Tracking TV Ads is Only Part of a Commercial Audit
Most advertisers are familiar with commercial verification products that insert an Audio ID tag, otherwise known as a watermark, into an ad prior to delivery and broadcast on TV. The audio ‘signal’ is embedded within the commercial itself and is detected by a receiver or listening post when it airs. Watermarking can be used to confirm that the correct creative asset aired as planned.
Another form of commercial verification uses audio signatures, otherwise known as fingerprints, which compare a snippet of audio from the ad itself against what is broadcast.
Watermarks and fingerprints can be used to detect which ads are airing and how often they are watched. Companies like Nielsen and Comscore provide reports of what aired across the country paired with ratings data, enabling media buyers to evaluate campaign effectiveness. Media buyers can see if Gross Ratings Point (GRP) commitments have been achieved, determine whether buying guidelines have been met (including demographic targets), and ultimately modify the campaign to meet the objectives of the media buy. Essentially, did we reach the viewers we targeted for this Advertiser in this time slot per our planned media buy?
Broadcast airings with ratings reports are really just the first step in a broader process. Media buyers review reports to assess how each station airing impacted the overall media plan.
When an ad is broadcast incorrectly or doesn’t air due to a preemption (i.e., breaking news) or doesn’t return the expected audience (fewer people watched than expected), media buyers decide what type of follow-up is needed and contact their sales exec at the media outlet. A makegood is one way for a station or network to compensate an advertiser for these types of issues and can be a re-run of an ad that was canceled or already ran (sometimes called ‘bonus weight’) or free time to make up for an ad that was not seen by enough people (i.e. a new :30 or :60-second time slot). Media weight refers to the size of the audience reached by an ad campaign, usually expressed in the form of GRPs (Gross Rating Points) and reach of target audience.
Media outlets have a vested interest in ensuring ads air per the schedule and media buy. When a makegood airs, the station loses revenue that could have been generated from a different Advertiser paying for that same time slot. Stations and networks want to know as quickly as possible when an ad airs incorrectly so they can fix and air the commercial as planned while the campaign is still live.
ECN’s new Pinpoint℠ service combines the reliability of watermarking with a verification step that compares live airings to the actual campaign schedule (traffic instructions)… and takes the additional step of automatically notifying media outlets and agency buyers in real-time when discrepancies are uncovered. Learn more about Pinpoint.