Reaching consumers with video advertising has never been more complicated.
Not that long ago, media buyers could find viewers sitting in living rooms, watching TV during prime time—a narrow window that provided access to a broad audience. That linear TV experience provided the reach and frequency that brands depended on for years.
That idea now feels antiquated, blown to pieces by a proliferation of screens and content, by mobility, by streaming, by cord cutting. The amount of time viewers spend with linear TV is down 32% in the past decade, and now is about equal to consumers’ digital video viewing time, according to Insider Intelligence.
To reach today’s consumers with video messages, media plans must look beyond the tactics of the past. Given that, however, there are challenges to overcome.
Although streaming services and other digital platforms are growing, much of that content doesn’t include advertising. Some 22% of TV/video viewing is ad-free, according to Nielsen. There’s not enough inventory on streaming services to replace linear TV, and the streaming buys that are available command prices four to seven times higher than traditional broadcast. And after becoming used to ad-free streaming services, many viewers simply will no longer tolerate ad placements in their living-room entertainment.
The sheer amount of available content, the prevalence of multitasking and the ability to skip ads make it more difficult for brands to reach a critical mass of consumers, let alone consumers who are really engaged and actually watching ad messages.
Brands need to find new places and times to reach consumers with video advertising.
The where is as important as the what
The first step should be to identify, consider and measure where people consume video—at any point in the day, on any platform, any screen, across venues. That spectrum might start with traditional linear TV, but expand to include streaming platforms, online video, social content, mobile apps and cinema advertising, as well as unique opportunities like GSTV.
GSTV is a network of 300,000 screens at 30,000 gas stations and convenience stores in 205 markets across the country. We reach 116 million unique viewers each month. That’s close to 50% of all U.S. adults, and more viewers than many TV networks and streaming platforms. While these customers are fueling their vehicles, they view our premium content, four minutes of programming that is curated daily and can be locally customized.
That fueling experience is a place to find incremental reach, with programming that is not skippable and delivered to a real human being. In fact, 89% say they watch and listen to GSTV while fueling, according to a Nielsen audience survey¹. They’re engaged too: Nearly 70% don’t have a phone in their hand while at the pump.
We also know from our research that for Americans, fuel day is an important “right moment” to reach attentive consumers on the path to purchase. When people are fueling up at a gas station, they’re on their way to something else—dinner out, the weekly grocery run or a mall shopping trip. And, of course, they’re often standing right next to a convenience store full of beverages, snacks and other packaged goods: 81%² of GSTV viewers will leave the gas station and spend more money in the same day, in quick-service restaurants, home supply stores, movie theaters, supermarkets and more.
Affinity Solutions analyzed credit-card data and found consumers regularly spend more in the three hours after fueling up—5.3 times more on quick-service restaurants, 4.8 times more at grocery stores, and 5.2 times more at home supply stores, for instance.
We subscribe to the late media consultant Erwin Ephron’s idea of recency—that ad impressions closest to the time of purchase are the most powerful. And of course, being halfway to the store helps too!
Proximity matters
In those minutes a customer spends with GSTV programming, brands have an opportunity to direct, co-opt or redirect that viewer’s behavior. Someone’s hungry? Suggest a burger or pizza stop. Prompt an energy drink purchase rather than a bottle of water. Send a shopper to this mass-market store rather than that one. GSTV is the last thing consumers see before heading to their next destination.
As we have expanded our network, we’ve added premium-content partners, including Matador Network, Live Nation and TikTok, which help us provide viewers with the best of news and entertainment, sports, music and lifestyle content. We’re also thinking ahead and partnering with ChargePoint, the country’s single largest public EV charging network, to create similar brand messaging opportunities that reach the growing number of EV owners and retail consumers where public EV chargers are most often found.
Beyond driving a call to action a few steps away or a few minutes away, GSTV is also an opportunity for weekly appointment viewership and attention from a national consumer audience. That attention and viewership breaks through the clutter and can be used to educate, inform, inspire and build a connection around higher consideration purchases, influence long-term consumer decisions, amplify online efforts to a mass audience and more. Weekly appointment viewership driven by natural consumer behavior—a stop to fuel up their day, their shopping bags and their life—is a moment that matters.
For brands and agencies frustrated by the less-than-perfect TV and streaming options, there are plenty of reasons to check out the spectrum of new video options, particularly those that leverage existing behavior that can be especially valuable to advertisers.
