State of Convergence and Advanced TV
Data & Automation
Bring Video into the Future
2021 Relevance Report
Introduction
It is the golden age of premium video content
for viewers, and the height of complexity for
advertising decision-makers and their partners.
As media types converge and audience behaviors
diverge, each phase of building and running a
campaign becomes more nuanced.
We set out to understand how advertisers in five key regions are navigating the complexities of advanced TV and the convergence of video, from the budgeting phase through campaign measurement.
Our 2021 State of Convergence and Advanced TV report offers a roadmap for seizing the opportunities and surmounting the challenges of video’s evolution.
We surveyed advertising decision-makers in the US, Australia, UK, France, and Germany to surface the most powerful insights for advertisers and publishers.
The Setting
What is Convergence
in Video Advertising?
Methodology
Mostly considered for top-funnel marketing, data-driven linear (DDL) offers an opportunity to create efficiencies in what is most advertisers’ largest strategic budgets. More than half of advertisers in the US, where the main source of DDL funding is from a general advertising bucket, will increase DDL spending in the next 12 months. The growing appetite for this targeted format reflects its obvious advantages over traditional linear. When buyers leverage automation for DDL, those advantages expand with buyers listing the ability to define campaign parameters once and view a single proposal across multiple media owners with deduplicated reach as the top benefit. Some of the reported barriers to adoption of data-driven linear—unclear benefits, confusion about how data-driven linear works—are easily mitigated by partnerships with experts.
Advertisers point to internal roadblocks to convergence from, “a lack of understanding” among internal and external clients to “breaking through
existing organizational silos,” and “stakeholders caught up in category thinking.”
Despite those challenges, the remaining three out of four are on their way to convergence within their organizations and their strategy.
What is the State of Premium Video Convergence?
Market Landscape
Spend Increase by Inventory Type Over Next 12 Months
Easier targeting and optimization, better pricing, and unified campaign activation across multiple sellers are among the top programmatic OTT benefits touted around the globe, compared to direct sold OTT. Though almost every advertiser in this study saw benefits to automating OTT buys, only about half of OTT/CTV budgets across key regions are allocated to programmatic buys. Respondents cite building and growing direct relationships with publishers, and the less familiar advertising process as key challenges to programmatic OTT/CTV. Perceived challenges, like limited scale or poor ROI, are viewed through the lens of pure reach and exposure. But convergence offers a more holistic approach to finding targeted scale among video audiences.
Programmatic OTT is Still Underutilized
OTT/CTV Advertising Objectives
Top Benefits of Buying Data-Driven Linear in an Automated Fashion
Data-driven linear (DDL), which shows households viewing the same TV
show the same ads, but places ads based on advanced consumer data sets beyond age and gender, is another vital piece of premium video innovation.
Three out of four advertisers believe data-driven linear gives marketers the very best of TV and digital advertising, combining the scale of linear TV audiences from premium networks with the advanced targeting of digital data sets.
The majority of respondents associate DDL with top and mid funnel objectives, similar to linear TV, opening up a vast source of funding. More than half of advertisers in the US, where the main source of DDL funding is from a general advertising bucket, will increase DDL spending in the next 12 months. The growing appetite for this targeted format reflects its obvious advantages over traditional linear. When buyers leverage automation for DDL, those advantages expand with buyers listing the ability to define campaign parameters once and view a single proposal across multiple media owners with deduplicated reach as the top benefit. Some of the reported barriers to adoption of data-driven linear—unclear benefits, confusion about how data-driven linear works—are easily mitigated by partnerships with experts.
Data-Driven Linear (DDL) is Gaining Momentum
Australia
Though the advertisers we surveyed were familiar with the term “convergence,” their own definitions of it varied. Part of the difficulty in leveraging convergence
is defining it. The 2021 State of Convergence and Advanced TV study defined convergence as the ability (or desired ability) for advertisers to plan, buy, execute, or measure campaigns that include more than one type of TV or video inventory.
Marketers are leveraging OTT/CTV as top- and mid-funnel channels, which usually benefit from the most budget flexibility
One in three advertisers lack
familiarity with the programmatic
OTT buying process
In Australia the main source
of funding for data-driven linear
is experimental budget
58%
of current US users plan to increase
use of DDL
58%
53%
50%
Addressable Linear TV
Other Digital Video
OTT/
CTV
Traditional
Linear TV
US
Australia
UK
France
Germany
Data-Driven
Linear (DDL) TV
45%
28%
US
200 Participants
81%
86%
The ability to define campaign parameters once and
view a single proposal across media owners, including
forecasted audience impressions and deduplicated reach.
The ability to activate one TV campaign across multiple
media owners.
