Toto, We’re Not in Kansas Anymore: Why Advertisers are Taking the Road Less Traveled

3 Min Read

The new year is as much about breaking tradition than it is about resolution-making, and it’s safe to say that advertisers are searching for that magic formula that’s going to make an impact. Whether that means turning to TikTok for “Big Game” advertising, turning to new metrics for the 2022 Winter Olympics, or exploring retail’s in-house ad solutions (it hasn’t been a slow news week)…advertisers have reached a crossroads, but this time they have no choice but to venture down that yellow brick road—the current playbook won’t cut it anymore.

Retailers Aren’t Just Selling Clothes—They’re Selling Ads.

Retailers profit off the latest trends, deals and steals, but what about expanding its consumer base to other brands, too? Best Buy is the latest retailer to create its own digital advertising solution, joining the likes of CVS, Target, Walmart and Instacart. Frank Crowson, Best Buy’s Chief Marketing Officer, explained how the retailer’s understanding of shoppers creates audiences of consumers that are “interesting to folks who sell those things, but also to a lot of different advertisers as well.” It presents similarities to MNTN Performance TV’s partnership with Oracle Data Cloud, where brands can tap into a network of partners, platforms and channels to access billions of data points.

Will Sports Viewership Ever Look the Same Again?

Short answer, no. According to Statista, linear TV viewership of major sporting events like the “Big Game” is dropping, and last year saw the lowest Nielsen ratings since 2008.  Concurrently, streaming television has taken its place, with streaming viewership almost doubling from 2020 to 2021.  

NBCUniversal, who currently owns the broadcasting rights to the Olympics, is under pressure from its floundering ratings from past Olympic broadcasts, and is looking to measure viewership a little differently. They recently partnered with ad measurement company iSpot.TV, though whether their attribution system is truly suitable for marketers’ needs is up for debate. Upon further review, it seems that only TV ad views (and not other marketing channels like Facebook or paid search) are tracked, but performance marketers know that the digital ecosystem encompasses much more, and isn’t counting the full stack of pennies. MNTN Performance TV has always approached digital advertising holistically, which is why its Cross-Device Verified Visits model always takes into consideration an advertiser’s other owned channels.

Also, all eyes are still on the upcoming “Big Game” (you know the one we’re talking about). At the beginning of this week, Adweek revealed that State Farm, who advertised during the game for the first time in 2021, are going down a different route with TikTok “to meet the next generation of consumers by showing up where they’re spending their time and in spaces that they’re interested in.” They’ve abandoned the idea of the traditional one-off TV ad and are utilizing the platform to continue the engagement long beyond when the game is over and the excitement subsides. But, who’s to say that this evergreen approach can’t also be applied to Connected TV advertising?

Whether it’s measurement, unearthing new and expanded audience targets, or branding, it’s clear that it’s taking more for brands to stand out—and that’s causing a push for more creative ways to engage audiences and track impact. As advertisers move away from the traditional playbooks (and super expensive TV ads tied to major sporting events), it’s likely we’ll continue to see a shift toward strategies that offer more measurable impact. 

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