Remember wanting to stay home to watch a favorite program or a live event on television? Today’s viewers are no longer tied to their homes– or to their television sets. With mobile devices and streaming, viewers can watch their favorite content wherever they want, whenever they want. 

More viewers watch programs via streaming devices than those who watch through broadcast or cable. As viewership of linear television (cable and broadcast TV) continues to fall, advertisers are reaching fewer viewers. Additionally, marketers are missing out on a key demographic —  a younger generation of viewers who have “cut the cord” of linear TV in favor of on-the-go content. 

But advertising on connected TV isn’t the complete answer either, since many streaming viewers opt to skip ads.

So if linear TV is declining and streaming isn’t the complete answer, what is?

Marketers need to think outside of the living room to find and connect with the on-the-go audience and develop new ways to measure the effectiveness of those efforts.

Marketing outside of the living room with on-the-go video

On-the-go video helps retailers and brands connect with hard-to-reach viewers who aren’t at home and don’t see broadcast television ads. Consider where potential customers are when they aren’t at home. What are they doing? Most of all, how can advertisers capture customers’ attention in the midst of their daily routines?

One place to achieve this is at a fuel retailer. A well-timed video at the pump can highlight CPG brands inside or at a nearby retailer or prompt consideration for a consumer’s next stop to a QSR, casual dining, or even what auto to service, app to download, or new show to watch.

“This is a moment rich with opportunity for brands. Consumers don’t typically visit a fuel retailer and go home — they shop at a store, dine at a restaurant, or go see a movie. In fact, analysis of credit card data shows that a fuel-up is actually predictive of a 4.2x increase in the likelihood of another retail transaction in the following three hours,” explained Eric Z. Sherman, executive vice president of insights and analytics at GSTV, a data-driven national video network.

With on-the-go video platforms like GSTV, retailers can offer daily broadcast shows in a one-to-one captive environment, Sherman said. 

“Brands and retailers can create a ‘last-touch moment’ with a proximity to the point of sale and a powerful recency effect,”  he said.

Measuring the effectiveness of on-the-go video

Marketers achieve incremental reach with GSTV, but quantifying precisely how many new viewers are added in this on-the-go environment can be challenging. 

The recent partnership between GSTV and Samba TV is a game changer for solving that problem, Sherman said. Samba TV is a television technology company that provides real-time insights and audience analytics. 

“Samba is the first to market with an omnichannel audience measurement solution for video platforms dedicated to reaching consumers with compelling video content on-the-go,” Sherman said.

Boosting your audience beyond linear TV

A national QSR advertiser ran a campaign on linear TV and GSTV. Samba TV compared and analyzed exposure data from both to determine total reach and unique reach by platform. 

The results? GSTV added 20% incremental, unduplicated reach to the brand’s total linear buy. 

“The impressive linear TV campaign reached two-thirds of all US households, but there was still a large segment of the population our client couldn’t reach, even after a three-month-long campaign,” Sherman said. “GSTV was able to add 20% reach to that.” 

Reaching the unreachable: Light TV viewing households

Even for viewers who watch TV, the less frequently they do so, the harder it is for brands to convey their advertising messages. 

A recent Samba TV study of a CPG brand’s campaign showed GSTV reached more young and light TV viewers than linear TV, which reached older, heavier watchers. GSTV served proportionally more impressions to households with 25- to 34-year-olds. 

Additionally, over 35% of those who saw the GSTV campaign saw it only via GSTV and not on linear TV. This data highlights the necessity for alternative methods to reach this audience. 

Capturing the millennial market

While linear television can effectively reach older generations, such as Baby Boomers, it misses the mark for the younger ones. Millennials surpassed Baby Boomers as the largest generation in 2019, and Gen Z is not far behind. Retailers and brands must consider the differences in the preferences and behaviors of these generations as they plan their campaigns.

Sherman explained that GSTV skews younger for a reason. “When you think about who you’re reaching through GSTV, it’s typically someone out and about. They are busy with outside activities, with less time for television.”

“Brands and retailers can use these insights about the GSTV viewer demographics to target messages and drive engagement,” Sherman said.

As marketers search for ways to adjust to the changing television viewing audience, on-the-go video is instrumental in augmenting traditional linear TV marketing. With GSTV’s video platform and the analytics of Samba TV, brands and retailers have new ways to connect with and impact a growing customer base. 

Learn how to increase the reach and effectiveness of your advertising campaign with video on-the-go by GSTV.