Brands have always known that both traditional TV and streaming drives reach and awareness, but more than ever they are seeking capabilities that show performance for their advertising investments.
This year’s Cannes Lions made one thing unmistakable: Premium TV advertising is evolving into a fully accountable, performance-driven channel. Across announcements and industry conversations, the shift toward measurable outcomes, AI-powered optimization, and scalable global activation continues to accelerate.
Today’s auto marketers are navigating a complex, fragmented media environment. Audiences are split across more screens and platforms, and automotive brands are still working to bridge national brand messaging with regional and local dealer efforts to turn impressions into action.
TV has always been one of the most powerful marketing tools for brands. Its sight, sound, and motion are what enables an advertiser to make an emotional connection with viewers – creating memories that turn into action. But the challenge with TV has always been, “How do we prove it?”
The advertising ecosystem has undergone a tremendous shift over the past decade. What was once a world where consumers spent their time watching traditional television and performance was measured primarily using TV ratings with broad demographic metrics has now evolved into a complex, multiscreen environment where consumers engage across traditional TV and streaming platforms.
Across conversations on connected TV (CTV), AI, retail media, and measurement, a consistent theme emerged: the future of advertising is being shaped by stronger signals, not louder noise.
TV advertising has always been a must-buy for brands as it drives growth in customer base and business. And for good reason: Research shows consumers are 42% more likely to say TV was how they first discovered a new brand compared to social media.
TV has always been a powerful tool for driving brand awareness, but measuring its performance across the funnel has typically been a challenge. Today’s advertisers need to be able to understand how all of their media investments are driving impact – including TV.
Advertising only works if you can measure its impact. For advertisers, that means going beyond impressions and clicks to understand how media spend drives real business outcomes.
For years, audience numbers for local cable and local broadcast have been underreported, depreciating the power they hold in reaching viewers. Measurement based on “panel-only” data had resulted in an under-counting of audience and impression availability.