Advertisers ramp up use of TV audience data to target complementary video campaigns

Advertisers are increasingly using TV audience data to better inform their digital video campaigns and produce more cohesive cross-channel advertising campaigns, reveals a new study by Videology.

According to analysis, the number of US video campaigns using TV audience data to target specific TV audiences with digital video almost doubled since the first quarter, jumping 91%. Further analysis also found that of the TV data segments used by advertisers, 28% of them were “custom-created,” meaning they were built specifically by the advertiser to reach discrete audiences based on their goals.  Custom segments may include, for example, reaching audiences who were unexposed or underexposed to a brand’s ad on TV, or targeting audiences based on their exposure to a competitor’s TV ad.

“In this era of convergence, brands are looking for ways to most efficiently and effectively reach their consumers. In most cases, cross-screen planning and buying drives both of these metrics,” said Scott Ferber, Videology Chairman and CEO. “With so much cross-screen data now at advertisers’ fingertips, the planning siloes between TV and digital video campaigns are truly coming down.”

Similarly, brands continued to plan digital video campaigns across multiple screens – 70% of digital video campaigns ran across more than one device, a stark difference compared to just a year ago, when only 22% of all campaigns ran cross-device (Q2 2014).  Even more striking, last quarter 44% of all digital video campaigns ran across three devices—PC, mobile and connected TV—compared to only 5% in Q2 2014.

Additionally, the analysis found that brands are placing increasing importance on viewability measurements; in Q2, 31% of campaigns were specifically optimized for viewability – a 165% increase over the same period last year.