Making Television Commercials Measurable and Affordable for the Performance-Driven Marketer

Transcription

1 Making Television Commercials Measurable and Affordable for the Performance-Driven Marketer November 2011 Making Television Commercials Measurable and Affordable for the Performance-Driven Marketer

2 Introduction Despite the attention online media receives these days (thanks to the ever-growing success of search, social media and mobile marketing), television still prevails as the nation s media king. The average American spends roughly five hours a day in front the television and an astounding 99 percent of all U.S. households have at least one TV, making it the #1 time-spent media in America. As such, television advertising remains the most pervasive and powerful means of influencing consumers both on-and offline. Unfortunately, television advertising is infamous for its expensive airtime and costly production rates, making it daunting for many businesses. In 2007, Google caught on to these challenges and developed its own television ad distribution platform, Google TV Ads, which strives to democratize television media buying by making it easy, accessible and affordable. Like pay-per-click (PPC) advertisements, Google TV Ads are accessible through Google s AdWords auction platform. Instead of bidding on keywords, marketers bid on specific TV shows, but benefit from the same analytical insight and ROI-driven approach used in PPC. The TV Ads product is built on data from Google s cable and satellite partners, assembled from millions of set-top-boxes. Utilizing this information, Google can do what it does best: process data. TV advertisers can use this data to target specific channels, shows and times as well as gain insight into the number and demographics of people who viewed their ads. And thanks to Google s web attribution reports, marketers can review the effect of a TV ad on their websites traffic. By replicating its online, auction-based system for television, Google TV Ads is bringing the accountability and transparency it has provided for online advertising to TV. As a result, brands that may have otherwise shied away from the expense and stress of traditional television advertising now have access to a powerful offline media channel with the data-driven precision of AdWords. In this white paper, we will explore the benefits of using Google TV Ads to integrate on-and offline media, review the basics of getting started, and discuss key best practices for running a Google TV Ads campaign. Google TV Ads: Key Features Tenured search marketers understand the benefits of online marketing the ability to deliver targeted messages to a self-identifying customer base, to measure, track and test the impact of a message and to produce data-driven results. Experienced online marketers are also aware of the shortcomings of the medium. Online marketing alone often falls short in its ability to reach and impact a wide audience with a well-branded message. And although social media has improved our ability to build trust in a brand online, television still remains a more dynamic medium for explaining the benefits of products and services, generating awareness and developing a relationship with the audience. As such, Google TV Ads represents an exciting opportunity for businesses looking to get ahead of their competitors by investing in other forms of marketing. Although Google TV Ads has had a slow uptake, it continues to be a commitment for Google and is growing. Google has partnerships with 18 cable providers and 68 networks, extending TV Ads reach to up to 37 million satellite households (33 percent Making Television Commercials Measurable and Affordable for the Performance-Driven Marketer 2

3 of all TV viewing households) across the country. Together with DIRECTV, the nation s largest satellite provider, as well as Dish Network, Viamedia, Bloomberg TV and NBC Universal, Google currently boasts 1.5 billion available impressions each week. The process of planning and organizing a Google TV Ads campaign will be familiar to search marketers. As with online ads, every aspect of a TV Ads campaign can be managed from Google s AdWords auction platform, from bidding on shows and reviewing Google Analytics reports to adjusting spending and targeting to drive ROI. Google TV Ads Overview u Basics Accessible through Google AdWords. No contracts or minimums. You only pay if a user watches 5 seconds of an ad, so that you avoid paying for users when the TV is off, the channel is changed or a viewer fast-forwards through an ad. u Targeted Ad Campaigns TV Ads allows you to target specific demographics based on age, gender, income, family status, psychographics and interests. Google s set-top box based index also enables you to target networks and shows, so that you can reach your target audience effectively. Specific market segments may be targeted based on PRIZM and P$YCLE segmentation. u Increased Cost Control on TV Ads With Buy My Audience, billing is based on the actual number of impressions. You can set daily budgets at the TV program and channel level. Allows businesses with limited budgets to be visible on TV. u Accurate Cost Benefit Analysis You only pay for impressions when a viewer watches your commercial for five seconds. If they change the channel or skip your ad, you won t be charged. TV Ads delivers reports on your ad s performance within 24 hours of airtime, so that you can quickly adjust your campaigns to drive ROI. You can easily measure the effectiveness of campaigns using metrics such as CPM, impressions/ spot, cost/call, and cost/web visits. u Ease of Use Google TV Ads is built into the Google AdWords platform, so you can manage your TV Ad campaigns and SEM campaigns using a single interface. Familiar and easy to navigate, you can set up a TV campaign on AdWords quickly. TV Ads makes it easy to bid on inventory and specific slots, compared to using traditional media agencies. u Lesser lag time in launching Ad Campaigns Bid for ads and watch them go live the next day. Campaign Management and Targeting TV Ads campaigns are organized like search campaigns, allowing marketers to easily segment performance, control budgets and define hourly and daily targeting. Making Television Commercials Measurable and Affordable for the Performance-Driven Marketer 3