The ability to define your target audience once across
media owners.
US
46%
44%
44%
US
France
Germany
UK
35 Participants
35 Participants
37 Participants
50 Participants
Job Level
4%
52%
44%
5%
69%
26%
6%
54%
40%
8%
62%
30%
42%
42%
16%
Junior
Mid-Level
Senior
Agency
Marketer
Company Type
51%
49%
51%
49%
51%
49%
51%
49%
42%
58%
55%
54%
59%
54%
19%
49%
56%
62%
38%
55%
62%
51%
39%
49%
58%
54%
24%
advertisers believe data-driven linear gives marketers the very best of
TV and digital advertising
The ability to achieve unified reach across multiple media
owners (for both forecasting and end-of-campaign reporting).
The flexibility of being able to use advertisers’ own
first-party data or syndicated data.
Streamlined processes/
workstreams for greater efficiency.
Australia
43%
36%
35%
The ability to activate one TV campaign across multiple
media owners.
44%
3 4
Four of the five regions ranked
OTT/CTV as a top strategic
priority among video types
out of
Leading the Change
With an integrated platform advantage, Invest DSP buyers get direct and
efficient access to CTV supply, including Xandr's Premium Video Catalogue. Leveraging Xandr's advanced optimization capabilities, CTV buyers are
able to expand their reach and achieve better outcomes. For example,
with video inventory recommendations buyers can discover premium, contextually relevant video inventory for CTV campaigns.
Source: Nielsen, NHI 2019-20 Season, Total Day, HHLDs, Live+7. Average reach by Quarter, 1st 13 weeks, 1-min qualifier
Leading the Change
Xandr and OpenAP have formed a strategic alliance to streamline data-driven linear buying. Xandr will adopt OpenID, a unique identifier launched by OpenAP that enables centralized activation of advanced audiences for use in campaign targeting, and OpenAP will accept demand from Xandr’s Invest TV buying platform. Buyers using Invest TV will now be able to activate unified advanced audiences across all top US national television programmers.
of US advertisers will increase DDL spending in the next 12 months
>50%
N/A*
N/A*
N/A*
* Only the US and Australia were surveyed in regards to data-driven linear (DDL)
81%
77%
77%
Australia
UK
France
Germany
Top of Funnel—e.g Brand Awareness, Product Launch
Top Benefits of Buying OTT/CTV Programmatically
US
Better pricing.
36%
Australia
Easier campaign targeting
and optimization.
56%
Greater control, flexibility
over the ad buy.
56%
Easier campaign targeting
and optimization.
43%
UK
Ability to activate one video campaign across multiple sellers.
54%
Easier campaign targeting
and optimization.
46%
France
Easier campaign targeting
and optimization.
54%
Ability to activate one video campaign across multiple sellers.
54%
Germany
Easier to achieve
scale/reach.
60%
Better pricing.
57%
ROADMAP FOR
WORKFLOW CONVERGENCE
Video spend is shifting to digital video
and advanced TV in all key markets.
Xandr partnered with Advertiser Perceptions
to conduct a detailed online questionnaire
for agencies and marketers in the US
and leading global advertising markets.
All 357 respondents had to be buyers
actively working with over-the-top (OTT)/
connected TV (CTV) or linear television.
This is traditional broadcast or cable TV. Households viewing
the same TV show see the same ads.
Households viewing the same TV show see different ads. Addressable
household data informs ad buys, which are segmented by audience.
Households viewing the same TV show see the same ads, but
advertising is placed in TV shows based on viewership propensity concentrated towards specific advanced consumer data sets.
Also known as streaming TV, households or individuals viewing the same TV show see different ads, on a TV, computer, or mobile device that is connected to the internet.
Individuals viewing the same content see different video ads.
For the purposes of this survey, “Other Digital Video” does not
include OTT/CTV.
Other Digital Video
Survey Definitions
OTT/CTV
Data-Driven Linear (DDL) TV
Addressable Linear TV
Traditional Linear TV
Survey Respondents
US
Australia
UK
France
Germany
Select Country
US
France
Germany
UK
Australia
CONCLUSION
Back to top
Video spend is
shifting to digital video and advanced TV in all key markets.
Easier campaign targeting
and optimization.
43%
Greater control, flexibility
over the ad buy.
56%
Ability to activate one video campaign across multiple sellers.
56%
Easier campaign targeting
and optimization.
46%
Easier campaign targeting
and optimization.
54%
Ability to activate one video campaign across multiple sellers.
54%
Easier to achieve
scale/reach.
54%
Better pricing.
