Digital TV: Can fashion brands successfully drive awareness and action through TV?

Thanks to Sky AdSmart, fashion brands now have the power to place their ads in front of the right audience.

Fashion is a personal element. Everybody has a different style and everyone has their own unique tastes when it comes to fashion, so why wouldn’t you target the relevant people through TV?

Just over a year ago, Sky AdSmart was created to allow marketers to use similar targeting and measurability methods that digital marketing companies could provide, bringing a better, more personal advertising experience to the world of television and utilising the audience reach with great potential.

So how does it work and how can fashion benefit?

After you’ve created your advert and once it meets the standards set by Sky AdSmart, you just need to identify your audience using these key metrics –

• Age
• Gender
• Location
• Interests
• Lifestyle Statements
• Social Demographic
• Fashion Tastes

Sky AdSmart does the rest by matching your ad to your target demographic. This means your latest “kaftan summer edit” will be more likely to be placed in front of Sarah rather than Steve, whilst Steve sees the latest board shorts in time for his surfing holiday at his home.

So how will it benefit the fashion industry I hear you ask? Well by taking into account your age, gender, location, interests, lifestyle statements and social demographic by combining 1^st party data from your Sky+ box with 3^rd party data from Experian, fashion brands now have the information they need to effectively target the right households. In fact, it even takes into account fashion tastes now. This is especially useful for those in the fashion industry as wasted ads are minimised – the fire and hope to hit method is so last season!

You choose the demographic that you want to target and Sky AdSmart places your ads in front of the right people who want to see your products. If someone isn’t interested in the latest resort wear but they want to see the ultimate selection of sports shoes – Sky AdSmart will make sure they replace a national advert with your targeted advert.

So in between episodes of Mad Men, that advert offering the best cold weather gear for those mountain escapes is replaced with something Steve or Sarah want to see – like the best deals on beach wear for their upcoming resort holidays.

What are the drawbacks?

There are a few things you will have to keep in mind when it comes to Sky AdSmart though such as cost, minimal waste factors and tracking results.

• The cost of shooting a television advert can be a little expensive, so that’s up to you to make sure your advert is up to scratch and that it fits in with TV standards.
• Your TV can’t see exactly who is sitting in front of it (yet) so there may be some ‘waste’ involved. For instance your television could be targeted, yet it’s your 17 year old daughter watching Mad Men at the time.
• Unfortunately there isn’t a way to utilise cookies the same way digital marketers do. So attributing a sale to your advert won’t be as easy, however, you are able to track phonecalls from the advert and utilise tracking measurements that correspond with the date your campaign goes live. So it’s still very useful.

Targeted advertising is no longer a new idea that marketers might need. It’s an essential tool that is guaranteed to encourage sales. With the likes of Sky AdSmart now helping fashion brands to target based on fashion preferences as well, you’re on to a winning formula when this format is used as part of your overall marketing strategy.

Can fashion brands successfully drive awareness and action through TV? Yes, they can.

For more information on how to incorporate Sky AdSmart into your fashion marketing campaign, speak to an expert today on 0800 011 9226.