For ad buyers, it suddenly feels like the season of gifts, as yet another connected TV operator launches a measurement suite it says is designed to prove the effectiveness of the channel.
Samsung Ads, a platform for placing ads using Samsung smart TVs, has announced Samsung Measurement, designed to show the combined impact of both linear and streaming TV ads, claiming General Motors’ Cadillac as a first customer.
It follows the announcements of both Nielsen ONE and iSpot.tv’s demographic upgrade in December, after a year in which marketers grew interested in connected and advanced TV advertising, but wrung their hands over fragmentation and cross-screen measurement concerns.
Problem solved
In this video interview with Beet.TV, Justin Evans, Global Head of Analytics & Insights, Samsung Ads, says advertisers have reported three major challenges:
- Measuring linear television and streaming television together.
- Lower-funnel measurement for TV.
- Quantifying what the impact of TV audience targeting.
So Samsung Measurement aims to quantify the effectiveness of linear and streamed ads’ vehicle sales, in GM’s case.
“It enables advertisers to turn around, use the insights from Samsung and measurement, and immediately activate on that information,” Evans says.
Next sectors for Samsung Measurement after automotive will be financial services, telecom, retail and quick-service restaurants.
Keepers of the screen
As connected TV advertising evolves, it seems the OEMs whose screens are being viewed are sitting pretty on top of primary user behavior data. Vizio leverages such data through its Inscape subsidiary, and Samsung is sitting on a treasure trove.
The company uses automatic content recognition (ACR) to identify what viewers are watching, including ads.
“We are the largest dataset in North America that captures both linear and streaming,” Evans says. “We cover tens of millions of households. Clients are able to convert the insights into a targeted ad campaign.”
But he doesn’t just want to tell marketers how their on-demand or digital-video ads worked. Samsung’s position at the center of the screen, a screen whose software can follow viewers from ad exposure all the way to the car lot, means Evans can also tell marketers when their standard TV ads really work.
Welcome AVOD boost
In a media world that has finally leaned somewhat toward paid content, Samsung Ads’ Evans says the growth in advertising-supported streaming services (AVODs) will drive much-needed reach for brands.
“We’re seeing ad supported streaming AVOD grow at a rate that should be encouraging to advertisers,” he says.
“Up to 70% of our users are watching AVOD. That means there’s a really substantial reach opportunity for advertisers who need to manage both linear and streaming.
“It’s good timing. If we didn’t see that AVOD lift, we might be in a bit of a crisis because advertisers would be in a world where they had to reach a lot of consumers to sell products but there was nobody there to watch the ads.”
