TubeMogul Research Tracks Evolution Of The GRP

TubeMogul has conducted some interesting research on the changing nature of GRPs (gross rating points).  

The findings are rather surprising:

• Advertisers need to buy 37% more prime-time ads to get the same reach on TV as they did four years ago.
• Frequency has increased. The average prime-time viewer saw a given ad 13.9 times in 2016, compared to 12.9 times in 2013, the three-year period the research took into account.
• Prime-time TV CPMs are also on the rise, with broadcast up to $47 in May of this year, compared to $42 in May 2015.

TubeMogul’s analysis finds a loss of 7.3 million households across prime-time buys in four years. This might help explain why many marketers are turning to software to reduce oversaturation and reach viewers that TV buys missed. How are they doing this? By taking a data-driven approach to TV buying (programmatic TV) and building cross-screen plans that include digital, social, and other media in an effort to have more consistent frequency across audiences quintiles.

TubeMogul’s analysis was conducted in the last three months. The data from comScore TV Essentials Exact Commercial Ratings analyzes the period from 2013-2016.

“The data tells a clear story,” Taylor Schreiner, TubeMogul’s VP of research, told RTBlog via email. Schreiner said “TV buyers face a daunting challenge” in the years ahead. “Marketers have to run [many] more prime-time ad spots just to get the same audience reach on TV as four years ago. Simultaneously, as frequency rises and people see the same ads over and over, marketers risk oversaturation.”

This dynamic may motivate many advertisers to look for software-based solutions to build audience reach and manage frequency across screens. Schreiner said that by using software, marketers can “flatten” the reach curve without demanding more from agencies or buying more ads manually. The reach and frequency issue continues to be just as relevant as it ever has been–and with increasingly granular targeting, it’s only going to become more complex.

by Tobi Elkin, Staff Writer
Courtesy of mediapost