TV is Good for You(r Business)

Do you remember the days when one of a parent’s biggest concerns was how much TV their children watched? The legendary Shel Silverstein wrote a terrific poem about it.

“He watched all day, he watched all night ‘til he grew pale and lean.” 

Poor Jimmy watched so much TV that he eventually turned into one. “And now instead of watching him watching TV, we sit around and watch him.”

 It seems rather quaint now in the shadow of the ad tech giants.

Ad tech companies have collected a massive amount of data about us – where we go, how we feel, who we like, what we believe, where we shop – all with practically no supervision. And even more importantly, this information is transacted daily on an unimaginably large scale with little to no consent from us.

First-graders are now equipped with computing power in their smartphones that just 30 years ago would have been out-of-reach for governments. And the vast majority of these devices aren’t adequately equipped to restrain young children from being exposed to violence and the worst elements of our culture.

Now, we have “fake news” to contend with, as well. Not only the dissemination of knowingly-false information, but the alleged use of our digital footprints to manipulate what we believe to be fact or fiction.

Ad tech companies use their unparalleled resources to convince businesses that they are the best advertising option, hands down. “Think digital first, no one watches TV anymore!” – that’s the perception they’ve been working to engrain in to the marketing zeitgeist. 

The reevaluation of ad tech companies’ impact is what some commentators refer to as “Techlash 2018.” Yet in light of the concerns mentioned above (and many more), businesses are starting to ask tough questions of the ad tech giants. They’re starting to demand a higher-level of accountability and transparency.

In his keynote address to the annual ANA media conference earlier this month, Procter & Gamble’s Chief Growth and Brand Officer Marc Pritchard had some harsh words for agencies. Deliver better creativity, or lose revenue. To do so, agencies must stop obsessing with reinventing themselves into a clichéd “agency of the future.” 

We need to focus on what works for advertisers and help them develop creative solutions to grow their brands. We need to protect the consumer data we collect, to ensure it’s used to deliver more relevant advertising, not to fuel cloaked third-party interests.

Marketers – including those at major ad tech companies – are rediscovering not only the inherent power of TV advertising, but its well-established consumer-and business-friendly practices.

There isn’t the same “creep factor” with TV advertising. TV protects individual privacy, and viewing data is strictly regulated. Any time set-top-box data is used for advertising purposes, the data is aggregated and anonymized to protect consumers.

If your business needs to run an ad in Dallas, it will run in Dallas. 

With ad tech, there are countless examples of targeted ads running not only in the wrong market, but the wrong country.

 TV ads, though, are seen by real people, never bots.

TV audiences are measured by accredited third parties, unlike ad tech companies who validate themselves with their own data. Too often, that data is collected and measured in ways that are confusing and opaque to advertisers.

TV has strong systems and protocols in place to ensure your ad won’t run next to any taboo or objectionable content.

TV still leads the pack in time-spent.1 It still has the highest ad recall (62% of people correctly recalled half or more of the ads they had seen on TV; over 15% higher than the next media vehicle). Nine out of 10 consumers say they had the most positive viewing experience with TV. 2 And TV provides the most opportunity for businesses to get creative, instead of showing up as one in a long list of clickbait.

We’re the clear marketing platform of choice. And TV – it’s good for you. And your business.

?1. Source: The Nielsen Total Audience Report: Q217

2. Source: CRE Evaluating Engagement & Recall by Platform; July 2016.