Why Addressable TV Advertising is No Longer Just for the ‘Big’ Advertisers

While many large brands with national footprints have already realized the value that addressable TV advertising brings, brands with smaller footprints may not yet recognize that addressable is a proven tactic for their needs, too.

Luckily for those advertisers, it’s easier than ever to activate addressable at a regional and local market level across screens and devices. Here are three reasons why local advertisers should include addressable TV in their buys.

1. Deterministic data provides reliable targeting and performance attribution

One of the leading reasons to incorporate addressable into a TV ad strategy is the accuracy and quality of the data that addressable campaigns are built on. A recent analysis found that addressable TV match rates are more precise than IP addresses; 95% of addressable households were accurately matched via physical address compared to only 60% via IP address.

Most addressable is powered by deterministic data which means that audiences are authenticated, ensuring that an advertiser is reaching the right household. This not only provides more accurate targeting but enables advertisers to better make a connection between an ad exposure and an outcome, allowing for better measurement and a deeper understanding of campaign performance. When looking for a partner that can execute addressable, make sure to work with partners that use reliable deterministic data sets which ensure the audience is accurate, unlike those partners that may rely on third-party data or hashed emails.

For local and regional brands, or brands with limited budgets, this ability is extremely important since it means they can understand the ROI of their media investments, see what is working, and how to better optimize. Ultimately, this means that ad budgets can be used in a way that makes it the most effective in driving results.

2. Addressable advertising helps control frequency to deliver more reach

Addressable allows advertisers to better manage exposures across platforms, as it empowers them to more strategically and efficiently limit heavy TV viewers through frequency capping. Advertisers can use addressable to identify those light TV viewing households so they can maximize reach. In fact, addressable is found to be 27% more likely to reach light/no TV households compared to linear, non-addressable campaigns.¹ Not only that, an analysis found that when addressable is included as part of a multiscreen TV campaign, it delivers more than one third of unique target reach and total target frequency is +75% higher, showing that a percentage of households would not have been reached without it.

Smaller advertisers can effectively target specific, relevant audiences with customized creative, giving the perception of a larger brand presence by ensuring their ads are only seen by people most likely to be interested - minimizing wasted impressions and maximizing the impact of their TV ad budget. Since addressable enables advertisers to deliver custom creative based on the audience, it means they can have a bigger impact for their ads on a smaller budget: research shows consumers have a two times higher unaided recall and 5.2X higher brand purchase intent when ads are relevant.

3. Addressable offers increased efficiency for ad spend 

Some advertisers may be hesitant to use addressable due to the seemingly higher price tag on CPMs. However, addressable CPMs guarantee that every impression is delivered to the target audience. An analysis found that when it comes to local campaigns, eCPMs (the CPMs associated with the actual target segment impressions) are 15% lower with addressable than broadcast. This further proves the effectiveness of addressable TV in reaching only the target audience and reducing wasted ad spend by limiting impressions delivered outside of the desired households.²

Not all brands have the same goals in mind or the same marketing budgets, but the advantage of addressable is that it can be used throughout the full marketing funnel, from brand awareness to more performance-based objectives. And as many advertisers are facing economic pressures on their marketing budgets, they can and should look to addressable to help them get the most out of their TV investments.

Addressable TV should be a strategic tactic for all advertisers regardless of market size

With more scale than ever, regional and local market level advertisers can explore how addressable TV can drive better performance for their brands. While addressable TV won’t replace or take over traditional TV, it is one important piece of the multiscreen TV pie that all advertisers should lean into.

For many local advertisers, addressable TV advertising may seem too unfamiliar to “risk” allocating a portion of budget to it, but for those that are willing to test and learn it can be an important tactic and help define future media campaigns to achieve the most success for their business. But all advertisers, not just local, should be sure to work with the right partner who offers effective addressable solutions, powered by deterministic data and MVPDs, to drive meaningful results.

For an in-depth look at how local advertisers can harness the full power of addressable, download The Local Advertiser’s Guide to Addressable TV Advertising.

Sources:

1. Comcast Aggregated Viewership Data combined with Ad Exposure Data from advertiser Audience Addressable and Linear TV campaigns. Jul-Sep 2024. Total HHs. n=43.
2. Comcast Internal Analysis of Ad Exposure data from advertiser Broadcast TV campaigns. Broadcast campaign spot log data from Vivvix. 5/1/24-5/31/24. eCPMs calculated based on Market CPMs from Nielsen SQAD monthly for May 2024 and Adults 18+ Target segment based on Experian. Criteria: 10+ days on air, 2+ broadcast stations, 75HH minimum, at audience incidence levels <30%.

Posted at MediaVillage through the Thought Leadership self-publishing platform.

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The opinions expressed here are the author's views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillage.org/MyersBizNet.