While Nielsen is emphasizing impressions in its new TV measurement model, other currency providers are taking another look at the program guide.
On Wednesday, VideoAmp released a tool that allows publishers and advertisers to compare audience viewership second by second throughout the duration of a program. The purpose is to help buyers target their ads more effectively.
VideoAmp already measures program ratings, but now it’s expanding its measurement methodology to include in-program viewership fluctuations. For example, engagement with content might be higher at certain points in a show because of who’s on-screen or what’s coming up next.
Advertisers have been demanding discrete program insights for targeting and measurement planning, said Jonathan Bohm, VP of product at VideoAmp.
As part of the development process, VideoAmp used its in-program measurement tool to analyze roughly 100 telecasts of predominantly live events, including the 2022 BET Awards over the summer.
BET worked with VideoAmp to understand how celebrity appearances influenced viewership trends throughout the broadcast.
Second-by-second program data “allows us to create media plans that pinpoint and hyper-target content that drives success and acknowledgement from our audience,” Berj Kazanjian, BET’s SVP of ad sales research, told AdExchanger.
Media owners can use VideoAmp’s in-program analysis to value, segment and sell their inventory accordingly, Bohm said.
Context clues
Planning and targeting can be more effective when marketers know where their ads are running.
But that’s challenging with live content, which is less predictable than on-demand. Live sports events, for example, generally build up an audience throughout the duration of a game, and celebrity or guest appearances can cause tune-in rates to fluctuate.
A program’s target audience also doesn’t always overlap with an advertiser’s target audience, Bohm said, which makes strategic pod placement even more important.
If advertisers are able to “dimensionalize viewing patterns,” Bohm said, they can improve their campaigns with more relevant media buys.
VideoAmp’s second-by-second tool provides viewership information on the program content, the commercial breaks and data on incremental reach throughout the duration of a show.
In BET’s case, the network focused on tracking which live performances, sponsorships and subsequent commercials resulted in the highest viewership and engagement throughout the awards, Kazanjian said.
“Some advertisers see 10% brand lift relative to the average commercial audience [within a program] just because of where the ad is placed,” Bohm said.
An ad that appears at the end of a sporting event, for instance, will likely perform better than an ad at the beginning.
Facing the future
A high-performing spot is nice and all, but the overarching goal of TV measurement is to inform better plans for the future.
In-show analysis can also guide decision-making throughout the entire media planning process, starting with creative, Bohm said.
BET expects to use VideoAmp’s second-by-second measurement tool to “intentionally develop even more compelling shows and new content with an understanding of the moments that resonate best with [BET] audiences,” Kazanjian said.
Contextual relevance is also essential to help ensure brand-safe advertising, Bohm said.
If Pampers wants to run a spot for diapers during an episode of “Law & Order,” for example, show-level analysis would help it plan a relevant placement that should elicit engagement, such as after a nursery scene, while avoiding brand-unsafe placements like following a murder scene.
The challenge is that this approach goes against the way inventory is typically sold, which is primarily against audiences rather than based on in-program placements.
The ad industry “is very conservative,” Bohm said, “and changes can be challenging and disruptive.”
But change has to happen. TV measurement workflows need “much more discrete measurement than what’s currently available today,” he said.
