The TV industry is no stranger to disruption. From traditional linear TV to the OTT boom, we are consistently seeing shifts in the ways consumers access content – and the ways in which advertisers target them. However, with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, TV is entering a new world of unprecedented uncertainty. Most industry events have been postponed or cancelled (like Upfronts and NewFronts), budgets have been thrown into disarray, and for some, it seems like the entire advertising ecosystem has slowed to a crawl.
Though the immediate effect of the pandemic has caused a short-term halt to some operations as they brace for the unknown, we expect to see an influx of TV advertisers (both veterans and newbies) in the next few week/months. We have more audiences at home than ever before, and many are streaming shows for the first time. With media consumption changing, brands have an unparalleled opportunity to cut through the noise with real-time proof of performance.
The adoption of data and analytics for proof of performance will no longer be a “nice to have,” as measurement and optimization will force the hand of the last remaining bastion of old TV.
For TVSquared, we are seeing a new wave of brands who want to amp up attribution strategies to stay afloat in this shifting landscape. With social distancing and more eyeballs on screens at home, there has never been a better time for brands to put a magnifying glass on consumer viewing habits. And with major changes in when people are consuming media at home, it is crucial that brands dissect the exact elements of their video buys for performance (like dayparts and programming genres).
We hope to help brands weather the storm during these uncertain times. And when the sky clears, we can all look back and, hopefully, see this marker of turbulent transformation as a turning point toward brands truly understanding TV audience behavior and patterns.
You can check out our insights on how COVID-19 has impacted the TV ad industry so far - we'll be updating findings regularly.