57%
US
UK
France
Germany
Leading the Change
With an integrated platform advantage, Invest DSP buyers get direct and
efficient access to CTV supply, including Xandr's Premium Video Catalogue. Leveraging Xandr's advanced optimization capabilities, CTV buyers are able to expand their reach and achieve better outcomes.
For example, with video inventory recommendations buyers can discover premium, contextually relevant video inventory for CTV campaigns.
Leading the Change
Xandr and OpenAP have formed
a strategic alliance to streamline
data-driven linear buying. Xandr will adopt OpenID, a unique identifier launched by OpenAP that enables centralized activation of advanced audiences for use in campaign targeting, and OpenAP will accept demand from Xandr’s Invest TV buying platform. Buyers using Invest TV will now be able to activate unified advanced audiences across all top
US national television programmers.
In the US, the budgeting/
planning and campaign activation phases tied
for greatest benefit
from convergence.
advertisers believe
data-driven linear gives marketers the very best of
TV and digital advertising
2 5
out of
Roadmap for
Workflow Convergence
Upfronts, NewFronts, and traditional linear commitments tie up dollars
and make it difficult to reallocate to automated, data-driven channels.
Funding for addressable and OTT is spread across different budget sources, including innovation resources. About half of French advertisers note a single budget planning process to determine budgets for all TV and digital video as a very important benefit of convergence. Converged budgets allow more flexibility at the outset, and later on when it comes time to optimize a campaign across inventory types.
In Germany, having a unified audience definition across TV and digital video
is by far the most important reason to have greater convergence in the
planning phase.
A majority of advertisers believe that the budgeting/ planning and campaign activation phases are most in need of greater convergence.
Budget/Campaign Planning
In the US, the budgeting/planning and campaign activation phases tied
for greatest benefit from convergence.
The UK and Australia, where commercial broadcasters have long established streaming platforms,
lead in converged budgeting.
US Degree of Convergence for TV and Digital Video Workflow Phases
Percentage of respondents rating between 1–10
“This is the toughest stage,” remarked an agency executive in the UK.
“Even within the digital space. Getting everything combined would make everything easier.” One manager at an agency in the UK called convergent solutions, “a one stop shop, ensuring that all activities are live at the same
time without going through multiple people and databases.” In every country
we surveyed, campaign activation ranked as the workflow phase that would benefit the most from greater convergence.
Campaign activation is the stage where marketers can utilize data-enabled platforms to achieve converged, unified reach across media properties.
Campaign Activation
Germany is the one region that calls for converged in-flight optimization over activation
(+14 points)
But organizational and mental silos are hindering convergence in this crucial phase. “In general, having marketing and advertising efforts siloed is not a good idea. But when the campaign is already in motion, being siloed up is even more of a weakness because it hinders your ability to right the course if something's not working,” remarked a Director at a brand in the UK.
As we surfaced in our 2020 Global Relevance Report,
in most regions, campaign optimization is the leading
way advertisers are delivering more relevant video ads.
In-Flight Campaign Optimization
In the US, Australia, and France, easier campaign targeting and optimization top the benefits of programmatic OTT.
#1
“Clients always want to see the ROI of their buys. That's what matters to them the most,” explains an agency department head in the US. “Being able to provide clear, integrated reporting is essential to media planning and buying.”
Converging measurement is essential to closing
the loop on video campaigns.
Measurement
If we need to make a change in the middle of the campaign it is more convenient to be able to make the update once and for the change to be reflected across multiple publishers and placements.
Marketer, Director, US
Top 2
The ability to use metrics is the top two importance in all countries, with the highest concentration in France
and Australia
advertisers in the UK and Australia
say better frequency management
as very important
Degree of Convergence for In-Flight Campaign Optimization
Percentage of respondents rating between 1–10
US
The campaign reporting and analysis would be more accurate
and also help to identify and reduce ad waste.
Agency, Executive, us
Better frequency management is very important to two out of five advertisers in the UK and Australia, and more than one third in the US and Germany. Australian, US, and German advertisers say that deduplicated reach is the most important reason for greater convergence in the measurement phase.
#1
Australian, US, and German advertisers ranked more accurate audience measurement as the most important reason for greater convergence in the measurement phase.
1–2
3–5
6–8
9–10
Completely Siloed
Completely Integrated
Germany
France
UK
Australia
5%
16%
57%
22%
12%
20%
20%
48%
3%
21%
49%
27%
9%
11%
51%
29%
9%
20%
57%
14%
If my main objective with any campaign is maximising reach, convergence helps better plan to do so at the lowest possible cost, therefore increasing ROI.
