The Real Driver Behind TV’s Evolution Is The Consumer

Clearly television still has a role to play within the marketing mix. The question is, just how much?

The Real Driver Behind TV’s Evolution Is The Consumer

When it comes to fundamentally changing the television and advertising industry, consumers have claimed the driver’s seat. More than 22 million U.S. consumers have already given up (or have never had) pay TV services as of December 2015, according to eMarketer, and a full 20% of U.S. households are forecast to be pay TV-free by 2018. And while cord-cutters and cord-nevers have ditched their cable boxes, that isn’t the only change in video consumption that is shaking up the television industry.

Consumers are viewing social video, mobile video, and non-linear television content more voraciously than ever before. Facebook alone receives more than 8 billion video views per day, while Snapchat receives more than 10 billion video views per day, according to an April eMarketer report. Periscope, a video platform launched in March 2015, holds 10 million user accounts that consume more than 40 years of video per day, according to Fast Company.

Many advertisers share concerns around reduced ad load and ad blocking when asked about today’s viewing behavior shifts among younger demographics. It is true that ad load may be down as consumers view content through over-the-top methods (OTT) instead of traditional television, for example. The fact is, however, the attention and engagement available from those consumers while interacting with their mobile phones and tablets has increased. A recent study conducted by Facebook demonstrated that mobile video was on par with TV with regard to engagement. In fact, mobile video ads generated more positive sentiment from viewers than similar TV ads did. And recent DataXu automotive campaign data revealed that automotive consumers require 20 digital touches across three to four different devices on average before ultimately converting.

Data showing positive consumer sentiment and increased engagement for non-linear television formats such as OTT also abounds. In a study conducted by IAB Research and VisionCritical in 2015, 75% of consumers surveyed said that they considered a connected TV experience to be as good—or better—than traditional linear television.

Changes in consumer attitudes, behavior, technology, and distribution of content are therefore making the following channels increasingly important. These “formats” and the need for better measurement should be considered as brands plan marketing mixes in the future:

Programmatic television was a hot topic this year at the Upfronts and Newfronts in New York. And although it faces its own set of hurdles related to data collection, scale, regulatory laws, and delivering against its premature promise of automation, advertisers and consumers alike recognize the benefits of using data to make TV and video advertising more relevant and efficient.

So far, data-driven programmatic buying is available for addressable TV from a narrow range of providers. For marketers who invest most of their budgets in linear TV or need to build and maintain mass awareness for their brands, linking traditional TV ad buying and digital data to build television audiences based on digital behaviors represents a huge opportunity. While Nielsen’s most recent Total Audience Report revealed that the average 18- to 34-year-old spent two hours and 45 minutes daily watching live TV in 2015, the report also showed that these consumers typically spend one hour and 23 minutes using TV-connected devices per day–a total of four hours and eight minutes of television content consumption per day.

And while the consumer is the de facto driver behind the rise of addressable television, OOT, social video, and other fledgling formats, clearly television still has a significant role to play within the marketing mix. The question of the future is one that we’re all waiting to see answered: Just how much of a role will that be?