A-Z of Addressable TV: I is for inventory

In the “A-Z of Addressable TV” series, we introduce some of the key terminology, technical aspects, and target audiences involved in addressable TV and explain how they enable advertisers to discover and reach new audiences. From ‘Addressable’ to ‘Gen Z,’ we’ve got you covered.

I is for Inventory

What is advertising inventory?

Advertising inventory is the space a publisher or broadcaster has available to run adverts on their platform or network. This inventory is sold to brands so that they can advertise their product or service.

How has TV advertising inventory evolved?

Traditionally, in linear TV, inventory is sold and priced based on things like the time of day the creative runs and the programming it will run before, during, or after. For instance, at the extreme end of the scale, NBC sold 30-second ad spots for the 2022 Super Bowl for $6.5 million because an advertiser’s goal is to achieve maximum share of the audience during the most popular programming.

As ways of watching TV have evolved, advertising inventory has increased. The rise in popularity of BVOD, CTV, OTT and streaming on game consoles means there is now more advertising inventory available to brands than ever before – and this also means more addressable advertising inventory in the TV space as it is embraced by both established broadcasters and the streaming services who are considering introducing advertising to their platforms.

However, the ecosystem is also becoming a lot more fragmented. More advertising inventory sources can also mean more complications for brands wishing to purchase ad spots across different platforms. Maneuvering within this new world requires an understanding of what solutions can streamline the process best for different brands and advertisers. Finecast makes that learning – and implementation process – simple.

What can Finecast’s addressable TV solution do to optimise advertising inventory?

Finecast’s addressable TV solution provides advertisers with a single point of access to 100% addressable broadcaster quality inventory, regardless of what device the audience are using to connect.

For the advertiser this means they are tapping into a single process to purchase advertising inventory, for the opportunity to run campaigns with a consistent creative, audience and measurement across different platforms.

Finecast achieves this through key strategic partnerships with a range of content and distribution partners including traditional broadcasters like ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, Sky, and streaming platforms such as Rakuten, Roku, Pluto, and YuppTV.

A rigorous screening process of supply partners ensures that Finecast offers the highest quality solutions for brands.

What are the benefits of addressable TV advertising inventory?

When advertising inventory is addressable – meaning it can utilise household-level targeting to reach specific audiences – it can help brands of all sizes appear on the biggest screen in the home.

Purchasing addressable TV advertising inventory offers brands the opportunity to advertise on, and be associated with, broadcasters, platforms, and content that may have previously been unattainable in the traditional inventory buying landscape due to budget and access constraints. Brands who have never previously advertised on TV can now do so by using precision data to reach a certain audience, as well as being more flexible and experimental with their campaign approach. Bigger brands will also use addressable for such purposes, but also to realise significant incremental reach and efficiency savings.

For the media providers, addressable TV makes their inventory more valuable. It allows brands to target specific demographics who are likely to engage with what they see, therefore, increase attention, brand awareness and sales. This is an appealing proposition. By reducing wastage and making it possible to advertise at different scales and to specific audiences, it opens up advertising inventory to a wider range of brands.

Let’s look at an example of a brand using Finecast’s advertising inventory…

By deploying Finecast’s addressable TV solution, Sweaty Betty, the British retailer specialising in women’s activewear, were able to access addressable TV advertising inventory to advertise on television for the first time.

Sweaty Betty’s product-led creative was delivered across the most premium broadcaster VOD inventory on the big TV screen using demographic data segments provided by YouGov for qualifying target audience, resulting in increased brand awareness, uplift, and a 10% increase in likelihood to visit the brand website within a month of viewing the advert.

For more information on how addressable TV can work for you, get in touch via the form below. And catch up on the full A-Z series to date here.