How Brands Can Get the Most Out of Holiday TV Advertising

Consumers are constantly bombarded by advertising — especially during the holidays — to the point that determining the impact of one ad versus another has become incredibly complex. For most brands, TV is the biggest investment in the media mix, so quantifying the value is critical. But with all the noise, how can you give TV ads the credit they deserve? And, importantly, how can you make the most of the scatter market this holiday season to ensure you deliver results? That’s where lift analysis comes in.

Lift measurements estimate the causal impact of TV advertising on consumer behavior and help quantify the business value driven by TV advertising. The relative comparison of lift estimates (e.g., across networks), tells us where advertising is more or less effective. 

For brands looking to take advantage of their remaining marketing budget and the scatter market in TV this holiday season, we’ve put together performance insights and key recommendations to inform your decisions. This report focuses on sharing lift measurement and conversion rates for several industries including retail, wireless carriers, travel, automotive and food delivery, across three time periods: Q4 2019, Q3 2020 and October 2020. 

While broadcast networks usually dominate for impressions, it’s cable channels, and often niche ones, that are delivering actual outcomes for brands. In particular, our analysis has shown CNBC to be a top performer for lift across the board, and other news networks such as Fox Business have also consistently delivered. Family-focused network Nick has been strong, as have various Spanish-language networks. Also notable is VH1 and BET, which delivered top lift in Q3 and October this year.

Want to see more about which specific networks delivered business outcome results last holiday season and this fall? Download iSpot’s new report.