What is Sling TV Advertising?


In the following article, we will cover:
 
With major data privacy-focused changes expected to impact the ‘how’ of performance marketing targeting and measurement, many advertisers are seeking fresh solutions that allow them to shift some of their marketing dollars into areas that will continue to be highly targetable and measurable.

  • What is Sling TV?
  • What is Sling TV advertising?
  • What are the SlingTV ad types?
  • How does Sling TV advertising work?
  • Sling TV Amidst Privacy-Led Industry Changes

What is SlingTV?

 
With the data-driven video option, brands can focus their marketing efforts on targeted audiences based on the following factors: 
 
Addressable advertising allows brands to leverage household-level targeting using on a national scale using a host of different customizable filters and metrics. All ads are dynamically served and only displayed when the viewer is online, for zero wasted impressions.  jesse math

What is Sling TV advertising?

Comprehensive attribution modeling allows insight into the following areas:


 
There are currently three types of ads offered by Sling TV:

 
Sling TV’s advertising model combines elements from traditional cable TV and that of more modern digital marketing techniques.
Basic subscriptions start at , which makes it ideal for budget-conscious viewers. Instead of a traditional cable box, Sling TV subscribers can connect via a media streamer device, a game console, or just the Sling TV mobile app. 
 
 Kayla Yee, Account Executive, Sling TV at Dish Media

What are the SlingTV ad types?

Sling TV is one such service. It combines the best elements of cable TV and internet streaming and has come up with an advertising format that manages to satisfy both brands and viewers – a rarity in today’s age of ad blockers.

  • Video
  • Data-driven video
  • Addressable

Video ads

 
Your ideal Sling TV advertising option will depend on your campaign’s goals, available budget, and the current advertising inventory. Sling TV’s large subscriber base, unskippable ads, and deep targeting options mean you’re going to be able to maximize your advertising spend no matter what ad option you choose. 
 

Data-driven video

“Data is and will continue to be a big piece of the conversation going forward. With this ever-evolving space and with the way data is changing (and as we see cookies going away) first-party publisher data will be more important and deterministic data overall. Specifically in programmatic exchanges.”

  • Demographics
  • Viewer behavior
  • Platform
  • Location
  • Device type
  • Time of day
  • And more

Cable and satellite television – and the advertising model supporting them – haven’t changed much in the past few decades. This has left them wide open to more recent services that do a far better job at meeting viewer demand.

Addressable advertising

It should be noted that viewers are allowed to opt-out of targeted advertising. This means that the viewer will still see ads (and the ads are still not skippable), but the ads will not be tailored towards that individual. 
 
Like traditional cable TV, brands are charged by impression and they can choose to advertise on a range of different networks with different content. Also, ads are not skippable, and cannot be fast-forwarded or blocked. 

  • Sales matchback
  • Website traffic
  • Brand awareness study
  • Location visits
  • A/B testing
  • And more

How does Sling TV advertising work?

Credit: sling.com

  1. Determine your target market. This includes defining segments and campaign objectives. 
  2. Use subscriber data to identify those most likely to engage with your ad using propensity modeling. 
  3. Deliver ads to target networks and dayparts based on the above modeling and segmentation.
  4. Receive post-campaign reports.

— Jesse Math, VP; Advanced TV & Video Solutions at Tinuiti

Sling TV Amidst Privacy-Led Industry Changes

 
This option also provides brands with in-depth post-campaign reporting. 
 
 
Sling TV is a live TV streaming service that started in February 2015 – the first such service in the world. With it, viewers can use their tablets, phones, and computers to watch the same live and on-demand programs that would normally be limited to cable and satellite TV.
As of 2020, it’s reported to have over 2.21 million subscribers in the US alone. 
“In this moment of privacy, the TV screen is becoming one of the most targetable devices in an advertiser’s toolkit. Because the TV screen never had cookies or IDFA to begin with, their deprecation doesn’t affect TV screen targeting in the same way.”

Interested in learning more about Sling TV and how to advertise? Be sure to check out our exclusive interview with Sling TV next week!

But Sling TV also makes use of programmatic advertising, which allows brands to bid on desirable TV inventory in private auctions. This inventory is divided into live, linear, and on-demand programming. 
To learn more about how OTT stands out as a targetable and measurable opportunity amidst privacy-led industry changes, check out our recent blog post.
 
The Data-Driven Video and Addressable ad options work follow a similar 4-step process:
 
This ad type is a mass-market option, which allows brands to reach national audiences by advertising on premium programming and sporting events. Ad inventory is spread across over 200 networks on more than 12 device types across the Sling TV and DISH platforms.