Research by Sky’s AdSmart targeting service shows addressable ads cut channel switching by 48% at the start of a commercial break and there was a 10% increase in spontaneous ad recall by viewers. ITV and Channel 4 have also benefitted from video on demand, which allows better targeting because viewers register personal details.
However, the TV rivals have been slow to collaborate on common technology. Juhl says agencies need to push broadcasters globally to make more of their ad inventory addressable.
Antiquated ways of TV trading, based on share of an agency’s spend with each broadcaster, rather than volume, have also held back innovation in the UK.
However, the fact that TV remains a regulated environment is a selling-point given the Wild West of the internet. TV is trusted as Dorothy Byrne, Channel 4’s head of news, said in her MacTaggart Lecture to last week’s Edinburgh TV Festival.
And TV advertising works, delivering a return on investment of £4.20 over three years for each £1 spent, according to a study of 2,000 campaigns by Thinkbox, the trade body for TV.
It is striking that Amazon, Google and Apple, which are doing so much to disrupt TV, have become some of the biggest TV advertisers. Online brands increased their spend with ITV by 7% in the first six months of this year – in contrast to the wider slump.
And it says a lot about TV’s enduring power that gambling firms voluntarily introduced a “whistle to whistle” ban on betting ads during most live sport from 1 August.
Regulators could ease restrictions to support British content, including the BBC, in the face of global competition.
However, ITV is playing down a recent report about lobbying for longer ad breaks. It might likemore flexibility but better targeted ads, not more ads, is the solution.
Ultimately, advertising matters because it makes news and entertainment accessible to all.
Moving to a world dominated by subscription could be bad not just for the media but democracy.
Gideon Spanier is global head of media at Campaign
