Lights, Camera, Addressable; Why Addressable TV is an essential part of a holistic video campaign strategy

A successful live television broadcast, Emmy winning sitcom, or blockbuster movie production is the result of countless elements coming together to achieve a common goal.  From the writers, directors and actors, to all of the “behind-the-scenes” teams – it takes a village to ensure a production runs without a hitch.

In today’s fragmented video ecosystem, pulling off a successful marketing campaign isn’t too different.  It often requires the orchestration of buying media across multiple video platforms, the implementation of identity solutions, as well as attribution tools all coming together.  This combination guarantees that the campaign runs in the right channels, reaches the right audience, and that the impact is measurable to ensure brands can achieve their campaign goals and increase their ROI.

For decades, marketers have often talked about the importance of “reaching the right person, in the right place, at the right time” to influence consumer purchasing decisions because who you advertise to, where you advertise, and when you advertise all matter.  For the modern marketer to achieve the aforementioned trifecta in a streamlined way, the coalescence of data driven intelligence and high-quality content is a requirement.

Also Read: 2025 Digital Advertising Trends: Opportunities for Advertisers in a Shifting Landscape

Cue addressable TV – a video advertising solution where a single message from an advertiser is precisely matched to an advertiser-defined audience segment.  In other words, different households watching the same television program would receive different ads based on the characteristics that align with an advertiser’s customer target.  This hypertargeting at the household level differentiates addressable TV from traditional TV advertising, where all HHs watching the same program would receive the same ad.

Total addressable TV advertising spend is projected to reach $13.2 billion in 2024, equating to 20% YoY growth. According to the ‘Myers Report’, addressable TV will remain in growth mode heading into 2025 – with 55% of advertising and media decisionmakers expecting to make moderate to significant increases in spending. This increase in investment reflects the rise in overall satisfaction that marketers have with addressable TV advertising.  In fact, over 85% of advertisers say they are satisfied or very satisfied with addressable TV.

To better understand why brands are leaning into addressable TV as a part of their holistic video strategy, the VAB uncovered six tangible benefits that are enabling brands to achieve their campaign goals and increase their ROI.

The Benefits of Addressable TV:

1. High-Quality Ad Inventory
   The six biggest global content producers are expected to spend a record setting $126 billion on the production and development of long-form content this year.  That investment into the lights, camera, and action of professionally produced programming pays off for the millions of Americans who enjoy the immersive content for nearly three hours per day.It also pays off for the brands who share the spotlight and advertise alongside as well as within that emotionally engaging content, which has been proven to impact positive experiences, fuel positive brand associations, and inspire consumer purchasing decisions.
2. Reach Specific Audiences
   Authenticated audiences play a critical role in addressable TV’s ability to reach the right audience and drive impact for advertisers. Audience authentication is the process by which advertisers confirm or “authenticate” the identity of a consumer through services like opted-in MVPD subscriptions or a streaming service registration.These deterministically and anonymously matched audiences can achieve 90% to 95% accuracy of audience targeting.  This exactitude ensures advertisers are reaching measurable audiences and significantly reducing campaign waste by only connecting with high intent, potential customers.

   Authenticated audiences also dramatically diminish the potential of ad fraud through the promise of ad delivery to actual humans.  It may seem trivial that ad delivery to actual humans is a differentiator, but when you look at the sheer volume of digital ad fraud (over $35 billion in North America alone in 2023), it’s unfortunately not quite as surprising.

3. Brand Safe Ad Inventory
   A brand’s reputation is one of its most valuable assets. According to a study conducted by Forbes and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), 20% of a company’s enterprise value is based on their brand. A brand’s reputation fuels how people think and feel about a brand at every interaction, and a positive reputation can attract new consumers, increase sales, and drive customer loyalty.
   Brand safety and suitability strategies are essential to maintaining a positive reputation and protecting a company’s revenue stream from losses that could be incurred by inappropriate ad placements not aligned with their values and belief system.By prioritizing quality premium environments, marketers ensure their ads appear in suitable content which keeps their brand safe. Also, trustworthy, transparent publishers don’t leave brand safety up to chance and ensure you know exactly where your ads will run and provide verification that your ad appeared where it was intended.

   In addition to the peace of mind that premium video provides, research has shown that brand safe impressions have a +233% lift in conversions vs. non brand safe impressions.  In other words, brand safety practices are good business practices.

Any good writer, director, or producer knows when it’s time to close the curtain. In recognition of that, instead of listing out all six benefits, I’ll leave you with a final thought:

Marketers can benefit from including addressable TV as a part of their holistic video strategy because it brings together the value of onscreen talent (high quality content) and the critical “behind-the-scenes” work (brand safety and authenticated audiences). These components work in harmony to empower brands to achieve their campaign goals, increase ROI, and ultimately be the star of the show.

If you’re interested in learning more about addressable TV, including the additional three key benefits, click here.