LG’s ad unit to offer guarantees on outcomes with CTV ad buys

“We created this extensive program as the starting point in a new paradigm for TV-driven outcomes in which marketers are assured every CTV ad dollar hits the bullseye,” said LG Ads Solutions CEO Raghu Kodige in an announcement of the program. “Whether driving sales, conversions, or customer acquisition, advertisers struggle to quantify ROAS for TV spend.”

All third-party verification providers of the program are MRC-accredited and include several measurement firms and data partners, which were not revealed. Data partners are expected to validate demographic reach (including age, gender, ethnicity and the presence of kids in the home) as well as video completion rates. 

The only partner LG mentioned was iSpot, with whom the company recently signed a licensing partnership. According to the announcement, iSpot will help to validate reach and frequency goals such as incremental CTV reach and frequency over linear TV, incremental frequency over other digital ad vendors, and competitive conquesting goals.

Some media agencies have already been apprised of the new offering, including ones owned by Dentsu and IPG. Keith Camoosa, Dentsu Media’s chief addressability officer, said “Transacting on guaranteed outcomes has been a missing piece of the puzzle with CTV. Being able to pay only for media that achieves an advertisers’ specific goal is a real game changer.””

Added Huw Griffiths, global chief product officer for UM: “Guarantees on media buys are a great step in the right direction for the industry; particularly when they are backed by third-party verification for full transparency. [This is] a big step toward eliminating waste and addresses a big problem for advertisers.”

One executive at another CTV seller, however, was not wholly impressed with the news. “Until you know exactly what outcomes they’re promising, I’d be asking for more information,” said the executive who declined to speak for attribution. “Like are we talking upper funnel, mid-funnel or lower funnel?”

In an emailed statement, LG responded: ““LG Ads Solutions Guaranteed Outcomes program will offer full-funnel attribution, including conversions such as registrations and subscriptions, app opens, web and physical location visits, tune-in and more.  Additional announcements regarding outcome-based guarantees on LG Ads Solutions inventory will be forthcoming throughout 2022.”

As with other TV set makers like Vizio that got into the ad-sales business with the advent of smart TVs and the data they generate, LG Ad Solutions analyzes its TV set universe to anonymously target audiences based on screen-level insights into programs and ads watched.