VAB Plans Campaign Showing Digital Firms Using TV to Grow
The Video Advertising Bureau is launching a multi-screen campaign that shows upstart digital-native companies turned to TV to grow their businesses.
The campaign uses the theme “Television. Be Known” and will run for at least 11 weeks on more than 70 networks and in nearly all TV networks via cable, satellite and telco distributors.
The first ad features the founders of Wayfair, Niraj Shah and Steve Conine, and Gwynnie Bee founder Christine Hunsicker, two online companies that have become big TV advertisers.
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“The Wayfair brand is only a little over six years old and we've been able to build it as a household brand very quickly. Without using television, I don't think we would be where we are today. I think it would still take us many more years to go,” said Shah.
In her ad, Hunsicker says that when Gwynnie Bee started running TV ads, “we saw fantastic growth out of the gate.”
The campaign is using video platforms including linear TV, video on demand, online, airport TV, mobile TV and TV Everywhere apps.
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“In the past two years, we’ve identified over 80 new TV advertisers who have turned to a heavy reliance on TV early in their company’s history,” said Sean Cunningham, VAB president and CEO. “First-party data collection, as well as performance measurement and analytics are primary competencies of these companies. These digital-native, data-driven brands spent over $2.5 billion on TV advertising in 2017 alone. TV is where outcomes-obsessed disruptors go when they need to get big.”
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A report, Direct Impact: How TV Drives Outcomes for Direct-Disruptor Brands, which looks at 50 digital companies including Peloton and Hello Fresh in addition to Wayfair and Gwynnie Bee, who have grown web traffic, online interactions, revenue and company valuation since advertising on TV.
“This campaign is the first time the TV industry has come together with one unified voice to show the dramatic impact TV advertising can have on the success of a business,” said David Kline, EVP, Charter Communications and president, Spectrum Reach. “Television has evolved and expanded to include more screens than ever before, along with unmatched viewership insights, targeting tools and data to help advertisers reach highly engaged audiences in a brand safe, premium content environment.”
The new campaign was created and produced by Viacom Velocity, Viacom’s in-house branded content studio.
“The campaign not only underscores that television is still the most powerful medium to build brand affinity and influence purchasing decisions through premium storytelling, but the range of ad placements also demonstrates the advancements of our collective capabilities to reach consumers whenever and wherever they consume content,” said Sean Moran, head of marketing & partner solutions at Viacom.
Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.