TiVo, Viacom Partner on Multiplatform Measurement for Ad Campaigns

TiVo and Viacom have announced a partnership designed to create more highly targeted campaigns for advertisers, using the set-top box maker’s measurement tools and Viacom’s proprietary data and ad solution dubbed “Vantage.”

It’s the first alliance between TiVo Research and Analytics and a major media company, and that’s because Viacom’s multiplatform solutions are accepted as “one of the better platform for advertising,” said svp and gm Frank Foster. “Viacom is leading the charge… and they were ready to link up our data,” he said. Importantly, Viacom’s data management solution covers online, mobile and television platforms, allowing for a single metric for all three, Foster said.

The goal is to target a specific set of television viewers who are most relevant to a particular advertiser. The segments go beyond sex and gender, Foster said. For example, using TiVo’s panel of 2.3 million households, an automaker can target an age group, income level and family size—and then find out what TV shows that group is watching. Then the advertiser can run ads specifically during those programs. After that, TiVo measures the audience reached and, using 3rd party partnership compliant with privacy rules, determines the extent to which purchasing occurred. “The important part is the test and control,” Foster said, in order to make sure that the different data sets link up.