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New research from Samsung is being hailed as a landmark for media planning. Change The Way You CTV, written in partnership with LongTerm CoLab and ISBA, “is the first [study] of its kind for the TV industry” says Boots CMO and ISBA President Pete Markey. “It’s important and refreshing, and a rallying call for our industry.”
The way consumers watch TV has radically changed, yet the way it is planned and bought has barely evolved. Currently 52% of consumers generally dislike ads, or find them disruptive, according to the study’s findings.
As Markey notes, there is much work to do to better connect with consumers to ensure TV ads remain an impactful, integral part of the viewing experience, and not an obstacle to it.
But this disconnect has largely - until now - been sidelined by the industry. What sets this research apart, and makes it groundbreaking, is that the disconnect is central to it. Change The Way You CTV is a first in that it considers, not only qualitative professional opinions, but dovetails them with quantitative data from consumers.
“In a landscape as dynamic and as fast-evolving as Connected TV (CTV), it’s no longer enough to focus solely on where technology is headed,” says Alex Hole, SVP and general manager, Samsung EMEA. “We must also ask ourselves where the viewer stands in this journey.”
For TV to continue to thrive, it’s necessary to have a comprehensive understanding of the “behavioural drivers behind ad acceptance and shared viewing experiences”, agrees Sam Taylor, Direct Line Group marketing director and chair of ISBA’s TV Steering Group. He welcomes, in particular, the “new hierarchy of audience needs that can guide more effective media planning” that’s been created on the back of the research.
Samsung commissioned research company LongTerm CoLab to survey 1,600 consumers within hours of a “TV Moment”, as well as 42 brands and agencies. The study defines a “TV Moment” as “the time between sitting down to watch TV and the time the consumer went to do something else”.
There is much robust data around current consumer behaviour which challenges the effectiveness of traditional methods. Ofcom’s Media Nations report, for example, shows a steep 82% decline in TV viewers who tune into “big cultural moments”; nevertheless many legacy-entrenched media planning methods, hinged around these moments, remain prevalent.
“It’s really surprising, given this evolution in TV watching habits, how reach-and-frequency TV buying is still king,” says Matt Bryan, director of analytics & insights at Samsung Ads EMEA. “But we see some exciting opportunities to marry up this disconnect.”
Change The Way You CTV: key insights
Identify your Moment(s)
The study clearly shows that ad acceptance and engagement are shaped by audience motivation, mood, gender and age demographic. Understand these and brands can identify the best “TV Moments” in which to speak to specific consumers.
For too long the industry has made broad brush assumptions that viewers are equally receptive consumers of ads, regardless of environmental context, emotional state or reason for watching. The reality, as this data shows, is that consumers are complex and highly unlikely to respond to TV ads in the same way in different scenarios.
“Engagement and ad acceptance go hand in hand,” says Bryan. “TV Moments” paint a picture of where consumers might be best placed to receive advertising. It’s essentially a ‘sweet spot’ for advertisers who are looking to connect to TV audiences, beyond the broad strokes of reach and frequency buying.”
In general, Gen Z is more tolerant of ads, being familiar with the creator economy, for instance, whereas older generations who are used to accessing content without ads are less receptive. Men were also broadly shown to be more tolerant than women.
A new framework of ad acceptance
The report pinpoints ten variables that can affect a TV Moment’s ad acceptance. These fall into three categories: 1) emotional markers: emotion, mood, motivation/mindset 2) contextual markers: content, socio-demo, environmental 3) cultural impact & action: identity, engagement, ad acceptance.
The markers can be ranked by their ability to predict ad acceptance level to create a “new hierarchy of ad acceptance”.
At the bottom are targetable segments that are currently commonly used, such as genre and sociodemographics. But to be more in line with how consumers are watching TV today, focus needs to shift to the top of the hierarchy: to mood, emotion, motivation and need.
“More work needs to be done to target these more nuanced receptivity markers,” Bryan acknowledges. “But if marketers could plan campaigns with mood, emotion, motivation and needs at the core – can you imagine how effective ad spend would become? Less wastage, and more impactful, tailored campaigns would result.”
Social viewing is not a catch-all
Historically, legacy TV buying methods push brands towards “big” moments of collective entertainment or even escapism.
And, while TV isn’t garnering such traditionally large audiences of old, social viewing is still a powerful and important part of the marketing mix; at least half of the 1600 “TV Moments” captured in the research were experienced with a partner or family member.
But advertisers need to get cannier about the moments they target. Depending on the various markers, the traditional “big moments” might actually be times of low ad tolerance for their particular audience.
If a consumer’s motivation is “feel-good movie seeking”, for instance, then they are highly engaged in the content but ad acceptance is only 49%, the study finds. Yet, if they’re “news catching”, then their engagement is lower but their ad acceptance is much higher, at 85%.
Low ad acceptance has become a taboo topic. “The idea that there’s loads of people who just don’t want to engage with your ads is something we don’t talk about enough,” one media buyer quoted in the research admits.
Samsung Ads’ intends to kickstart that conversation and evolve TV planning and buying as we know it.
