How the DVR is Killing Your TV Advertising

If you have long relied on TV advertising to market your products and services, DVR (which stands for digital video recorder) may be throwing a serious wrench in the works. As it allows viewers to completely skip advertisements, your marketing campaigns will likely miss the mark time and time again. And, unfortunately, it is only set to get worse in the coming years, as traditional TV viewers switch to DVR and other convenient platforms.

With the introduction of DVR, connected TV devices and similar technologies, traditional TV audiences are continuing to decrease. In the first quarter of 2019 alone, major pay-TV providers lost about 1,325,000 subscribers. As this trend continues, your TV ad performance, results and ROI will steadily decline. Let’s explore more about the way DVR negatively impacts traditional TV advertising — and what you can do about it.

A Look at the DVR and How It Works

A DVR allows TV viewers to record their favorite shows and play them back at their convenience. They can browse through the TV guide on their cable box to pick out the television shows and movies they want to record. The system then records the show on the given date and time, storing it within the system for later viewing. Viewers can store these recordings for as long as they like, accessing them at their leisure.

How the DVR Revolutionized TV Viewing

Since the DVR saves the shows as recordings, viewers can fast-forward and rewind as they see fit during each viewing. As a result of this convenient function, half of DVR users elect to skip all advertisements and quickly get back to their shows. As you might expect, this proves rather problematic for traditional TV advertisers, as they struggle to capture viewers’ attention.

The Impact on TV Advertising

The success of your TV advertising campaigns relies on the ability to reach a captive, engaged audience. Unfortunately, DVR enables viewers to skip ads, while other viewers are likely distracted by social media and other digital technologies.

If a person skips your ad, or isn’t actively watching or listening to your ad, you can miss out on potential customers and sales. Even worse, you will waste valuable advertising dollars and your marketing return on investment (ROI) will plummet as a result. The key is to find alternative ways to reach this target viewing audience.

Using OTT as a Way Around Traditional TV Advertising

With over-the-top, or OTT, advertising, you can do just that: Reach your target audience with engaging, relevant ads that drive them to make a purchase with your company. This type of advertising operates through over-the-top streaming devices that bring digital entertainment to the masses — without allowing them to skip your ad content.

Your trusted media partner can help you find OTT advertising opportunities that drive engagement with your target audience. With OTT, your digital ads will run within the content offered by the streaming services, giving you the reach and engagement needed to boost your marketing ROI.

With DVR and other connected devices transforming the way people watch TV, advertisers must rethink their approach. By allowing viewers to skip ads, DVR can drastically impede your ability to reach a captive and engaged audience. But by leveraging other methods, such as OTT, you can improve your reach, results and ROI. To learn more about OTT advertising, reach out to our team at Hubbard Chicago today.