Tag: contentmarketing

With more content at their fingertips and more time to consume it, today’s audiences are everywhere, moving seamlessly between all screens. This fragmentation has made reaching consumers with the right ad at the right time even more challenging. It has also heightened the importance of comprehensive, comparable cross-platform audience measurement that enables media buyers and sellers to understand the performance of campaigns across platforms. 

Over the past year, we’ve seen how consumers have shifted their media habits and embraced a more digital-first mentality. In fact, Nielsen data shows that on average, U.S. adults are spending more than 5 hours per day with video (69% linear and 31% digital), with digital consumption increasing by 16% from last year. This shift in consumption has amplified the need for continuous digital ad data that measures all ad impressions.

Today, most digital audience measurement requires individual campaign enablement. But what if this measurement were continuous, similar to how linear TV is measured today? Continuous, “always on,” digital measurement means visibility into the performance of all ad impressions and a simplified campaign enablement process, which makes it quicker and easier to launch campaigns. The nature of this type of measurement means even more impression data and a broader view of performance metrics. This allows advertisers to make more informed decisions about where to spend their ad dollars and enables publishers to more easily prove the value of their platform. 

At Nielsen, we’re enhancing our capabilities within Digital Ad Ratings (DAR) by facilitating  continuous measurement for participating publishers to account for all digital ad impressions on their platform. For both marketers and publishers, “Always On” DAR equates to more comprehensive data, trust and transparency, and flexibility. Ultimately, “always on” enables the continuous measurement of digital ads in a manner comparable to TV. For an industry that is going through transformational changes, “always on” digital measurement can bring new benefits, including: 

• Holistic, data-driven insights: With more campaign data available, advertisers have a  better understanding of how their brand messages are reaching consumers, allowing them to make more informed decisions about where and how to allocate spend to best reach their target audiences. They can also better analyze performance metrics across all campaigns to drive ad strategy by product category or specific brand. For example, equipped with data from “always on” measurement, an auto maker placing ads intended to reach males 25-54 years old can decide how to allocate ad dollars more effectively based on a plethora of publisher performance data from prior campaigns.
• Ad sales credibility: With continuous measurement, publishers have a strong understanding of the unique audiences their properties reach and are able to confidently enter ad sales negotiations knowing they can command the true value of their inventory. With more data on hand, publishers can negotiate with confidence on their ability to reach an advertiser’s target audience, guarantee delivery of ad impressions and validate the performance of their platform.
• Ease of campaign enablement: Since the measurement is always on, it’s automatic by nature, meaning a more simple campaign and placement set up process. For advertisers and publishers that enable continuous measurement, it will be easier and faster to launch campaigns, streamlining resources and making the workflow more efficient. 

Continuous digital measurement is a significant step towards true, comparable cross-media measurement across digital, connected TV (CTV), addressable and linear TV. With the introduction of “always on” measurement in DAR, Nielsen is taking a major stride forward and advancing its work with the industry to make cross-media currency a reality. “Always On” DAR will strengthen Nielsen Total Ad Ratings, and ultimately Nielsen ONE, our cross-media measurement solution. Launching in 2022, Nielsen ONE will produce a single, deduplicated number and place TV and digital on an even playing field, underpinning the advertising ecosystem long into the future. 

This article was originally published on Next TV.

Earlier this month, Major League Baseball (MLB) announced it would move its 2021 All-Star Game out of Atlanta in protest of Georgia’s new restrictive voting laws. And MLB wasn’t the only organization to react to the new legislation. Atlanta-based brands Coca-Cola and Delta—both heavy sports sponsors—also came out in opposition. 

The positions these brands are taking are reflective of a broader trend we’re seeing across the sports industry, particularly when it comes to sports sponsorship. Organizations are no longer choosing to sit on the sidelines. Instead, rights holders, brands and athletes are increasingly speaking up and taking a stand on social and political issues. When we look at the top 20 global sponsorship brands by spend in 2019, the vast majority made an active shift in their sponsorship and advertising messaging during the previous five years.

Campaigns and movements, as well as acts of solidarity and protests, are being accelerated and fueled by social media. And the most recent data from Nielsen Sports Social Listening around the MLB All-Star Game decision highlights the impact social media can have for rights holders and brands when they choose to engage in social and political issues. 

In early April, engagement levels and social reactions spiked for both “MLB” and “All-Star Game,” even when compared to major events “on the field.” MLB mentions went up 626% when the game was moved on April 2, 2021, compared with mentions on Opening Day (April 1). Typically, Opening Day provides a big engagement boost, but the size of the social conversation around this year’s All-Star Game was significantly higher than this traditionally popular “on-field” event.

When it comes to sports, it’s not just rights holders that are being included in these digital conversations. Brands benefit from sponsorships, and conversations around rights holders and athletes can be powerful opportunities to engage audiences. In the recent MLB and All-Star Game social media conversations, share of voice for Coke and Delta both went up significantly after MLB’s April 2nd decision. Delta mentions rose from 0.3% to 2%, and Coke mentions grew from 0.2% to 1%. 

Ultimately, fans are driving these conversations, and they’re increasingly expecting and asking brands to have a point of view. Nielsen Fan Insights shows that sports fans are 13% more interested in brands that help fight racial inequality compared to the general population, and 11% more likely to support brands that engage the local community to fight racial inequality. With public expectations growing for rights holders and brands to have an opinion, social causes need to be part of an organization’s overall business strategy. 

Our data indicates that MLB fans are no exceptions and, in fact, are more interested in certain issues than sports fans as a whole. According to Nielsen Fan Insights, 66% of MLB fans are passionate about combating racism and 63% are passionate about increasing inclusion and diversity—5% and 9% more likely than overall sports fans, respectively.

With the recent All-Star Game decision, MLB demonstrated how the move fit into their broader strategy around social causes. In a statement announcing the decision, Commissioner of Baseball Robert D. Manfred, Jr. noted that moving the game was “the best way to demonstrate our values as a sport.” The statement from Delta’s CEO hit on similar notes, highlighting that the new legislation didn’t align to the company’s values. By incorporating social causes into business strategies, brands can use sponsorship as a communication vehicle to align with causes. 

But are these partnerships worth it for brands? 

Aligning with social causes can impact fandom and be polarizing at times. With the All-Star Game move, influential leaders and organizations, including Barack Obama, LeBron James and The Players Alliance, commended MLB’s decision. But Republican leaders have spoken out against the decision and even introduced new antitrust legislation targeted at MLB. 

Political and social causes can impact fandom, brand reputation and revenue. But our research indicates that the opportunities could outweigh the negatives. A Nielsen Sports analysis anticipates an 11% revenue growth over the next three to five years for rights holders with a sustainability agenda. As a result, brands are increasingly seeking rights holders that can provide them with a platform to promote their own values, such as sustainability. 

Additionally, engagement around political/social causes can create a spike in conversation among a different demographic than the typical fan base, creating opportunities for brands and rights holders to grow their audiences. In fact, this was the case with the All-Star Game. Female fans aged 35-54 typically represent a 48% share of voice for MLB conversations, but those same fans accounted for 60% when the topic was the All-Star Game. 

Political and social issues will continue to be lightning rods for sports over the coming months and years, as consumers engage with this content at extremely high levels. As a result, defining social and political strategies is essential for rights holders, sponsors and athletes. Sponsorship isn’t only about logo placement anymore, it also includes utilizing partnerships to activate around causes that impact local communities. 

For additional insights, download Nielsen Sports’ The Changing Value of Sponsorship report.