Fleetwood Mac’s TV commercial boost, plus the marketer categories backing March Madness: Datacenter Weekly

‘TV-accessible households’ explained

“TV measurement was already complicated, but it’s about to get more so,” Ad Age’s Jack Neff reports. “One of the industry’s leading trade groups, the Advertising Research Foundation, wants to expand the definition of TV households to include most households that don’t have TVs.”

Say what? “Marketers long have seen TV households as nearly universal in the U.S. and easily defined as households with TVs,” Neff explains. “But neither is quite true, according to new research from the ARF, which is calling on the marketing industry to move toward a new definition called ‘TV-accessible households.’’

The details: “These would be considered households that don’t have TV sets, but do stream TV content to mobile devices via broadband. They account for about 4% of the U.S. population, with another 1% of households being true TV avoiders, owning neither TVs nor mobile broadband streaming. While only 4% of the population overall, the mobile-only group is growing fast and a much bigger segment among young adults.”

Keep reading here.

Fleetwood Mac’s TV commercial boost 

According to B2B music intelligence company and licensing platform Songtradr, Fleetwood Mac has been having a moment—lots of moments, actually. Over the past 15 months (since the beginning of 2022), the British-American rock band’s music has been featured 16 different times on TV across series and commercials. That’s not counting brief snippets of Fleetwood Mac songs that were played in news reports last Nov. 30 when keyboardist/vocalist Christine McVie died in London at 79.

Among recent high-profile uses of Fleetwood Mac songs in commercials: “Everywhere” in a fall Chevy EV campaign—the song was essentially the star of the spot, with smiling Chevy drivers and passengers singing along—and “Everywhere” again in a Kohl’s campaign that kicked off earlier this month. Meanwhile, “I’m Coming Home to Stay” was featured in the heartbreaking third episode of HBO’s “The Last of Us,” which debuted on Jan. 29.

How the TV industry is making ‘alternative currencies’ work—a guide

What does it take for TV industry players to transact on so-called “alternative currencies”—i.e., alternatives to deal-making-ready measurement data from incumbent Nielsen? Ad Age’s Parker Herren explains: 

New systems and workflow: “Implementing data from Comscore, VideoAmp, iSpot or even Nielsen One—the crop that emerged as front runners this year—requires an overhaul of systems and workflow, as well as educating clients,” Herren writes.

A lot of prep work from measurement providers: “Much of the onus falls on the measurement providers themselves to integrate with the software that buyers and sellers need for transacting with one another,” Herren notes. “For example, data sets need to be input into platforms including Mediaocean or FreeWheel’s Strata, where agencies report and bill marketers; Lake 5, which provides performance analytics to networks and agencies; and any proprietary systems media agencies have created to be viable throughout a campaign’s entire lifespan.”

Internal education: “After making sure measurement data is integrated with ad tech partners,” Herren adds, “the next step for media companies is to educate internal teams, including product, engineering and selling teams, on how to understand, work with and ‘ingest this data,’ said Andrea Zapata, executive VP, head of ad sales, research, measurement and insights at Warner Bros. Discovery.”

In short: It ain’t easy.

Keep reading here.

The top 10 marketer categories advertising during March Madness so far

Speaking of TV measurement, here’s data on the top marketer categories that have been backing March Madness telecasts—both the men’s and women’s tournaments—shared exclusively with Datacenter Weekly by iSpot.tv. The rankings shown are based on share of household TV ad impressions (for first airings only on national linear TV), from the First Four through the Elite 8. 

Men’s tournament top advertiser categories
1. Automakers (11.25%)
2. QSR (9.31%)
3. Auto & General Insurance (8.59%)
4. Wireless (6.57%)
5. Beer (5.83%)
6. Casual Dining (3.31%)
7. Theatrical Movies (2.85%)
8. Credit Cards (2.55%)
9. Investment Services (2.47%)
10. Energy & Sports Drinks (1.94%)

Women’s tournament top advertiser categories
1. Automakers (14.81%)
2. Deodorants/Antiperspirants (4.55%)
3. QSR (4.40%)
4. Investment Services (3.92%)
5. Wireless (3.83%)
6. Auto & General Insurance (3.02%)
7. Apparel: Shoes & Socks (2.93%)
8. Energy & Sports Drinks (2.61%)
9. Tax Filing Services (2.49%)
10. Business Supplies & Services (2.39%)

The newsletter is brought to you by Ad Age Datacenter, the industry’s most authoritative source of competitive intel and home to the Ad Age Leading National Advertisers, the Ad Age Agency Report: World’s Biggest Agency Companies and other exclusive data-driven reports. Access or subscribe to Ad Age Datacenter at AdAge.com/Datacenter.

Ad Age Datacenter is Kevin Brown, Bradley Johnson and Joy R. Lee.