AGENCY EXECUTIVE, UK
End of Campaign Measurement
The activation stage, which is an intrinsic benefit of DDL, is the most converged in the US
In-Flight Campaign Optimization
Campaign Activation
Budgeting & Campaign Planning
16%
57%
24%
22%
57%
16%
5%
29%
51%
15%
5%
17%
68%
13%
2%
Leading the Change
Building on Xandr’s leading forecasting capabilities, Yield Analytics’ converged inventory analysis unifies audiences and ad systems across linear addressable and OTT so sellers can maximize total yield and enable buyers to reach the audiences they care about at scale. Converged inventory analysis for TV distributors has a unified definition of audiences so buyers can achieve scaled, deduplicated, and accurate reach and frequency across both linear addressable and OTT.
Leading the Change
Building on a unique set of TV and digital buying capabilities, Xandr aims to unify audience buying for digital and TV. One early feature is linear as-run audience onboarding. With this feature DSP buyers will be able to leverage data from their linear TV reach campaigns to create exposure segments on Invest DSP and target
or exclude them for reach extension or retargeting campaigns in digital.
Completely Siloed
Completely Integrated
1–2
3–5
6–8
9–10
3%
OTT/CTV Advertising Objectives
81%
86%
US
Australia
UK
France
Germany
81%
77%
77%
Top of Funnel—e.g Brand Awareness, Product Launch
CONCLUSION
2 5
out of
Leading the Change
Building on Xandr’s leading forecasting capabilities, Yield Analytics’ converged inventory analysis unifies audiences and ad systems across linear addressable and OTT so sellers can maximize total yield and enable buyers to reach the audiences they care about at scale. Converged inventory analysis for TV distributors has a unified definition of audiences so buyers can achieve scaled, deduplicated, and accurate reach and frequency across both linear addressable and OTT.
Leading the Change
Building on Xandr’s leading forecasting capabilities, Yield Analytics’ converged inventory analysis unifies audiences and ad systems across linear addressable and OTT so sellers can maximize total yield and enable buyers to reach the audiences they care about at scale. Converged inventory analysis for TV distributors has a unified definition of audiences so buyers can achieve scaled, deduplicated, and accurate reach and frequency across both linear addressable and OTT.
If we need to make a change in the middle of the campaign it is more convenient to be able
to make the update once and for the change to
be reflected across multiple publishers
and placements.
Marketer, Director, US
The campaign reporting and analysis would be more accurate
and also help to identify and reduce ad waste.
Agency, Executive, us
5%
20%
48%
20%
5%
21%
49%
27%
5%
11%
51%
29%
5%
20%
57%
14%
5%
5%
2%
13%
68%
13%
17%
68%
2%
15%
29%
51%
5%
16%
22%
57%
5%
Roadmap
for Workflow Convergence
Back to top
1–2
3–5
6–8
9–10
Leading the Change
Building on a unique set of TV and digital buying capabilities, Xandr aims to unify audience buying for digital and TV. One early feature is linear as-run audience onboarding. With this feature DSP buyers will be able to leverage data from their linear TV reach campaigns to create exposure segments on Invest DSP and target or exclude them for reach extension or retargeting campaigns in digital.
Those who lean into the benefits of programmatic OTT, data-driven linear,
and the converging of media types will be at an advantage over other buyers slower to adopt and adapt. However, it’s necessary to tap the right partners
and relationships to drive success—those with technology and experience
in both TV and digital with a focus on the future of premium video advertising.
Advertising decision-makers across the globe are aware of many of the benefits of automation and video convergence, but their level of adoption varies.
Key Insights
01
Convergence
is Complex
Double Down on Automation
02
Data and Automation Offer Benefits in All Phases
03
Advertisers can maximize convergence at every stage of their workflow by adopting new technologies and with the help of knowledgeable partners.
Investing in programmatic OTT and using a data-driven linear platform offers benefits beyond direct methods, including unifying campaign activation and reach measurement, and can drive top-of-funnel campaign buying efficiencies.
Data and automation offer benefits in all phases but team organization and technology have slowed adoption. People and technology must move together, especially as video evolves. TV and digital buying processes and teams must adapt to realize the full value of convergence.
Conclusion
Click here to learn more about Xandr’s solutions
Click here to learn more about Xandr’s solutions
Investing in programmatic OTT and using a data-driven linear platform offers benefits beyond direct methods, including unifying campaign activation and reach measurement, and can
drive top-of-funnel campaign
buying efficiencies.
Convergence
is Complex
01
Data and automation offer benefits
in all phases but team organization
and technology have slowed adoption. People and technology must move together, especially as video evolves.
TV and digital buying processes and teams must adapt to realize the full value of convergence.
Convergence
is Complex
01
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