Without live sports in the second half of March, television looked much different than what we’re used to. Audiences shifted to new networks and dayparts, brands altered ad strategies and programming was turned on its head for many. Yet, TV still drove business outcomes for brands in March. And now more than ever, it’s crucial to know where certain brand industries are getting the best lift.
Here are some key findings from March, looking at 341,512,704 (441,000 per hour*) explicit TV-based business outcomes measured across 17 key industries:
*web conversions only
- Higher Conversion Rates: Food delivery, education, financial services, e-commerce and local search are all exceeding conversion rates for previous months.
- Sectors dependent on foot traffic are retooling creatives and performance KPIs as short-term conversions and incremental lift rates nose dive with shelter in place.
- Top brand industry/network combinations in March, by iSpot Lift Rating:
- Financial services on CNBC (90.27%)
- Weight Loss on Fox News (75.09%)
- Automotive brands on CNBC (65.94%)
- Insurance on Fox News (63.16%)
- Specialty Retail on Comedy Central (61.91%)
Overall, quarterly benchmarks for Q1 were down slightly compared to Q4 (from 29.69% to 29.13%). However, that difference is not substantial and makes sense given the Q4 emphasis on conversions around holiday shopping.
March benchmarks would move us closer to evaluating the current TV landscape, with April providing an even more complete picture of the “new normal” for advertisers and Lift Ratings they can expect on a given network. While everything is certainly different, it’s not as uncertain for brands when they know where television advertising is most likely to convert.
