stores are open and a lot of social service workquotNotable Bumps in Viewing PatternsViewing patterns during the pandemic obviously shifted as a result of people shelteringinplace Norris whose company focuses on impressions data especially in local is able to adeptly monitor trends across platforms She has seen increases in content type with specific success in Spectrum Reach Spectrum News39 local coverage since midMarch has resulted in its highest Nielsen ratings over a twomonth period dating back to at least 2011 and likely in its entire existence quotWe have seen a pop in localized contentquot as well as content that offers escapism quotEntertainment content viewing has increased and we are seeing that the total viewership is increasing It39s not just viewing across screens they are viewing a lot more overall VOD is increasing and people are searching for new content There is a lot of social chatter about 39what are you binge watching this week39 across screensquotNorris noted that their business is driven by impressions especially through their apps This is an advantage when it comes to measurement and planning quotOur inventory is a direct correlation to consumer engagement on platforms We39ve seen a high in May in terms of how many impressions we actually saw coming through the platforms as a result of usagequot she notedThe Greater Importance of DataWhen it comes to data Norris is an expert with years of experience both at Cablevision where full disclosure she hired me for a settop box data project and now at Spectrum quotWe have been able to pull together our firstparty anonymized and aggregated data in combination with thirdparty datasets which have allowed us to be able to do more datainfused planning in linear TV as well as more targeted planning across all screensquot she said and added quotI think what we are seeing is an increasing interest into what types of insights and analytics we provide advertisers around thatquotNorris shared an example where an advertiser who previously appeared in sports programming could be efficiently reexpressed into nonsports programming with the confidence that they would be reaching the same targeted viewers on both a national and local level The application of data to ascertain reach and further target audiences has been accelerating since COVID19 according to Norris and sparking greater interest among advertisersLooking ForwardSince the outbreak Norris has seen that quotlocal is the new normal There are so many differences in what is happening in states and regions parts of the country I think our ability to utilize household addressability or reach at a geo level or a state level all of our capabilities around broad reach versus more targeted reach can help brands be specific in their messaging in a more localized mannerquotAs dire as events may seem today Norris is optimistic about the future quotIt39s amazing to me to see how adaptable we all are in the human condition The optimist in me sees this marketplace of advertising come back in the third quarter And it will be back in some sense and force for us in the television space The activity we are seeing crossscreen will accelerate ever more than we might have seen before the pandemic as consumers and advertisers get more familiar with the shifting TV landscapequotClick 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 MediaVillagecomMyersBizNetamp160

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Power of Local and of Data. Interview with Spectrum's Kim Norris

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Charlene Weisler

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Power of Local and of Data. Interview with Spectrum's Kim Norris

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