Where do TV ads come from? Contrary to popular belief, media buying isn’t something that ad execs do over martini lunches on Madison Ave. Let’s bust that Mad Men myth and take a closer look at the modern world of media buying.
媒体购买的竞争环境
It’s simple enough on paper: a network, TV station, streaming platform or other TV distributor has advertising inventory for sale alongside its programming; a brand (or an agency on its behalf) wants to use some of that inventory to reach customers and prospects; if the seller’s audience is a good fit for the buyer’s intended target—and the price is right—then the deal goes through and everyone’s happy.
但实际上，媒体购买很快就会变得非常复杂。媒体购买者到底在购买什么？有多少库存？什么是好的费率？所有广告类型的表现都一样吗？谁来定义目标受众？是否有任何保证？
在回答这些问题之前，媒体购买之旅的第一步是了解什么是电视。这不是一个虚伪的问题。近年来，电视的格局发生了很大变化。从广播到有线电视、卫星、FAST TV 和 AVOD，如今观众有几十种选择，可以根据自己的喜好观看电视。这对观众来说是件好事，也为媒体买家提供了更多选择。但每一个新平台都有自己的特殊性，给媒体购买等式又增加了一层复杂性。
前期和分散
The first TV programs were sponsored by single advertisers. Campbell’s Soup sponsored Lassie; Johnson & Johnson: The Adventures of Robin Hood; Beech-Nut Gum: The Dick Clark Show; Philip Morris: I Love Lucy. It wasn’t long before the commercial pod emerged, greatly expanding the ad inventory on TV and setting the stage for media buying as we know it today.
在美国，电视媒体买家在 Upfronts（每年春季举行的为期一周的盛会，电视网和其他发行商在会上介绍即将播出的节目）和零散（或残余）市场上购买广告。在新节目播出前 6 到 12 个月的 Upfronts 上进行交易，可以让卖方在新一季电视节目播出之前提前获得资金，而买方则可以以合理的价格锁定令人垂涎的时段上的保证位置。
如今，在黄金时段广播和有线电视的广告预展上，约有 200 亿美元的广告资金易手，其他时段和 CTV 的广告资金也大致相同。全年还有 200 亿至 300 亿美元流向分散市场，使买家可以灵活地在更接近播出时间的时候竞标广告位置。
But what does ‘air time’ mean in a world where broadcast and cable represent just half of total TV viewing, as we noted in our recent report The Next Frontier: Your guide to the 2024-25 upfronts/newfronts planning season? The convergence of linear and streaming is quickly redefining media buying.
观众在哪里？
尼尔森全球营销主管艾莉森-根斯海姆（Alison Gensheimer）指出："电视不是无处不在，而是无处不在。定义的改变取决于你与谁交谈，我开始怀疑这是否重要。对于广告商来说，重要的问题是观众在哪里，现在是这样，将来也是这样"。
Media buying negotiations have long been tied to specific network, daypart, day-of-the-week combinations because that was the only way to reach audiences loyal to specific programs. Everyone in the mid-90s wanted to buy primetime on Thursdays nights on NBC because that was when 朋友 和 Seinfeld would air, and those shows attracted the most young adults.
But if the ultimate objective is to reach a particular audience—whether it’s young adults, foodies, outdoor enthusiasts or new parents—a TV lineup isn’t a requirement anymore. Thanks to CTV and other data and infrastructure breakthroughs like measurement-grade identity graphs, there are ways today to reach advanced audiences on TV that don’t involve using a niche program as a surrogate.
电视媒体购买开始变得与数字平台媒体购买非常相似，不是吗？
尼尔森的测量工作是如何发展的？
在尼尔森，我们报告 C3（直播 + 3 天）和 C7（直播 + 7 天）平均商业分钟数已经超过 15 年，这些基于面板的指标已经并将继续为媒体买家和卖家提供非常稳健的货币。年复一年地使用一致的指标具有巨大的价值，但行业的分散程度已经达到了临界点。
We’re now transitioning to a big data + panel measurement methodology where the scale of big data is brought to bear to measure a wider variety of programs and get a more comprehensive view of audience behavior, and where panel data is used for validation and calibration. We’re also deploying technology capable of reporting commercials at the subminute level, making it possible for advertisers to understand the performance of a much wider selection of ad formats.
这对电视媒体购买意味着什么？
At the moment, TV media buying is a complicated mix of tradition and modernity. Media buyers are being asked to combine the scale of linear TV with the addressability of CTV to meet brand and performance objectives. It’s no small ask, especially when media budgets are under pressure. But new measurement solutions on the horizon will bring more structure, consistency and granular insights to the negotiating table—and unlock more opportunities for both buyers and sellers.
Nielsen’s Need to Know reviews the fundamentals of audience measurement and demystifies the media industry’s hottest topics. Read every article here.
