Measuring DRTV On A Small Budget: What You Actually Need
You don't need an attribution platform to know whether response TV is working. The simple tracking a small advertiser can set up before the first spot runs.
Big advertisers measure TV with econometrics and attribution platforms. A small advertiser running a first response campaign rarely needs either. What you need is a few simple tracking tools set up before the first spot runs, and the discipline to read them every week.
1. A unique phone number or web address
Give the TV ad its own phone number and, if you can, its own short web address. It is the cheapest and clearest signal you will get. If people search for your brand instead of typing the address, the next tool catches them.
2. Web visits matched to spot times
Most TV responses now arrive online within minutes of an ad airing. Match your site traffic minute by minute against the times your spots ran. A spike in the five to ten minutes after a spot is the response; a flat line tells you that station or daypart isn’t working.
If you can’t tell which spots made the phone ring, you can’t move the money to the ones that did.
3. An offer or promo code used only on TV
A TV-only code lets you follow responses through to sales, which is what matters. Make sure the offer is real and the terms are clear. The ASA has been tough this autumn on “free” claims with hidden costs and deadlines that don’t exist.
4. A region that doesn’t see the ad
If you run TV in one region and not in a similar one, the difference in sales between them is the clearest evidence of what TV did. That is the basis of a proper regional test, and it costs nothing extra to set up.
5. BVOD reporting, read with care
Streaming platforms report impressions and sometimes site visits. Treat their figures as a guide and check them against your own site data. Viewers rarely click from a TV screen; they pick up their phone.
Read it every week
Response campaigns should change while they run. After the first week, rank stations and dayparts by cost per response, cut the worst and move the money. A monthly report is too slow: by the time you see it, you have paid for three more weeks of what wasn’t working.
The independent buyer’s view
Set the measurement up before booking and agree it with your buyer. Our DRTV guide covers call tracking and attribution in more depth.
Independent, senior TV buying advice for UK advertisers — no unnecessary agency layers. Get a clear view of what to buy, why it is worth buying and what a fair price looks like.
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