Broadcaster and streamers are attempting to reclaim commercial ground ceded to digital platforms via authenticated first-party data and a push to crack addressable, outcome-focused advertising products that draw in the SME sector and grow their advertiser bases.

It's working in the US, according to Mark McKee, GM at Comcast-owned adtech firm FreeWheel, who told the Future of TV Advertising conference that the launch of Comcast's self-serve Universal Ads platform is bringing in a much larger pool of advertisers with "the simplicity and ease of what brands have expected from social ... allowing brands like the social and Instagram type of advertisers to come into our business".

Likewise ITV in the UK has effectively doubled its advertiser base – and now gets 10 per cent of digital ad revenues from long-tail advertisers – since launching its own self-serve demand-side platform, Planet V.

Locally the likes of Nine have tried to take a similar slice of SME budgets powering Google and Meta's massive ad revenues – and broaden its advertiser pool from circa 1,500 brands by wooing the 2.5m Australian small and medium businesses that could be tempted to try BVOD ads from $500 a pop. Those businesses currently spend upwards of $1.5bn annually on social video ads alone.

Ben Tatta, Chief Commercial Officer at media tech firm Operative, told Future of TV Advertising delegates that broadcasters are finally in a position to exploit data assets that previously resided with intermediaries – and ride retail media's rise.

“Historically, broadcasters have been disintermediated from their CRM data because they're going through distributors who owned the customer relationship,” he said.

“If you look at retail media, the fundamental growth driver is the fact that it's census-level first-party data that's authenticated. For the first time ever, broadcasters now have a growing base of first party data that's authenticated. It's real people. It's not some programmatic ID model – and it also can be linked together.”

Tatta said that authenticated data is a key enabler of initiatives like universal ad formats, which are being developed by broadcasters to unify fragmented inventory and simplify media buying across platforms.

“The only way to make the buying process easier is if the data is accessible, so someone can define an audience and get a full picture of its availability across services,” he said.

Such an organising principle does not have to conflict with third-party measurement, but it needs to enable real ROI, he suggested.

According to Tatta, “If you're just validating estimated reach [then] all these platforms look the same. But when you really measure the impact across the full funnel, brand favourability, all the way down to sales, nothing delivers better than premium content. It doesn't matter which platform it's delivered on.”

Hence retail media big guns like Coles and Woolworths striking off platform extensions with broadcasters and streamers.

Tatta also chastised those who say linear is dying. “That point drives me nuts, because linear is reborn in streaming, and the fastest growing segment of streaming advertising is linear streaming. So it's being re-expressed. And I think that trend is going to continue.”

Strategic Priorities

Jodi O’Donnell, CEO of TVNZ, said the broadcaster is likewise attempting to leverage first-party data to crack open the long tail.

“Unlocking that first-party data is really important for the SME market. It's a test-and-learn environment for us, and we’re becoming more sophisticated in how we use data to target our consumers and viewers,” said O’Donnell.

The New Zealand broadcaster has built a new live-streaming service specifically designed to support local businesses – and act as a recipient for their ad dollars.

“We've just launched it, and we’re developing an MVP model to unlock the SME market,” she said. “Broadcasters traditionally haven’t played in this space. There are advantages to being a small market — you can test and learn quickly, and we are working very closely with our tech partners.”

Like Nine's approach with Ad Manager, TVNZ is similarly experimenting with AI-powered creative tools to help small advertisers produce assets quickly and cost-effectively.

ROI > buzzwords

Regardless of whether an advertiser is an SME or blue chip brand, Paramount ANZ sales chief Rod Prosser said the TV industry collectively is sitting on a trove of powerful first party data thanks to vast numbers of logged-in users, and a granular understanding of their interests, location and habits.

That is “pretty powerful” when viewed as a whole-of-industry asset, per Prosser. “We're getting more and more sophisticated in how we use it, how we target our consumers, our viewers, so it's a critical mix. .”

GroupM ANZ Chief Investment Officer Melissa Hey suggested their is increasing opportunity for broadcasters and streamers to partner with retailers to drive more demonstrable growth for brands by closing the loop.

“A lot of clients have got their own first party, and they are looking at bringing retail into the mix as well. That's how the growth is happening on retail [media], because of the strength of their first-party data and what they can bring to the table,” said Hey.

“So, looking at that three-way ecosystem of clients, media partners, and retail, how you bring that all together, that's the ultimate nirvana for clients knowing their ROI.”

Sian Whitnall, Co-CEO of OMD Australia, underlined that end-to-end linkage is now critical.

“Data is the fuel that’s going to power exactly where we need marketing to go. We know that the most effective advertising, the most effective marketing is the best experience and the best path to purchase in a connected ecosystem. And you can’t do that without first-party data.”