The Value of a Regional Approach to Streaming TV Media Buys

By Jason Swartz, VP, Advanced Advertising & New Business for National Sales, New York Interconnect (NYI)

In recent years, the TV landscape has expanded in every way: The way viewers consume content has expanded to all screens across all devices. The data we have on viewers has expanded to become more robust than ever before. And, of course, the provider landscape has expanded beyond anything imaginable just a decade ago.

It’s hard to believe that, once upon a time, there were just three networks. Cable entered the space, and that provider count ballooned significantly. Now, streaming platforms have taken the TV competitive landscape to an entirely new level.

These trends, of course, have not gone unnoticed by advertisers. These days, most successful brands have begun building streaming into their linear media buys and overall campaign strategies. But in reality, we’re still just barely scratching the surface of what’s possible when it comes to tapping the power of growing streaming audiences.

As ad spend to reach streaming audiences grows, one of the major trends we’re seeing emerge on the path to channel maturity is regionality. Regional buys, targeting streamers specifically, are quickly becoming the next logical step in a comprehensive media campaign.

I had the pleasure of discussing the evolution of TV advertising at Advertising Week New York last month during the panel “Advertising to Streamers: Why Regional Buys are on the Rise.” The panel’s discussion focused not only on the benefits of regional buys, but also the higher-level shifts being seen within advertisers’ media buys, as well as the latest trends in multiscreen buying, audience targeting and cross-platform measurement.

“If you want to maximize your reach, you need to add streaming into the mix nowadays,” said Brad Stockton, SVP, US National Video Innovation at Dentsu International. “All demographics, all walks of life are watching streaming content. You need to have streaming content as a part of your omnichannel strategy.”

Stockton further noted that taking a regional approach to streaming buys can help advertisers get far more strategic in their planning and optimizations.

Carolyn Sheflin, VP, Advanced Advertising, at Spectrum Reach, concurred. “’Streaming is TV,” she said. “The definition of TV is changing to include new platforms now… Our advertisers and all of our clients are just trying to figure out how to get the right message in front of the right person, and that includes streaming platforms as well as linear television.”

Sheflin noted that Spectrum Reach research has found that added streaming to linear buys has been found to increase overall reach by 28 percent for its clients, both on a national and local basis.

This echoes what we’ve seen at New York Interconnect as well. Brands initially turned to a national buy to secure the streaming audience and—as the streaming segment continues to expand—have now discovered the benefits of market-to-market execution, including data, targeting, reporting and exclusivity.

I’d like to again thank the leaders who joined me on stage at Advertising Week: Carolyn Sheflin, VP, Advanced Advertising, at Spectrum Reach and Brad Stockton, SVP, US National Video Innovation at Dentsu International. Thanks for a great conversation! If you’d like to view the entire panel session, check it out here.