The ability to target an ad with surgical precision is very valuable to brands and their creative design agencies. Knowing precisely when someone is ready to refinance a mortgage or buy a car, for example, is half the battle in terms of generating a sale.
Online advertising has been successful at this kind of targeted marketing compared to other traditional mediums like television. Since its inception, TV ad marketing has been more scattershot than surgical. Without a doubt, advertisers market beer during football games and adult education during daytime TV. But TV advertising hasn’t had the kind of micro-targeting that makes Internet advertising so effective. That is, until now.
Taking their cue from online ads, advertisers and brands are preparing for a bold new world of personalized TV ads.
A New Approach: Personalized TV Ads
Over the last few years, TV ad revenue has declined. Last year, total TV ad spending dropped 3 percent to $17.8 billion. This dip comes as digital ad spending continues to increase.
In this ongoing battle for ad dollars, the ability to target potential customers is the most critical differentiator and advantage the Internet holds over TV. Major media companies such as Viacom and Time Warner are well aware of this and are working to stop the flow of ad revenue from TV to the Web by sharpening their ability to target consumers.
You might be skeptical. After all, how can these legacy media firms compete with tech-savvy giants like Facebook—companies that already seem to know almost everything about us? The answer: By harvesting their own data.
Media and cable companies have their own window into consumer behavior—the set top box. By gathering information about what we watch and what we buy, these firms can partner with a creative design agency to create personalized television ads.
Media companies aren’t alone in seeing the potential in personalized TV ads. Google recently launched a service that delivers personalized TV ads via dynamic ad insertion. Along with tailored ads, this service allows broadcasters more control over ad breaks. For example, it can prevent two auto dealership commercials from running back-to-back.
We are still in the infancy of personalized TV ads, but any brand or creative design agency that wishes to combine TV’s massive reach with the Internet’s surgical precision should be paying very close attention.
