Facebook’s new ad-buying tools drive social higher up the food chain
Facebook’s latest announcement at Ad Week New York has already got a lot of people talking: its new Target Ratings Points (TRP) system will apparently help marketers plan campaigns across TV and Facebook with a total TRP in mind. Partnering with Nielsen it will use both the Digital Ad Ratings and Total Ad Ratings system to verify the TRP delivery for Facebook and television combined.
Jennifer Warren
If this works, Facebook will have made a step forward that other channels’ measurement systems have struggled to do over the years when trying to partner with TV – it will have created a genuinely consistent measurement system. It will also have highlighted the need for a much smarter and integrated approach to social content.
That said, what’s immediately evident is that social advertising is suddenly being spoken about in the same breath as television. That’s a huge step for campaign planning: most brands prioritise traditional channels first, followed by TV spinoffs, eg YouTube and then digital networks. Social spend has historically been considered only as complementary media – obviously this is dependent on brand objectives, but as a broad rule that’s how it works.
This investment demonstrates Facebook’s commitment to challenge and work alongside traditional media channels. However, it will also hopefully elevate social’s visibility in the planning process and help agencies to justify an increased investment in social media. This has been a real challenge in the past despite the power of social. TV is still the sexy one, even now.
However, although the terminology is similar – presumably to make TV buyers feel at ease with the new TV-Facebook planning combination – as ever, content is key in this equation. It isn’t a quick fix to increase targeted audience reach by piling TV ads onto Facebook video ads. There can’t be an assumption that any duplication of creative will resonate with target audiences.
Facebook advertising undoubtedly enhances the performance of TV advertising, but only when content has been made specifically for the audience, channel and device that consumers are viewing it on. A true working relationship with TV will need an investment in quality social content that provides value over and above the TV ad to the consumer. Relevant content comes in various guises: value, timeliness, cultural interest and the customer’s stage in the purchase lifecycle. These are the factors that will ultimately determine the success of increased awareness or likeability.
But nonetheless, these are positive signs for agencies keen to promote the value of social in the eyes of advertisers. The TRP Buying tool should produce some solid case studies demonstrating incremental audience reached, efficiency or effectiveness, which in turn should build upon the 42 campaigns on which Facebook has currently based these developments. It’s a shift in thinking that shows the power of social media and the continued move away from traditional consumption of advertising.
Overall, it means the quality of social content will now need to complement that of a TV ad, which will in turn require an increase in thinking and investment for social content. This could be good news for agencies, brands and consumers alike.
Jennifer Warren is client partner at content marketing agency Headstream