Viewing trends Reach is the goal Essential viewing All the stats and charts you need How to build cost-effective The best of 2020 and a taste on video viewing in 2020 AV reach of what’s to come in 2021 p.07 p.19 p.12 A year in TV Thinkbox Annual Review 2020–21 ENTER 2020 AT A GLANCE THINKBOX A YEAR IN TV TV continued to be the commercial 2020 at a glance 91% medium people spend most time with Broadcaster TV advertising accounted for 91% of all Total video time grew by 40 minutes video advertising per person per day BVOD now plays a crucial role 3hrs 22mins in driving cost-effectivereach 1,243 The average person watched Online businesses remained the New to TV advertisers running 3 hours, 22 minutes of across linear TV and AdSmart broadcaster TV a day dominant advertisers in 2020 Winner News viewing was up 33%, shared viewing up 8%, and weekday daytime Mediahub crowned champion , winning the viewing up 16% of champions Thinkbox TV Planning Awards Costs of TV advertising falls Grand Prix for their planning by circa 50% in April on the NHS England campaign. I think (TV is) embracing 16-34s 3,956 68% the flexibility that advertisers have been 3,956 people signed up for our first 68% of adults watch asking for ... to be able to make decisions TV Masters online training course in 50+ linear TV ads a week on where we invest, four weeks before autumn 2020 TV continues to be the largest broadcast rather than eight just feels like single portion of video viewing the right thing to do and I think hopefully I did a module one evening and used for 16-34s advertisers will repay that change with more investment. a piece of knowledge I gained from it in a presentation to a client the next afternoon! Chris Ladd, Nationwide Emmerdale, ITV #TakeTheVaccine broadcast Boris Johnson, daily press briefing, ‘No Naughty List’, Tesco Hannah McKay/PA Wire/PA Images Saturday Night Live, Sky Comedy NHS rainbow banner photo by Red Dot / Unsplash Black Lives Matter photo by James Eades / Unsplash Dance troupe Diversity’s performance on Britain’s Got Talent INTRODUCTION 2020 HINDSIGHT VIEWING TRENDS ADVERTISING IN 2020 TV’S TRANSFORMATION THE SMARTEST PLANNING INSPIRING INSIGHTS 2 WELCOME THINKBOX A YEAR IN TV Also available to download: the full printed Welcome version of 'A Year in TV 2020-21 04 From Lindsey Clay 2020 hindsight But it wasn’t only price. TV advertising Adapting to adversity 05 It might seem odd to talk of successes from the last year, continued to digitally transform and Contents TV making a difference in 2020 06 roll out targeted data and tech-led but we shouldn’t ignore silver linings opportunities to augment its just because of the whopping great established powers (see p.28). clouds. TV proved its worth in the Advertisers are welcoming this; TV pandemic. Socially, as a source of now offers the best of both worlds. In particular we saw the acceleration 07 16 27 31 vital entertainment, escapism, and of ecommerce reflected in TV trusted news; and commercially, advertising. TV is the shop window Viewing trends Advertising in 2020 TV’s transformation The smartest planning as broadcasters were nimble, for ecommerce brands and we’re increasingly flexible, and advertisers seeing more and more of them The media landscape 08 The video advertising landscape 17 Advanced TV advertising at work 28 Smart young things 32 displaying their wares (see p.23). took advantage of the incredible How 2020 changed the video world 09 Video reach planning 19 TV Masters 30 TV Planning Awards 2020 33 And though ecommerce’s attraction price TV was offering – many of to TV is about driving sales, it is equally What did the industry watch in 2020? 12 Weathering the storm 23 whom had never tried TV before about brand. TV makes the virtual How big are Netflix shows? 14 The Thinkboxes 2020 25 (see p.24). physical, and adds credibility and trust (see our signalling research on p.36). A taster of 2021 shows Brand is back, and with it an to get excited about 15 increasing culture of effectiveness. 34 Advertisers are returning to the higher ground – witness Airbnb’s recent decision to shift from performance Inspiring insights to brand. Making econometrics free to all 35 This is good news for TV, another silver lining. And while advertisers What does advertising on are in a re-appraising mode it was TV say about a brand? 