Total TV and digital video's competitive commercial realities are preventing a streamlined buying and measurement solution.
Media agencies, trying to get the best outcomes for clients, have to jump through many loops when placing investments in a complicated ecosystem with many silos and endless acronyms.
So much so that every agency has its own unique definition on which platforms count towards this bucket of content.
This ecosystem should be simplified with a centralised buying and measurement platform, media agencies say.
“But when there's money involved [the platforms] obviously want to keep all their IP, numbers and revenue streams very, very separate,” an agency head of investment told AdNews.
It would be great to see all the partners involved in this ecosystem hold hands in a great utopia - but unfortunately when there are commercial realities at stake that's never gonna happen, the source believes.
“It's not in YouTube or Netflix's best interest to get together and sing Kumbaya.”
From a consumer standpoint linear, on-demand, streaming and even online video such as YouTube is all considered as TV consumption.
But on the other side, each platform is disparate and agencies, who are already under racing deadlines and shrinking profits, have to stitch together over a dozen of platforms to communicate the best value of investments.
In return, clients often look to agencies to unpack myths and misunderstandings, especially around the measurement solutions because of the convoluted ecosystem.
“We continue to call on the industry to be more open to big data enabled by digitisation, and new inputs to traditional TV measurement to build a more robust future for CTV and cross screen currencies,” MAGNA head of product and innovation Ros Allison told AdNews.
Plus each silo has its own buying and measurement barriers that make them less attractive.
SVOD’s inventory is very exclusive with platforms not plugged into agency planning tools. BVOD may be simple to buy, but it's too fragmatic to be effective.
So in a time where agencies are asked to do more with much less than ever, AVOD platforms, such as YouTube and Dailymotion, provide less barriers for swiftly defined results.
But YouTube is more risky for a brand as ads can be served alongside kid content and content that may not suit a brand's image.
And despite diminishing audiences, total tv buying keeps getting pushed back, one source said it is still two to three years away.
Although DSP companies such as Trade Desk, Google’s DV360, Microsoft’s Xandr and MiQ help provide a more holistic buying process, it's not the complete solution.
For example, Amazon has travelled down the Netflix and YouTube route, making their inventory only available across the Amazon DSP.
The obvious challenge in this approach is that it becomes walled garden, lacking integration to engage audiences flowing in and out of the platform, Havas national head of partnerships and adtech Kevin Fernandes said.
“Providing yet another isolated VOD insights and measurement solution which does not answer a marketers desire to holistically understand audience movements and brand engagement," Fernandes said.
On the measurement side there is also no simple path, as seemingly everyone is creating its own version.
VOZ provides a solution for linear and BVOD measurement, but has been criticised to be ‘self-serving’ as the group looks after the revenue streams of its shareholders being the platforms (9, 10 ,7 and most recently SBS).
VOZ has said its total TV audience measurement system will launch in December which media agencies are very excited to finally receive after being delayed since July 2018.
“Don't let perfection stop progress,” one agency head of investment told AdNews.
“Foxtel’s Kantar measurement came to market clunky but after three months of use the errors were smoothed.”
Foxtel Media, YouTube, Samsung Ads, Disney Advertising and SBS have joined to create their own measurement through The Video Future Collective.
The TV manufacturers themselves have their own measurement technology ACR (automatic content recognition).
The challenge of planning, buying, and measuring TV campaigns has never been greater, Kaimera chief digital officer and founder Trent McMillan told AdNews.
"The industry's move towards a more unified approach to TV advertising, represented by VOZ and other innovations, is both a cause for optimism and a reminder of the hurdles still to be overcome," McMillan said.
"The journey towards a more coherent and effective TV advertising strategy requires collaboration, innovation, and a steadfast focus on the viewer's experience."
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.