Nielsen found that cross-platform campaigns with ads served across both TV and digital devices reached 59% of audiences between the ages of 18-34. (Getty/FS-Stock)
by Ben Munson
Source: fiercevideo.com, March 2019

Broadcasters and programmers are trying to ward off digital giants like Google and Facebook by offering targeted advertising. But TV advertising is still delivering the most impressions, by a long shot.

According to new Nielsen figures, the firm’s first public data via its Total Ad Ratings measurement solution, TV is still king in cross-platform ad campaigns. The firm said that the average number of impressions from TV is nearly eight times greater than impressions from digital campaigns that focused on reaching the 18-49 demographic.

But that’s not to say that TV and digital don’t both serve a purpose. Nielsen found that digital ads delivered an incremental 16% to the total reach of campaigns aimed at people between the ages of 18-49.

The company also found that connected TV devices are also becoming bigger contributors to ad campaigns. In a separate study, the firm saw that connected TV brought an incremental reach of 3% on top of linear TV and digital ads among audiences 18-49.

Nielsen also uncovered some data points about the efficiency of cross-platform campaigns. The company found that cross-platform campaigns with ads served across both TV and digital devices reached 59% of audiences between the ages of 18-34. Within that demographic, 12% of this audience was reached solely by the digital components of the campaign. Within the 35-49 demographic, 5% of the audience was exposed to only the digital aspect of the campaigns.

Nielsen is looking to provide media buyers and sellers with better measurement and monetization of campaigns across TV and digital through its Total Ad Ratings platform. In January, Nielsen said that it will for the first time include mobile audiences including YouTube within its Total Ad Ratings reporting. The company is also expanding its coverage to include OTT audiences from Digital Ad Ratings. The idea is to allow Total Ad Ratings to compare the performance of ads delivered through TV and digital using comparable metrics based on real people and real data.