4 Bid Management Although there s no minimum budget requirement on Google TV Ads, it s important when setting campaign budgets to invest in your ad s exposure, so that it can make an impact on your audience. Strategize daily budgets and maximum cost-per-thousand impressions (CPM) bids according to your TV campaign budget, while keeping in mind that Google suggests running TV campaigns for at least four weeks, with a budget of no less than $200-$400 per day. This suggested budget will give you a competitive standing in Google TV Ads system and help ensure that your ad airs at least once a day. Targeting Google s four targeting tools help marketers find where, when and what their audience is watching on TV. They also give you the option to block shows. u Network and Daypart Targeting Similar to online ads, Network Daypart Targeting allows you to target specific time periods (e.g., early morning, daytime, early fringe, prime access, etc). Network and Daypart Targeting is great if you already know what programs your audience is interested in. This is the most common targeting method for Google TV Ads as programming regularly changes. u Program Targeting Program targeting helps you find shows that are relevant to your product, brand, service or your audience s interests. By searching for the term photography, for example, Google recommends programs that exactly match the context of the program and suggests programs that correlate to your keyword. u Buy My Audience Targeting Buy My Audience Targeting allows advertisers to only be billed for impressions from their targeted audience. This is one of the main benefits of Google TV Ads, as it allows you to get long-tail inventory on your demographic and a large number of free impressions. u Audience search TV Ads enables marketers to search for audiences by demographic (e.g., gender, age, hobbies, incomes, etc). Data Overlay Google has access to set-top box data from satellite TVs, which is pulled in and overlaid with data from Nielsen, Equifax and Experian to enable high-level targeting across demographics, psychographics and viewer interests. This allows for multi-dimensional audience searches (e.g., men ages who love cycling). Available data areas and sources include: u Household u Interest u Viewers Making Television Commercials Measurable and Affordable for the Performance-Driven Marketer 4

5 u PRIZM PRIZM is a marketing segmentation system from Nielsen Company that categorizes households based on demographics, lifestyles, shopping patterns and media preferences. u P$YCLE P$YCLE is another marketing segmentation system from Nielsen Company that provides insight into households by financial behavior and wealth. P$YCLE organizes households into 58 unique groupings based on income-generating assets, spending habits, investment behavior, and various financial and demographic characteristics. Attribution In the past, working with television production companies and advertising agencies made it incredibly difficult to quickly and methodically track and modify television ad campaigns. Now, as with search marketing campaigns, Google TV Ads provides data-driven insight into the status of your campaign via Google TV Ads Reports, Call Attribution and Web Attribution. u Google TV Ads Reports Reports provide performance metrics within 24 hours of your ad airing. These reports are directly integrated into the campaign summary pages on AdWords. u Call Attribution Call attribution allows you to track customer calls driven by TV ads. Within AdWords, Google allows you to upload your call logs. u Web Attribution Web Attribution imports data from Google Analytics, analyzes traffic trends and TV airings, and then attributes uplift in web traffic to specific TV campaigns. Traffic is attributed to TV ads based on network and daypart response rate and expected response delay. Google TV Ads: Best Practices Target your audience As with online marketing, it s essential to speak to the specific needs and interests of your target audience. Identify who your best customers are and direct your creativity and money at developing a well-branded relationship with them. Differentiate your product If you re a PPC advertiser, you have already mastered how to leverage 130 characters to define a clear value proposition. Now your challenge is to convert that message into 30 seconds of TV airtime. Keep in mind that your television advertisement is an opportunity to highlight what s special about your products, services or business in a way that s engaging and impactful. Making Television Commercials Measurable and Affordable for the Performance-Driven Marketer 5

6 Reinforce brand personality Create an ad that reinforces your brand s personality. Key elements to consider are the look of your ad, the tone, and the clarity of your marketing message. Picks shows that are on brand Content presented in the programs you target shouldn t clash with the tone of your ad or the sensibilities of your product s consumers. If you don t want your brand to be associated with a specific program, you can block the program within Google TV Ads. Optimum frequency across networks and programs When starting a campaign, begin with a broader campaign across TV channels and programs. Over time you can then use analytics data to optimize the campaign according to channels, programs and time slots. Develop an Ad Optimization Index We know from PPC marketing that our capacity to make great, informed decisions for a campaign depends on our ability to collect, track and analyze data. Developing a performance index for television ads will provide insight into when and where your ads are succeeding and floundering, enabling you to make statistically informed decisions. Strong Call to Action Create a strong call-to-action that encourages your audience to do something specific, whether it s buying your product at the grocery store or visiting your site. Google provides several call-to-action tools within TV Ads such as toll-free phone numbers, website URL shorteners, text messaging options and quick response (QR) codes. Track telephone calls Setup a specific Google Voice Number to track customers driven by TV ads. Google call attribution also allows you to track how your ad placements perform. Targeted landing pages Directing your audience to a targeted landing page allows you to control, track and better report on the success of your campaign. It s also an opportunity to present a consistent marketing message that reinforces your television ad. Publish commercial on YouTube Customers frequently search for television commercials on YouTube. Make sure your ad is there in case they look. Google TV Ads: Future TV advertising is a powerful method for augmenting online marketing efforts to reach a broader audience with a more dynamic, brand-oriented message. Previously out of reach for marketers with smaller budgets, Google TV Ads now provides access to affordable, data-driven television advertising. By using the same analytical approach online marketers have grown accustomed to with Google AdWords, TV Ads represents an exciting opportunity to get ahead of your competition and better influence your target audience. Making Television Commercials Measurable and Affordable for the Performance-Driven Marketer 6

7 What s more, Google s new data-driven approach to television advertising points to the future of TV. Today, even though marketers conduct research on their target audiences, they still must purchase ads on a program that will show to people both inside and outside of their target audience. Using statistical insight into audience demographics and behavior, addressable television will allow one person watching TV Series A to see a different ad from another watching TV Series A, not unlike the personalization that Google offers in SERP results based on user login. Thanks to these advancements, TV advertising, just like online marketing, will continue to become an increasingly reliable, analytical and ROI-focused method for reaching and influencing your customers. Making Television Commercials Measurable and Affordable for the Performance-Driven Marketer 7