The Power of Combining Pre-Roll Video with TV Advertising

As digital marketing continues to evolve, there always seems to be a certain level of friction between relatively newer forms of advertising and traditional mainstays. For example, one of the debates that regularly makes its rounds among marketers is whether online pre-roll video advertising is better than regular TV advertising.

As the line between digital and traditional marketing continues to blur, marketers are realizing that you can actually take advantage of the ever-increasing overlap that exists between these two highly popular advertising methods by combining them. Below are some key points regarding how pairing pre-roll video with TV advertising can create a powerful “one-two punch” for your marketing efforts.

Media Planning for the Era of “TV 2.0”

According to a joint study published by YuMe and Nielsen, companies can achieve highly effective results by utilizing a “TV 2.0 Media Planning” strategy in which online pre-roll video media buys are combined with an existing TV advertising campaign. The study pointed out a recent campaign deployed by a consumer packaged goods company in which a $500K online pre-roll video ad initiative was introduced to enhance their existing TV placements.

The impact was immediately seen by way of increased reach, improved frequency, enhanced recall, and lower CPMs. Using this type of integrated media mix in your campaigns can deliver a significant impact and ROI that exceeds the results you would get if you were using only one of the two channels by themselves.

A Multi-Pronged Approach for Multi-Screen Users

Today’s consumer often watches multiple screens throughout their day (e.g., smartphone, smart TV, laptop, etc.), and they will often keep tabs on more than one screen at a time. As consumers continue to toggle back and forth between different types of media devices, it makes it difficult for advertisers to maximize reach on any one particular ad delivery platform.

This latest phase in the evolution of consumer behavior has prompted advertisers to take a second look at their approach, to where less emphasis is placed on platform-specific strategies in favor of focusing on reaching the right kind of audience overall. By combining a robust online pre-roll video flight in lockstep with an active TV campaign, advertisers are better able to reach consumers right where they are, whether that’s in front of a TV screen or on their smartphone.

Key Insights to Help You with TV and Online Pre-Roll Video Integration

Microsoft, in conjunction with several of its advertising partners, recently commissioned Nielsen to engage in a study to show how integrating TV and online pre-roll video advertising can boost reach, frequency, and Gross Rating Points. Here are some key insights derived from that study, courtesy of David Porter, global video strategy lead for Microsoft:

• Use your TV reach and demographics size first to determine which type of online targeting methodology to use.
• Shift your media share where needed by identifying poorly performing TV placements and redirecting that media spend to online video instead.
• Mirror or sequence your online video and TV schedules in order to duplicate reach; this tactic has generally displayed faster growth than an unduplicated reach strategy.
• Test your creatives on your online pre-roll video ads first before bringing them over to TV.
• In terms of brand exposure, you can achieve an exponential impact by providing cross-screen exposure for your media placements. Without a doubt, multiple screens–especially when online video and TV frequencies are aligned–are always better than one.

Your advertising planning doesn’t need to get caught in the crossfire of a platform war. Keep the above ideas in mind to help you develop an integrated media strategy that makes the most of both TV and online pre-roll video advertising.