Adressable TV (ATV) promises to increase campaign impact by supplementing high-reach TV advertisements with targeted, controllable advertising media. However, the test campaign period is now at an end. ATV will experience a significant growth spurt in 2018, making it possible to cover ranges, which will enable ATV to play an important role in campaign planning for certain target groups. A smart moving image strategy will harness the capabilities of Addressable TV, which include programmatic control and TV retargeting. And the next stage of development is already on the starting blocks, with the HbbTV 2.0 television standard set to drastically transform television as an advertising medium.

Smart TVs are gaining ground

Approximately 32 million European households have been equipped with a smart TV since 2017, with a third of German households already in possession of an internet-ready television and another 2.8 million planning to upgrade. In spite of increased internet use, television is and remains one of the most important sources of entertainment and information: the average German internet user may spend 1 hour 31 minutes on their smartphone and 1 hour 13 minutes on social media, but continues to spend 3 hours 41 minutes watching television regardless[1]. And the number of campaigns conducted on smart TVs has risen, with 100 campaigns in 2016 compared to 200 in 2017 aired on the ProSiebenSat.1 network alone, this trend is very much ‘to be continued’.

TV advertising without flicking through the channels

So far, only the small rectangular and larger L-shaped SwitchIn formats are available, which are displayed when you change channels and, where applicable, can lead the way to further content when viewers press the red button on their remote control. However, these programmatically purchased formats are already demonstrating an above-average impact. The reason for this is the full view-through rate – viewers won’t just flick through the channels as there is actual channel content to be seen. This form of advertising is also still relatively new, and has a strong impact on the consumer for that reason alone. Surveys show that audiences accept SwitchIns and don’t feel bothered by them.

A further advantage is that SwitchIns can be adapted to the region, and can therefore be made to appeal to advertising customers for whom TV was previously an unsuitable advertising medium due to high scatter loss. In addition to geotargeting, weather targeting, time targeting, retargeting, and even targeting according to the viewer’s equipment (for example, by referring to the red button on their remote controls) are possible, as well as targeting according to the viewers’ demographic characteristics. Using data during programmatic purchasing makes it possible to appeal to the right target group with the right amount of contact. With advertising retargeting, for example, SwitchIns can be specifically targeted at viewers who have previously seen the ad for a brand in an ad block. At the same time, frequency capping on the part of the marketer can prevent the viewer from suffering retargeting overkill.

A new route into TV advertising

A significant rise in the number of ATV campaigns delivered, in combination with growing budgets – the gross average budget presently standing at €146,000 – demonstrates how relevant Addressable TV has become for the advertising market. This is also evidenced by the fact that increasing numbers of advertising clients are finding their way into the televisual medium for the first time via ATV. A glance at the budget distribution also reveals that more than half of sales come from the automotive industry (22 percent), the consumer goods industry (21 percent), and the media and entertainment industry (14 percent).

The dream of personalised mass media is coming soon

ATV is therefore enjoying increasing in market success, and is set to keep expanding its market share in the near future as it also wins over advertising clients for whom traditional television advertising was previously out of the question. The future will only truly arrive, however, once the HbbTV 2.0 technical standard has established itself in this area. Then it will be possible to interchange ads in linear television, which will mean being able to tailor them to the individual viewer. That said, it is only when the two major marketing forces of SevenOne Media and IP Germany come together and enable the advertising client to apply their own data and fully control all coverage via a demand-side platform that ATV will make a quantum leap forward.

[1]Global Digital Report 2018. We are Social. AGF TV panels in cooperation with GfK in the period 01/01-31/12/2017; Random sample: 16 to 64-year-old internet users in Germany.

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