Addressable ads are shaping the future of TV Marketing. Combining the benefits of digital advertising with the power of the big screen

Abstract

Combining the benefits of digital advertising with the power of the big screen With the rise of digital media and big data, the media landscape has gone through turbulent times. Technology is developing more rapidly than ever, and we are now able to collect and process data in volumes and formats that we never could before. Digital companies were the first to jump on this train of technological revolution and are now harnessing the power of data.

Where the TV landscape had barely changed during the past decades, it is now feeling the heat of digitisation. Digital channels are offering interesting alternatives to linear TV in terms of content and experience, and digital advertising has been growing exponentially during the last decade. In turn, TV has reacted with digital initiatives of its own, blurring the distinction between traditional media and digital media. Nonetheless, there is still a long road ahead before they get to par with the tech giants and truly adopt a technology- and data-driven way of working. It is safe to say that digitisation has shaken the entire TV ecosystem to its foundations.

Various factors are threatening the comfortable position that TV advertising has been in for the last few decades. Both consumers and marketers are changing their behaviour and expectations, and digital advertising is taking advantage of this new vacuum by answering their needs. When looking for opportunities to try and combat the dominance of big tech, ‘addressable advertising’ might be the answer. This innovative advertising technique on TV brings together the benefits of TV advertising and those of digital advertising. Combining the best of both worlds, addressable advertising makes it possible to target specific households via their set top box with TV ads, whilst at the same time offering opportunities to improve campaign measurement.

However, there are still some challenges ahead such as scale, standardisation, cost and general inertia. And as addressable advertising is highly data-driven, this advertising technique is also closely linked to the challenging topic of privacy and ethics. In order to get access to data, companies will have to give their customers enough value in return for their data.