How Audience Buying Continues to Revolutionize the Advertising Landscape

October 2, 2018

 

For decades, contextual buying was a hallmark technique for ad buyers and planners alike. However, as media becomes increasingly fragmented, audience buying grows in relevance. We’ve already seen advertisers start to turn away from pre-defined audience segments and refocus their attention on new, more robust data sets—and this shift won’t stop anytime soon.

 

The Rise of Audience Buying

According to Nielsen, advertisers spent $61.1 billion on primetime ads during the 2016- 2017 broadcast season, up from $59 billion the previous year. While primetime ensures your commercial will reach many viewers, not all of these viewers will be receptive to your brand’s message.

Finding the right audience isn’t always easy. Thanks to tablets, smartphones, and other accessible technologies, today’s consumers are constantly connected. Therefore, brands need to look beyond what content people are watching and consider when they’re watching it, what platforms they’re watching it on, and what format they’re watching it in. These factors—along with other historical data such as credit card spending and extended psychographic profiles—allow advertisers to buy segments that pinpoint their target audience rather than purchasing broad segments of visitors. As a result, they get better impressions and more engagement.

The data needed for audience buying comes from a variety of sources. Set-top boxes, for example, measure every aspect of a household’s tuning behavior, allowing brands to not only define their audience but find viable ways to reach them. Third-party data then 2 rounds out the audience profile by gathering users’ interactions and behaviors across multiple screens and then refining customer segments. With this direct line between brands and their audiences, it’s no wonder audience buying appeals to advertisers. We at NY Interconnect have observed this shift and are creating advertising solutions that accommodate the everchanging market.

 

How NYI Stays Ahead of the Curve

A recent survey by Morning Consult found that social media and internet ads are considered “well-targeted” by 46% and 45% of audiences, respectively. However, only 37% of respondents thought the same of TV ads. To change this mentality, advertisers need to be proactive. Our SVP, Chief Operating Officer, Tom Donohue, said it best:

“The challenge for marketers to target the right audiences, in an environment that is constantly growing and evolving, is remarkable. We need to recognize that strategies must reflect the current landscape, and we must always be prepared to grow and evolve with it.”

NYI is ushering in a new age of audience buying through collaboration and partnerships such as our Audience One Platform. By bringing products and capabilities together, we have streamlined the process for both advertisers and media providers. We have also joined forces with Comcast and Charter – in addition to Fios, DirectTV, and Dish- to give your brands access to over 6.4 million households in the nation’s #1 market—the NY Designated Market Area (DMA)—all with one ad buy. You simply tell us the audience you’re looking for, and we will show you how to reach them using the most sophisticated data sets in the industry.

Curious how else our Audience One Platform could extend your reach and enhance your campaigns? Fill out our contact form for more information.