As we hurtle towards 2025, TV is rapidly evolving into a powerful, data-driven platform. eMarketer estimates that addressable TV advertising will reach $6 billion next year in the United States alone.
Across the pond, with Sky Media's recent appointment of Matt Hill as its new Director of Insight and Measurement, the landscape in the UK also looks set to be primed for TV to emerge as a primary digital platform.
This is because data-driven TV holds the potential to revolutionise how brands reach consumers by offering precise targeting and personalisation once thought only possible with traditional digital media.
The Rise of Precision for Brands
For brands, data-driven TV offers highly targeted advertising, allowing for precise audience segmentation based on demographics, viewing habits, and even real-time behaviour.
Advertisers can deliver hyper-personalised ads to specific households, ensuring that their messages reach the right audience at the right time.
This precision targeting minimises wasted ad spend and increases ROI.
Brands like Audi have already begun leveraging data-driven TV for their campaigns. It recently tailored its advertisements to viewers based on their proximity to local dealerships.
This not only increased foot traffic but also made the ads more relevant to each recipient.
Moreover, AI-driven tools like Sky Media’s CFlight provide advertisers with real-time insights into viewer engagement.
This means brands can adjust their campaigns on the fly, optimising ad placements, creative elements, and targeting strategies based on how audiences are responding.
This shift allows advertisers to make data-driven decisions that enhance campaign effectiveness across both linear and digital TV platforms.
From Passive to Personal
From a viewer’s perspective, data-driven TV enhances the overall viewing experience by making content more relevant and engaging.
Hyper-personalised ads ensure that viewers see advertisements aligned with their interests, preferences, and even viewing contexts, creating a seamless experience that feels less intrusive.
Instead of generic ads that might not resonate, viewers are exposed to content that is tailored to their lifestyle and needs, increasing the likelihood of engagement and interaction.
Streaming platforms like Netflix have been doing this for years and have set the standard for personalised content recommendations; now traditional TV is following suit.
With data-driven TV, ads and content suggestions can be curated based on viewer preferences, making TV watching more enjoyable and efficient.
For example, P&G’s recent campaign for Tide, which utilised viewer behaviour data to dynamically adjust the content of the ads in real time.
Households that had recently purchased Tide were delivered ads that highlighted new uses or complementary products, while those less familiar with the brand saw educational content about Tide’s cleaning power.
AI: The Engine Behind Data-Driven TV
Unsurprisingly, AI is set to play a starring role future of data-driven TV.
Beyond hyper-personalisation, AI will help brands predict future viewing trends through predictive analytics, allowing for smarter media planning.
It will also enable real-time campaign optimisation, where ads can be tweaked based on live viewer data, improving the overall effectiveness of campaigns.
AI tools such as attention metrics (like Sky Media’s ADsorption Index) will give advertisers a clearer picture of how much attention their ads are capturing, enabling them to optimise for engagement rather than just impressions.
Looking ahead, AI’s role in content creation will likely expand further. AI could be used to create personalised content recommendations, automate ad placement, and even generate dynamic ad creatives based on viewer preferences.
This level of automation will allow brands to run more efficient and effective campaigns without sacrificing quality or relevance.
Navigating the Challenges
However – and it’s a BIG one, while data-driven TV offers immense potential, it also comes with significant challenges, particularly around privacy.
As more personal data is integrated into TV advertising, platforms and advertisers must ensure they handle this data responsibly.
Compliance with regulations such as GDPR (and/or whatever the latest iteration of the DPDI becomes) in the UK is critical, and advertisers need to navigate this landscape carefully, ensuring transparency in how data is collected, used, and stored.
The rise of data and AI ethics will be crucial in maintaining consumer trust. Brands that can demonstrate responsible data practices and a commitment to privacy will have a competitive advantage, as consumers increasingly prioritise transparency in how their personal information is used.
Doubtless this adds credence to the argument that personal preference centres will be central to data strategy moving forwards.
Omnichannel finally realised!
As personalisation increases so too will interactivity. This combined with faster connectivity through 5G and advancements in IoT viewers will be able to engage directly with ads, placing orders, requesting more information, or even customising products in real time.
This two-way dialogue is poised to change TV into a highly engaging, immersive experience, where viewers are active participants rather than passive consumers.
What’s more, if advertisers use data-driven capabilities to their fullest extent, it could create synergies across other media platforms, such as social media and digital streaming services.
This integrated, programmatic approach would allow advertisers to run more cohesive, cross-platform campaigns that heightens both reach and effectiveness.
Imagine a campaign where a personalised ad viewed on TV is seamlessly followed by a social media ad reinforcing the same message, or a digital streaming ad offering a continuation of the experience—creating a truly joined-up and immersive brand interaction across multiple touchpoints.
The true meaning of omnichannel actually realised!
Embrace the Future
The future of TV is data-driven, and the benefits for brands and viewers alike are clear.
Matt Hill’s appointment signals a strong commitment to advancing this space.
For savvy brands now is the time to test PoCs to create campaigns that are smarter, more personalised, more cost efficient and more effective than ever before.
Exciting times!