3 Things We Learned at Adweek Convergent TV Summit

This year’s Adweek Convergent TV Summit East brought together some of the industry’s leading experts in media, brand marketing, data, and adtech to discuss the evolving TV marketplace. Each session provided a critical lens on how advertisers and publishers are approaching the convergence of linear and Connected TV (CTV), from fluidity to audience data to content. Many of the sessions aligned closely with Cadent’s point of view with respect to the needs of the buy and supply side in the shifting landscape. In case you missed it, we collected three key takeaways from the Convergent TV Summit, shared below:  

1. Cross-Screen TV is the New Normal 

The complexity of the TV ecosystem is growing as audiences continue to fragment across screens, devices, and platforms. At the same time, advertisers are faced with the challenge of reaching these increasingly fragmented audiences. So, what does this mean for TV advertising?  

“The future is a cross-screen world. No advertiser buys just one platform,” said Nick Troiano, CEO of Cadent. 

This “new normal” was emphasized by Jon Steinlauf, Chief U.S. Advertising Sales Officer for the recently merged Warner Bros. Discovery. “There are 42 million homes in America that don’t subscribe to cable, that’s really the frontier,” he said. “Really what the advertisers are asking for is get those 42 million homes, extend my reach, because those homes may not watch a ton of set-top box television.” 

As a result, fluidity is playing a critical role in the cross-screen transition. Advertisers can no longer rely on a single channel to reach a complete audience, nor can they use linear-only or CTV-only platforms to build a media plan. Campaigns that take a “fluid” approach require deep insight into both linear and CTV media. 

Cadent’s Jes Santoro, SVP, Advanced TV & Video shared, “We have to look at things collectively, not ‘versus’ right now. …almost 40% of the viewing of TV content is not in that packaged, linear TV model.” 

To achieve the right balance between reach and precision, advertisers will need to find platforms that bridge the gap across linear and CTV buying.  

2. Automation and Audience Data Will be Key to Improving Results 

Today’s advertisers are faced with a myriad of choices for every campaign – how much do I spend on QAM-delivered media compared to IP? How much reach over targeted? How much do I invest during the upfront as opposed to scatter? The only way you can efficiently support that many choices is through automation.  

Nick Troiano said he believes, “The TV world has to focus on automation. There’s a lot of separation between platforms, data vendors, and measurement reporters. I think the next 12 to 18 months will be about automation and it will be driven by the need to bring measurement and performance together.”  

As we enter the upfront season, publishers and partners that can deliver better automation and audience solutions are poised to come out on top.  

3. Multiple Measurement Currencies are Here to Stay  

At this year’s Convergent TV Summit, the topic of measurement was front and center. In fact, Diana Boyles, Vice President of Marketing at Angi may have said it best: “Cross-screen measurement is no longer a ‘nice to have’ – it’s a necessity.”  

Accordingly, multiple currencies will continue to exist for the foreseeable future – not because the industry has not yet evolved to a single standard, but because marketers do not have a single need.  

“Value is in the eye of the beholder. Value means different things to different marketers,” said Dani Benowitz, President, U.S. of MAGNA.  

To best serve advertisers, platforms will need to enable multiple measurement currencies for TV reporting.   

Interested in learning more about Cadent’s cross-screen TV advertising capabilities?