To make a successful TV ad, it is imperative to choose your TV targets correctly. This is not always an easy task, we explain everything in this article!
What you need to know before making your TV advert:
- The average age of viewers is now approaching 55: viewers are getting older
- Television is the traditional medium that provides powerful visibility with a strong impact on a company's reputation
- There is now segmented TV advertising and local TV, are the targets changing?
It should be noted that the addition of a TV advertising device to a communication campaign leads, on average, to a 40% increase in commercial effects. All you have to do is choose your TV target carefully and you're in business!
Summary of the article: TV targets
- Common TV targets
- Complementary targets in television
- Thematic channels
- In segmented and local TV, do the targets change?
Common TV targets
To understand the terms of this article, we define what a TV target is: it is the complete audience which includes all the people who have been exposed to television, this audience is then broken down into TV targets (15+ years, 25-49 years, CSP+, etc.). To identify the TV audience, we speak of TV audience share, which refers to the proportion of viewers who have watched a programme at a given time.
>>> We help you identify your marketing target
Today, television channels have two high-performance targets, also known as reference targets:
- The 25-49 year old target: men and women are included in this age group
- CSP+: socio-professional category that includes executives, company managers, engineers, etc.
- The FRDA: women who are responsible for purchasing in the 25-49 age group
Men responsible for purchasing are new reference targets. Indeed, today the position of the man in a household has changed; he does the housework, he takes care of the meals, he does the shopping, he is concerned with the organisation of the house... And the car, fashion and banking sectors have understood this by adapting their advertising. The food, household appliance and beauty sectors must think about updating their marketing strategy for these new targets.
>>> How to make a TV commercial?
More specifically, we talk to you about the reference targets of the following advertising agencies:
- TF1 Pub: with an average market share of 28.4% in the 25-49 age group, the TF1 group easily dominates its competitors
- M6 Publicité: M6 is the second most watched channel in France among 25-49 year-olds
- FranceTV Publicité: the group performs well among target audiences, including women under 50
- BFM TV: in the 25-49 age group, the news channel remains the broad leader in all of its programming with a 3.4% audience share. In this target group, BFM TV is France's leading channel between 4.30am and 12pm
Complementary targets in television
Who are the complementary targets? These are the people who will influence the performance targets; they are like transmitters of information. These TV targets are very important for building your marketing ads: they will complement your main targets for a wider audience.
Let's take the example of the FranceTV channel and its advertising offers:
FranceTV Publicité offers several complementary targets (mixed and male targets, female targets and behavioural targets). What targets are they made up of? We explain:
- Mixed targets: all 25-49 year olds, 25-59 year olds and 35-59 year olds, men aged 25-49, CSP+ and purchasing managers under 60
- Female targets: women aged 25-49 and 35-59, female shoppers under 50, 25-49, with children under 15 and under 25
- Behavioural targets: all 25+ year olds, 35+ year olds, female shoppers aged 15+ and many GRP DATA
Who are the GRP DATA?
The term GRP DATA is used by TV advertising agencies to develop offers that no longer propose targeting based on socio-demographic data, but targeting based on behavioural data such as centres of interest.
New DATA target segments have been set up, notably by TF1 Publicité:
- The buyer target: determined by consumers' buying habits
- The attitudinal target: based on consumers' lifestyle habits
- The geotargeting target: defined by the geographical location of the audience
- The "custom" target: which includes the buyers of competitors
Thematic channels
By definition, thematic channels are TV channels dedicated to specific themes (e.g. Equidia; with content dedicated to horses). The programmes are targeted at specific topics or categories of viewers, as opposed to generalist TV channels that target a wider audience.
Thematic channels include:
- TV channels for young people: Canal J, Gulli, Tiji, Disney Channel ...
- Documentary TV channels: RMC Découverte, Planète+, Ushuaïa TV, Chasse et Pêche ...
- Women's TV channels: Chérie 25, Teva
- Cinema TV channels: Ciné+ Premier, TCM Cinéma ...
- Music TV channels: M6 Music, CSTAR ...
- Sports TV channels: Automoto, BeIN Sports, Eurosport, RMC Sport ...
How to reach your target group on thematic TV channels?
Targeting the right viewers for your TV ads on theme channels is very simple! All you need to do is find out the audience figures for the channels you have chosen and adapt your communication to the channel's theme.
Here are the TOP 20 theme channels with the highest TV ratings:
Channels |
Audiences |
Themes |
Paris Première |
12 228 |
Culture |
RTL 9 |
11 467 |
Cinema |
Teva |
8 117 |
Female |
Canal+ Sport |
8 011 |
Sport |
TV5 Monde |
7 181 |
Culture |
TV Breizh |
7 062 |
Mini-generalist |
Paramount Channel |
6 282 |
Cinema |
Canal+ Décalé |
6 281 |
Sport, Culture, Cinema |
Canal+ Cinéma |
6 094 |
Cinema |
Ciné+ Premier |
5 466 |
Cinema |
NRJ Hits |
5 099 |
Music |
AB 1 |
4 929 |
Mini-généralist |
BeIN Sports 1 |
4 703 |
Sport |
Ciné+ Frisson |
4 655 |
Cinema |
Ciné+ Famiz |
4 439 |
Cinema |
Eurosport 2 |
4 128 |
Sport |
Ciné+ Emotion |
4 118 |
Cinema |
Action |
4 111 |
Cinema |
Polar + |
4 107 |
Cinema |
Canal+ Séries |
3 933 |
Cinema |
Figures: coverage and audience share of thematic channels average Monday-Sunday 3am-3am - Mediamat'thematik universe all 4 years and + - from 4 January 2021 to 10 June 2021
New in TV: Segmented TV and local TV, are targets changing?
Segmented TV targets
Recently, it has become possible for advertisers to access viewer data. This data is obtained from Internet service providers or extracted from the IP addresses of the boxes. It allows precise marketing targeting.
What does this data consist of?
- Viewing habits
- Age of the audience
This information allows advertising messages to be tailored to different audience segments. This means that viewers have access to more relevant advertising content and products that are more likely to appeal to them.
Local TV targets
To access targeted advertising, you need to receive television via an internet box or a connected television. According to a report by the sector's professional organisations, 63% of French households are "potentially addressable". Information on the geolocation of the household is provided.