At our Marketing Leadership Forum in April, Forrester Researcher Mike Glantz will be talking up TV in its future state with a panel made up of Comcast, ABC, and others. Here is a post written by Mike about his upcoming panel and a report he is working on. Enjoy!

------------------------

Marketers have struggled with accurately measuring their reach across TV and digital media platforms. Today’s TV watchers multitask with digital devices, fluidly moving between platforms and expecting a seamless experience. In this complex world, marketers need standardized data sets to measure:

• Cross-platform reach. In an increasingly fragmented ecosystem, marketers need to know their total reach across TV and digital video platforms.
• Social engagement with their TV brand. The connection between social media and TV can no longer be denied after this year’s Super Bowl. With viewers embracing social media to chat about what they are watching in real time, brand marketers need to be able to measure their brands’ reach across the social graph.
• Relationships between TV tune-in and actual purchases. In the post-recession, all marketing is being more heavily scrutinized and needs to be more accountable moving forward. Being able to cogently attribute TV marketing spend to bottom-line sales or revenue adds a new level of analysis that can make TV more accountable than digital.

Earlier this week, Nielsen and Viacom unveiled new measurement tools that could allow marketers to more effectively plan cross-platform media campaigns. They join a host of new entrants in the TV space, including Bluefin Labs and TRA that are leveraging new streams of consumer data to prove the true power of TV marketing.

We are just beginning to scratch the surface of how marketers must rethink their approach to TV. I will be moderating a panel at next month’s Forrester's Marketing Leadership Forum where we will be discussing some of the ways new data streams are making TV a more targeted and efficient advertising medium including:

• How are media buyers using new TV data in their marketing strategies?
• How will TV be bought and sold in the future?
• Which data sources should marketers prioritize to enhance their TV marketing today?

Are you using any nontraditional data sources in your TV campaign? Please let us know in The Forrester Community For CMO & Marketing Leadership Professionals. Otherwise, I’m looking forward to seeing everyone at the Forum next month in Los Angeles!

Thanks,
Mike  @MichaelGlantz