While there is undoubtedly a great deal of uncertainty throughout the world right now due to COVID-19, there’s one clear trend emerging: more people at home equals more time to watch TV (traditional linear and streaming services). In fact, data shows that spending more time at home can increase overall TV viewership by 60%. Some will inevitably revisit reruns of classic favorites, others will use the time to catch up on shows that have been sitting on their “must-watch lists” for months.
For the foreseeable future, the “virtual water cooler effect” will be truer than ever before as TV’s ability to bring people together, whether it’s through an online forum or live-tweeting an episode, will become all the more vital to stay connected. For media owners, the coming months will also test which networks, streaming services, apps and shows truly stand out from the pack now that audiences have more viewing options (and time) than ever.
With viewership in flux, two questions are critical for advertisers: Do you really know where your audiences are? And are they taking actions? The only way to truly answer them is by continually measuring the impact of TV and then making those insights actionable to continually improve performance.
In other words, increasing and changing TV viewing across platforms means that always-on attribution is more critical than ever. The key phrase is “always-on” – able to process data 24/7 to keep up with dynamic shifts in behavior. And who knows, you may even find an audience or two you never knew you had (something that happens more often than you think!).
If ever there was a time to know your audience at a granular level – across linear and digital TV – it’s now.
