TV can ‘now wear the clothes’ of DM
As a media channel, most television advertising would never historically have been considered a bedfellow of direct marketing. DRTV campaigns by charities aside, slow-burn, brand building TV advertising has been seen as the antitheses of one to one, data driven direct marketing.
Until now, that is. Video on demand, the big data explosion and need for greater accountability across the marketing board means TV is now a direct marketing tool.
Speaking at the Festival of Marketing 2013 last week, Channel 4’s chief marketing officer Dan Brooke crystallised the new reality nicely when he said:
“We’re investing heavily in forging direct relationships with audiences in return for data about themselves. This represents a new era because it means television can now start wearing some of the clothes of the internet like connecting viewers directly in highly personal and measurable ways.”
Broadcasters are now in the data business and are using that data to provide brands with direct marketing opportunities. Channel 4 is offering brands targeted demographics using data from its video on demand service. Elsewhere, Sky AdSmart is claiming it can use data to allow brands to deliver targeted ads to different audiences.
The volume of data available brands can pool with insight from broadcasters’ on-demand platforms is substantial. For brands, it allows for greater targeting and measurability when using TV, for broadcasters it allows for new revenue opportunities and conversations with advertisers and agencies.
The lines between above and below the line advertising have long since blurred with the advent of more integrated thinking. As Brooke put it, data also enables television to “start wearing some of the clothes” of other media channels. TV is now a direct marketing channel.
