Publicis Media adapting to COVID-19 with Lens for TV

Overview of recent media industry changes

The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically changed the Canadian media landscape. From the postponement of the Olympics, to the suspension of live sports, to the increased appetite for News programming, keeping up with our TV audiences has never been more urgent. 

Within Publicis we saw demand for broadcast tracking go through the roof when the pandemic hit.  We needed to inform our clients daily on the rapidly changing consumption behaviour while at the same time predicting future trends for longer term planning.

The challenge

It is important for Publicis Research to work holistically with our account teams, and as such, we wanted to arm them with first-hand knowledge so they can better advise clients on TV media strategies during this unstable time. 
Our plan was to send out a weekly update on TV consumption for the duration of the pandemic to all of our account teams.  We wanted them to have the latest metrics across multiple demos, displayed in different ways, across all major markets.  We also wanted the planning teams to have the ability to easily adjust the reports to suit their client’s specific needs.  
Prior to COVID-19, Publicis Media Canada accessed all TV audience data from a desk-top based analysis tool.  Once the pandemic hit and we began to work from home, due to our network set up, it was difficult to run. As the demand for reporting frequency increased, our transition to a fully remote workforce and lack of access to some network drives, made it difficult for us to keep up.