Takeaways from ASI 2019: Collaboration is Key

The 2019 ASI International Television & Video Conference brought some of the biggest names in global media to Prague for three days of intensive debate, networking, and knowledge sharing.

This was my third year attending - where I was able to present to industry leaders across the media ecosystem, from around the world. One of my favorite things about ASI is that the conversations touch on a lot of areas we’re deeply interested in -- and invested in. Cross-media measurement. Addressable advertising. Attribution metrics. Data science. It was the perfect place for a wide-ranging discussion with some of the industry’s best and brightest -- and for us all to get a clearer look at what’s coming next.

You can download my ASI Presentation here, but here are some of our biggest takeaways from this year’s ASI conference.

1. Everyone is Still Figuring Out Streaming.

Streaming behavior is a tectonic shift in how media is consumed, and its popularity is increasing at a rapid rate.

But OTT isn’t a perfect delivery system yet. Especially when it comes to advertising. There is a gap in how much time viewers spend streaming content and the percentage of ad spend devoted to that OTT inventory. The industry needs to close that gap, as it impacts media seller yield, advertising effectiveness, data partner integrations, and consumers who may not get relevant ads or support the products and programs they enjoy.

In addition, streaming is largely siloed. With so many “walled gardens” in the streaming universe (such as Netflix, Amazon, and YouTube), proprietary data is a rampant challenge, with no way to accurately measure holistic viewerships.

2. It’s a World with Varied Marketing Data.

I had the opportunity to also speak on a panel with leaders from NBC, Clypd, CIMM, and Sky TV. Here it was clear that there are many approaches to measuring media effectiveness. Attribution, Attention, CFlight -- these are all datasets to use on top of ratings. They aren’t a single currency, but they are better than the status quo.

In the future, the industry will be “multi-currencied” and use many kinds of marketing data. Partners will choose what datasets they want, when they want, for specific purposes. There will be layers of measurement and negotiation tools. While it may sound inevitable, this is a completely different view from the current state -- where ratings are used for everything.

3. Collaboration is Key.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could measure everything seamlessly in one place (like you could decades ago)? This sentiment was expressed by many of my peers, but the reality is that it just isn’t possible anymore.

Think about TikTok. This friendly, engaging video-based social platform has seen practically overnight success. And because of its proprietary data platform, no one company can accurately measure its success.

Even large players who would have avoided partnerships, like Nielsen, Kantar, and GfK, are partnering to expand capabilities to keep up with brand demand. 30 years ago, this would have been unheard of.

Collaboration, then, becomes essential. Because while the pace of change is faster than any single company’s innovation, change is not happening faster than the entire industry as a whole. Partnerships and data integrations are what will keep the entire industry moving forward, by sharing data and building hooks across the industry.

Industry organizations, like the MRC, WFA, and BARB, will have an increasingly important role in this shift. Where some individual companies may fight the need for collaboration, these industry organizations will push the industry forward by setting standards and encouraging the so-needed collaboration.

It’s always a great opportunity when we can have a meeting of the minds among industry leaders - and ASI is a perfect venue for us to push boundaries and keep the conversation going. I, for one, look forward to ASI 2020 to talk to the global industry about how far we’ve come.

Interested in seeing my presentation at ASI? You can download it here. Want to discuss how we can collaborate and move the industry forward together, feel free to contact me - y.liu@tvisioninsights.com.