As far as broadcasters and advertisers are concerned, TV audiences used to exist in a darkened room. There might have been the data concerning overall viewing figures, but in terms of demographic segmentation and the like, it was all utterly mysterious and governed by estimates.
Things have changed somewhat. Nowadays, there’s a vast amount of information available concerning audience composition, and it’s become possible to select ever more precise sections of that audience in order to achieve surgical results. The potential this represents for advertising is clear.
Know your audience
Sounds obvious, but begin by crafting a clear idea of what your audience looks like. It could be that interest in your product is going to skew toward the junior end of the spectrum. For instance, a skateboard gear supplier is probably not going to score big sales with the over 80s. Yes, there are always exceptions. But, by and large, there will be richer pickings among the younger set.
From time to time, you’ll want to try to expand your audience by moving ever so slightly away from your core demographic, but in general you’ll stay very much in touch with the people who put your company where it is, or you may find they go elsewhere.
You now need to link that target audience with their TV consumption.
Know your audience’s viewing habits
This is the bit where you try to discover what programmes your audience will tend to watch. It might be the case that you have a really good grasp on sociology and popular culture and you can instantly conjure up a list of likely TV content for your skateboarding punter.
However, even the most confident among us can use some help sometimes, which is where ad companies come in. In conjunction with the broadcasters themselves, ad companies can give a well-researched and extremely accurate portrayal of who’s watching what. Not just in terms of a round figure like 30% of the north-west watched Coronation Street last week. Far more sophisticated than that.
Alongside this ability to pinpoint ever smaller samples in order to study their viewing habits, technology has developed to the stage that it’s now possible for ad campaigns to use individual household targeting. Yes, you read that right. Through techniques such as linear addressable advertising, individual postcodes can be targeted with particular ads.
So, we can see who likes what programme, and we can target that individual with a particular ad. Only one more part of the puzzle to put in place.
Remember your audience’s taste
You may be able to reach your target audience but what are you going to reach them with? Always be mindful of the content of the ad you’re putting out there and be sure it will chime with the intended audience. That skateboarding enthusiast is going to want excitement and adventure in their ad content. Not necessarily a discursive analysis of board composition.
Consider also the local elements you can include in addressable advertising. If there’s a board store near a certain postcode, promote it to them.
Hit the spot
The potential for using TV to reach your target audience with content that will really resound is better than ever before. Go get them.