Maximize TV advertising effectiveness with AI technology!

In today's world, where DX (Digital Transformation) is advancing across various industries, the advertising industry is also undergoing transformation aimed at efficiency and optimal operation. Dentsu Inc.'s Radio and Television Division is developing solutions and menus utilizing the latest technology to provide advertisers with better advertising services. Furthermore, it is evolving explosive campaigns using content unique to radio and television, which cannot be achieved through digital alone. This time, we will tell you about "RICH FLOW (Operational Advertising)".

*This article is based on content from a webinar conducted by Dentsu Inc. Radio & Television Division from November 10 to 12, 2021.

Can TV advertising materials and slots be flexibly reconfigured?

Various advertisements air on television. Advertisers purchase advertising slots from broadcasters through advertising agencies. Purchases involve selecting the period, scale, and broadcasters approximately two months before airing. Once the transaction is finalized, changes are generally not permitted. Television has strict rules, including content review, which contributes to the reliability of TV advertising.

Digital advertising, on the other hand, offers greater flexibility than television advertising for placing ads and swapping creative assets. Advertisers increasingly want the same flexibility for TV ads as they have with digital ads—the ability to adjust broadcast slots and creative assets based on real-world trends and viewer reactions. Simultaneously, there is a growing demand for measuring the effectiveness of TV advertising.

Of course, when purchasing TV advertising slots, we have always considered which ad creative to run where for maximum effectiveness, based on various data like ratings and program viewership, as well as years of experience. However, as DX advances and AI technology progresses, developing new solutions for purchasing TV advertising slots is necessary to maximize the effectiveness of TV advertising.

RICH FLOW (Programmatic Advertising): Two Functions for Reorganizing Ad Slots

To meet advertisers' needs for television advertising, Dentsu Inc. developed "RICH FLOW (Operational Advertising)." This solution has two key functions.

① Ability to reallocate advertising slots across multiple brands
When a single company airs ads for multiple brands on TV, it instantly calculates the optimal allocation of ad materials based on each brand's target audience. Furthermore, after the on-air start, it can rearrange slots based on viewership ratings and other metrics.

② Ability to rearrange broadcast slots among multiple advertisers
For example, if Company A wants to run an ice cream commercial on hot days and Company B aims to reach the F1 demographic (women aged 20-34), the system analyzes the optimal ad slots for both companies using AI, based on mutual agreement among stakeholders, and dynamically reassigns the slots.

 

Utilizing advanced AI technology to achieve optimal slot rearrangement

Optimally rearranging ad slots requires diverse data and the technology to optimize it. Dentsu Inc. has focused on AI technology since 2015, conducting joint research with Data Artist Inc., a technology company with strengths in data and AI utilization.

In 2017, we successfully developed the "SHAREST" system. This system predicts pre-broadcast TV ratings by building a deep learning model based on historical ratings data, program genres, cast information, and online content viewing trends. We constructed a program within a high-speed data analysis platform to calculate predicted ratings, enabling stable rating forecasts.

"RICH FLOW (Operational Advertising)" incorporates this "SHAREST" system. Beyond ratings, it also utilizes various other data such as weather forecasts and societal trends. In operations, we strive to optimally allocate advertising materials by leveraging diverse data and the latest AI technology, combined with the experience and expertise of our specialists.

A certain food manufacturer utilized "RICH FLOW (Programmatic Advertising)" for its ice cream TV commercials. By reducing ad volume on days when demand was expected to be low, considering factors like weather, and increasing volume on days with high anticipated demand, it successfully boosted product sales.

Three DX Goals for "RICH FLOW (Operational Advertising)"

To encourage widespread adoption of "RICH FLOW (Operational Advertising)" by advertisers, Dentsu Inc. aims to achieve three key DX objectives for TV advertising through this solution.

① Evaluation DX
Traditionally, TV advertising slots have been evaluated primarily based on viewership ratings. However, the data available for utilization, such as viewer attributes, has become diverse. This necessitates setting advertising slots tailored to the advertiser's objectives. Beyond viewership ratings, we evaluate TV advertising slots from diverse perspectives, including weather-linked metrics, website visits, and social media engagement. Our goal is to visualize the value of advertising slots through data.

② Purchasing DX
Leveraging evaluations of TV advertising slots based on diverse data for purchasing poses challenges that manual processes alone cannot easily overcome. "RICH FLOW (Programmatic Advertising)" utilizes AI-based reconfiguration technology to automate and accelerate the reconfiguration of advertising slots based on diverse data. We will continue to enhance accuracy by incorporating the latest AI technologies and various data sources.

③ Operational DX
To appropriately manage ad slot combinations, human verification and judgment remain essential alongside automation. However, leveraging vast amounts of data for high-speed operations is challenging. This solution emphasizes stronger collaboration between advertisers and broadcasters than ever before. We will simplify complex workflows and advance DX to make it accessible to more advertisers.

What is necessary to develop the broadcasting business "ecosystem"?

This series has covered content from webinars conducted by Dentsu Inc. Radio and Television Division in 2021, including the "RICH FLOW (Operational Advertising)" solution introduced here.

Since their inception, commercial broadcast services have provided high-quality content free to consumers by making advertising their business model. This has enriched daily life in various ways, including entertainment and education. To maintain this "ecosystem," Dentsu Inc. has undertaken various initiatives.

Simultaneously, it has created opportunities to leverage television and radio—media with extremely broad reach—for marketing, thereby supporting corporate marketing activities.

Dentsu Inc. Radio & Television will continue to evolve advertising solutions to maintain and develop this business model. There are three key points for this.

The first is updating the funnel concept in 'purchasing.' For example, even with TV advertising, there was an area where effectiveness couldn't be proven—where 'there was a sense that the advertising was working, but it couldn't be expressed in numbers.' Regarding this point, Dentsu Inc. gathered insights from its marketing teams and proposed a single model.

Reference Article:
● What is the "SN Theory" for managing total sales?

The second point is solutions when viewing TV and radio as reach media. Beyond broad distribution, we aim to optimize target reach rates and timing. Examples include "RICH FLOW (programmatic advertising)" and "MIERO Digi × TV (MIERO Digi-Tele)" introduced in this series. We will achieve with TV and radio what is possible with digital advertising.

Reference Article:
●Visualizing Advertising Effectiveness by Integrating TV and Digital

The third point is marketing linked to TV and radio content. A major strength of TV and radio is their content production capabilities and influence. We strive to deliver corporate marketing activities with a positive image and achieve significant results.

Reference Article:
● What is TV's "3UP Effect"?
● "4 Approaches" to Effectively Utilize Time-Slot Advertising

In this digital and data-driven era, radio and television are also required to offer more advanced advertising services. We will continue to maintain and evolve our "ecosystem" to deliver high-quality content to consumers free of charge.

We also encourage you to read the articles about "radiko" and " Connected TV " introduced in the webinar conducted by Dentsu Inc. Radio & TV Division from November 10 to 12, 2021.