No. Of course not…
However, there has been a significant development in the industry. ITV, Sky and Channel 4 have joined forces to launch Universal Ads, a self-service platform that allows SMEs to plan, buy and measure streaming TV advertising through a single interface. The aim is simple: make buying TV advertising as easy as buying ads on Meta or Google.
Sounds pretty good right? However, whilst on one hand advertisers will find it easier than ever to access premium content, delivered to an audience in a safe and accountable environment, on the other hand there is a lack of in-depth platform knowledge.
Look, we won’t pretend TV advertising is akin to rocket science. You don’t need a PHD to plan and buy media. However, what you do need is insight, experience and creativity if you want a campaign with real impact. What Universal Ads does is simplify the admin. In itself it won’t get you a great campaign that delivers on all your KPIs.
What good is a TV planning & buying agency anyway?
Quite simply, there is a world of difference between “easy” and “effective”. A local gym owner might be able to get a TV advertising campaign in 10 minutes but that doesn’t mean they will get a good one. A poorly targeted, creatively weak campaign will be just as much of a waste of money as it ever was.
When you trust an agency to plan and buy your TV advertising, you don’t just take something off your “to do” list, you access specialist knowledge and skills. You get strategy that’s grounded in worked experience, deep audience understanding, a keen instinct about what makes creative effective, a plethora of response analysis tools AND the know-how to interpret the results. We employ teams of people to do all this. Full time. And this shows in the results our clients achieve.
How does this shape the future of TV advertising for SMEs
We love TV advertising. Everyday we see for ourselves how it can transform a business. Anything that makes it more accessible to more advertisers will always get our vote. However, we’d urge brands to proceed with caution. TV advertising planning and buying is so much more than admin. It’s not something that sits in the same category as ordering office supplies and it shouldn’t be treated as such. A campaign without the backing of experience will almost certainly fall short. Too many brands opting for a “DIY” approach that ultimately doesn’t work, benefits nobody.
Our Head of TV, Eva Angel says:
“I think programmatic platforms save time but dehumanise the process, and that’s a real concern. There are so many benefits to a client working with an agency. It’s very new and shiny but the proof will be in the pudding!“
We’re fortunate, that as an agency, our clients respect our skills and expertise which allows us to deliver campaigns that genuinely make a difference. If you’re interested in hearing how TV could change your fortunes, get in touch. It might take longer than 10 minutes to get the campaign that’s right for your business but we promise the effort is worth it. And we’re much nicer to deal with than an anonymous software interface.
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