36 the perfect time to have launched TV Masters – the world’s first comprehensive TV advertising training 12 19 28 32 course. It has been incredibly well What did the Video reach Advanced TV Young planners' received and is already a vital resource for the industry (see p.30). industry watch? planning case studies learnings Take a look at the Not all forms of Four different I hope you find this publication useful What was it like to and insightful. And if, after reading, varied viewing of video are equal brands showcase plan media in 2020? you are left with questions or a thirst for industry peers – so not all reach how they are taking These young even more information, please do get in from 2020. is equal. advantage of planners give touch (or sign up to TV Masters and today’s TV solutions. us their take. Lindsey Clay CEO, Thinkbox become an expert that way). INTRODUCTION 2020 HINDSIGHT VIEWING TRENDS ADVERTISING IN 2020 TV’S TRANSFORMATION THE SMARTEST PLANNING INSPIRING INSIGHTS 3 Adapting to adversity 05 TV making a difference in 2020 06 2020 hindsight Rob & RomeshVs, Sky One INTRODUCTION 2020 HINDSIGHT VIEWING TRENDS ADVERTISING IN 2020 TV’S TRANSFORMATION THE SMARTEST PLANNING INSPIRING INSIGHTS 4 ADAPTING TO ADVERSITY THINKBOX A YEAR IN TV BEN NEWBURY YORKSHIRE TEA Adapting to adversity Tuning in to “We had to always take that healthy sense check of ‘what’s really going on?’ the mood of and [we knew] we were going to get this right or wrong before we pressed If Covid has taught us anything, it’s that adaptability is not just needed to thrive, the nation go. It’s paused a lot of stuff that we made. And we held it, and we held it, but to survive. This has certainly been true in business where the mettle of until we felt the time was right to go live.” marketers has been thoroughly tested since the start of the pandemic. SIMON WALLIS DOMINO’S “We used three guiding principles as some kind of compass. Firstly, to keep serving Brand our customers and looking after our people. Second to build brand preference and response and look after our communities, and to ensure that the brand comes out of the The arrival of Covid has brought about change at breakneck speed for brands. Priorities crisis stronger than it went into it. In other words, take actions today that our team members and customers will remember for a lifetime.” shifted, consumers began to behave – and feel – differently and marketing strategies had to turn on a sixpence to accommodate the state of flux brought about by various lockdowns. AMY BUTTERWORTH TESCO Reach “Targeting really changed from a sub-segment of society, to everyone To delve into this further, Thinkbox commissioned agency Work Research to explore and growth who does a shop – no matter where to be honest – everyone that needs what the Covid crisis really meant for marketers. They conducted interviews with 12 to buy food, so basically the whole population.” senior clients at the end of 2020, who each reflected on the pandemic’s impact on their businesses. They also revealed their perspective on what changes they foresaw in their GAYLE NOAH L’ORÉAL Fast- approach to marketing throughout 2021 and beyond. “We’d already started on the ecommerce journey many years ago, but forwarding I would say that Covid really accelerated our plans by about three years. innovation So within a matter of weeks we had really activated a lot more platforms and channels and retailers to start driving ecommerce.” CHRIS LADD NATIONWIDE Signalling “I can’t believe there won’t be some long-term benefit from us being present in the market in the medium that has always given off a sense of trust and stature.” Watch our series of short films in which top advertisers reflect The JULIA SPARROW MONDELEZ on the pandemic’s impact on their businesses, and offer their importance “The brand teams in our business have really seen the value of that collaborative spirit and I do think that everyone has rallied round to come together.” perspectives on marketing in 2021 of partnerships INTRODUCTION 2020 HINDSIGHT VIEWING TRENDS ADVERTISING IN 2020 TV’S TRANSFORMATION THE SMARTEST PLANNING INSPIRING INSIGHTS 5 TV MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN 2020 THINKBOX A YEAR IN TV TV making a Supporting small businesses during the pandemic: In May, Sky launched SME100, a £1m fund to provide difference in 2020 100 small businesses with TV advertising campaigns via AdSmart. After high demand, the fund was increasedto TV can entertain, inform and inspire. It can help us feel connected to others £2.5m and was able to support 250 individual businesses. Accelerating towards a sustainable future: In 2020, through the shared experience of viewing. And it also has the power to do Sky announced Sky Zero with an ambition to be net zero carbon by 2030. With over 150 plug-in hybrid electric vans good through its rich content, powerful advertising and the work of the UK introduced to their fleet, Sky has also started building broadcasters.