DoubleClick, an advertising subsidiary of Google, announced today that they’re getting into TV advertising and customers can manage their TV campaigns from the same console they use for their digital campaigns. In order to nab inventory for TV advertising, DoubleClick had to get network partners, which in this case are Google Fiber, Clypd, and WideOrbit.
To sweeten the deal, DoubleClick is providing tools that help to measure the impact of a given campaign. One example they give in their blog post about the new advertisements is a brand being able to check for an uptick in online interest after running a TV campaign. Each of the three partners brings different kind of content to the table for advertisers to leverage their campaigns against. Google Fiber, being tied in with DoubleClick’s parent company, is the most full-featured of the bunch; a fully addressable set of campaigns is available with Google Fiber, though thanks to its limited rollout, national campaigns are out of the running. Clypd, meanwhile, offers national campaigns. WideOrbit rounds things out with a unique offering; the ability to reach localized channels associated with nationwide networks. One example of such a channel is CW44, the local flavor of The CW Network for Florida’s Tampa Bay region, which features a blend of national and local content, along with the kind of powerful and accurate demographic profiling that only a localized network could achieve.
To get it out of the way; Google Fiber, Clypd, and WideOrbit are small providers, but this fact could actually make it a bit easier for DoubleClick and more appealing for advertisers in at lease one way. While none of these providers have the national pull and local monopoly power of a larger provider like Comcast, they still boast enough viewers to make jumping into cable advertising an appealing proposal for existing DoubleClick customers, and those who would like to begin dropping their first TV advertisements. Advertising on smaller providers’ networks, through providers instead of through individual channels, can be more cost effective and even potentially offer a wider reach. Advertising on some of the bigger content networks out there, such as NBC or Viacom-owned networks, crosses provider lines, but can be prohibitively expensive for smaller businesses and individuals. DoubleClick ads work on a bidding system, which makes these new ads that much cheaper and easier to get.