Nielsen Catalina now targets ads using purchase data on Connected TV and OTT

From the NCS web site

A joint effort between audience measurement firm Nielsen and loyalty card/coupon data firm Catalina, Nielsen Catalina Solutions (NCS), is now providing purchase-based ad targeting for connected TV and Over-the-Top (OTT) TV.

Previously, NCS’ Advanced TV Suite used purchase data to develop targeted audience segments of anonymized households for linear TV and addressable TV, but only conducted measurement on connected TV and OTT, SVP Tom Eaton said in an interview. He added that, to his knowledge, this is the first use of purchase data for ad targeting on CTV or OTT.

How this is employed. A possible use case, for instance, is a brand that wants to advertise to households that regularly eat peanut butter.

If the loyalty cards are employed for purchases including peanut butter, those purchases can be linked via the Nielsen Marketing Cloud with device graphs for those households, connected by street addresses or other identifiers that apply to both devices and loyalty cards.

An anonymized household ID for that peanut butter-loving household is then provided by the TV programming provider, such as a cable company or Roku, so that ads about peanut butter can be directed toward the online-delivered programming in that household.

While purchase-based ad targeting on linear TV can be delivered to audience segments watching specific series, it cannot be delivered to the household level for addressable TV, CTV and OTT. Eaton noted that the NCS Advanced TV Suite delivers data to whatever platform the brand chooses for ad delivery, such as the Adobe Advertising Cloud.

Why this matters to marketers. Connected TV has a built-in Internet connection, and contains apps for such services as Netflix or Amazon Prime. Over-the-Top TV usually refers to TV-linked external boxes like Roku or Apple TV, which are internet-connected and also have apps for online-delivered TV programming like Netflix.

NCS’ expansion of purchase-based targeting for CTV and OTT means that online-delivered TV is taking yet another step toward becoming a full-fledged member of the digital advertising ecosystem. But, as the differences between targeted ads on linear TV, CTV/OTT and web sites begin to fade, online-delivered TV could emerge as a powerhouse because of its current rapid growth and because it allows a much finer level of granularity and response measurement than its older brother, broadcast TV.

About The Author

Barry Levine

Barry Levine covers marketing technology for Third Door Media. Previously, he covered this space as a Senior Writer for VentureBeat, and he has written about these and other tech subjects for such publications as CMSWire and NewsFactor. He founded and led the web site/unit at PBS station Thirteen/WNET; worked as an online Senior Producer/writer for Viacom; created a successful interactive game, PLAY IT BY EAR: The First CD Game; founded and led an independent film showcase, CENTER SCREEN, based at Harvard and M.I.T.; and served over five years as a consultant to the M.I.T. Media Lab. You can find him at LinkedIn, and on Twitter at xBarryLevine.