As connected TV matures, advertisers are looking for a more complete understanding of campaign performance across an increasingly complex media landscape. Ioanna Protogiannis, Senior Director, Measurement & Reporting at LG Ad Solutions, says third-party measurement plays an important role in complementing first-party data and providing a more holistic view of performance. While the media ecosystem may be fragmented across AVOD, SVOD and other services, viewers simply move between platforms in search of the content they want.
That journey also creates an important role for the smart TV home screen. Unlike in-stream advertising, which reaches viewers once they are already engaged with content, the home screen can influence audiences while they are still deciding what to watch. Protogiannis says this makes the home screen a valuable discovery environment and a distinct touch point within the broader CTV journey. As advertisers refine their measurement strategies, understanding how these different experiences work together can help provide greater confidence in media investments.
Bevin Fletcher:
Hi everyone. Welcome and thank you for joining us. My name's Bevin Fletcher. I'm senior editor of StreamTV Insider, and I'm here today with Ioanna Protogiannis, Senior Director of Measurement & Reporting Solutions at LG Ads. Hey, Ioanna. Thanks for being here with us. How are you doing?
Ioanna Protogiannis:
Hey, Bevin. Thanks for having me. Really excited.
Bevin Fletcher:
Okay. So the first thing I want to ask is that as the connected TV marketplace has matured, how have you seen advertisers' expectations for measurement evolve and where do you think the industry still needs to go to make progress?
Ioanna Protogiannis:
So I think it's a great question. So advertisers have definitely matured in the measurement they're asking for and how to validate their campaigns. I think not one company can do all of the measurement and validation, so you do work with third parties who are aligned with your client's goals. I will say it, I still think there's a long road ahead to learn this and evolve and change as we go because we're still going to learn as to what clients are looking to achieve with their advertiser dollars. So I still think there's a lot of room to grow and still some time to see where it ends up.
Bevin Fletcher:
Yeah, interesting. And I mean, so now we obviously have audience and media investments. They're increasingly fragmented. So what does it take to give advertisers a more complete understanding of their campaign performance and then also greater confidence in their decisions?
Ioanna Protogiannis:
Yeah, so I think it piggybacks a little bit off the last question too, of greater confidence really comes with third party measurement. You can't measure everything in one ecosystem, so you do need to partner with top third party companies to compliment your first party data to really understand the holistic story. I also think that while the media may be fragmented, the viewer and the consumer watching that media isn't fragmented. They're going into apps where they want to see key content, certain relevant tentpole days. So I think while we break it down as AVOD, SVOD, VMV, PD, the consumer's not thinking of it that way, so they don't think of the same fragmentation we do.
Bevin Fletcher:
They're still across all those touch points. And it's interesting that you mentioned, because obviously LG is a smart TV OEM and the smart TV home screen is able to reach viewers on both ad-supported and ad-free streaming experiences. So with that kind of cross channel, how should advertisers think about measuring the CTV home screen and its role within the broader CTV journey and the value it delivers alongside that in-stream advertising?
Ioanna Protogiannis:
When you think of in-stream advertising, you are already in the content you want to see. You're already zoned in, waiting for the next scene to come back, you're in it. When you turn on your TV, you're not in it just yet. Maybe you have an idea of what you want to look for. Maybe you're influenced by what's on the home screen, but you're not in it just yet. So the home screen helps as a discoverability, as a place that's not as invasive, but allows you to see ads before you decide to go into what you want to watch. You may turn it on and go right in, but from what we can see in the data, people don't make that decision right away or they test out a couple apps before they make that decision. So I will say that that's something that the home screen help plays that role in.
When you go into one app and you can't find the content you watch, so you go back and then go into another app, maybe the home screen influences you or something catches your eye. So it's not where content is consumed like the in-ad content. It's very different. This is as you're going through to discover your content.
Bevin Fletcher:
So kind of getting that placement in front of viewers before they even enter the experience in that front door environment. Okay. Well, this has been very interesting stuff and plenty of food for though for advertisers weighing CTV investments, but that's all the time we have for today. Thank you so much for joining us. Thanks for sharing with us and thanks everyone for watching.
Ioanna Protogiannis:
Really appreciate it. Thank you.