By Rumen Sokolov

A little over 90 years ago, first in the United States and then in Germany, people started watching television. This is the time when cinema was the main ambassador of moving images, and the big screen would attract thousands in the halls. In the following years, until the end of the last century, cinema and television constantly struggled to attract the interest of viewers with the changing balance of power. At one point, the Internet and technology intervened in the battle, and young people turned their attention mainly there.

Earlier this year, however, what hadn't happened in 100 years happened - a global pandemic that locked people in their homes all around the world. And again, television has become the favorite of many people. "In these months, the importance of the social function of television has grown - to help us be together, to empathize and to compensate for the social distance we are subjected to," said Dessislava Proeva, Sales Director at bTV Media Group. The drastic change in lifestyle because of the pandemic has reshaped the daily lives of the audience and has naturally affected the programming schedules and content concepts of media companies around the world. The thirst for information also grew.

In this situation, a number of global studies that argue that it is in turbulent times that people need trusted brands to make it easier for them to adapt to the new reality, have been confirmed. With the announcement of the emergency epidemiological situation in March, there has been a noticeable increase in the viewing of news and current affairs programs. "bTV shifted its programming focus to this content, and our viewers actively sought the most timely, reliable and professionally presented information across the bTV channels," adds Dessislava Proeva.

bTV regularly measures the attitudes and expectations of the viewers and in March received a confirmation that the direction is right. A nationally representative survey by Market Links, for example, showed that television is the main source of information for 73% of Bulgarians on all topics related to COVID-19 and the state of emergency. And nearly 60% of them named bTV as the television they trust the most in covering these topics. In March, the website btvnovinite.bg climbed to the first position among all sites in our country, the media shares.

According to Dessislava Proeva, the television and the reliable environment that bTV Media Group provides have facilitated the communication of brands with consumers - both through the strength and trust of the audience in them, and through the opportunities that their local content offers.

MANY COMPANIES HAVE ADAPTED THEIR BUSINESS MODEL TO CONTINUE TO BE CLOSE TO THE CONSUMERS, AND IT IS THE TV SCREEN THAT HAS PLAYED THE MOST KEY ROLE IN PRESERVING THIS CONNECTION

"We see it now in the period before Christmas, when screens become a substitute for traditional shopping windows and shortened shopping time," adds Dessislava Proeva. Advertisers are increasingly promoting the creation of online versions of their stores, and increased viewership focused on television is their best partner in reaching as many people as possible.

Dessislava Proeva believes that the predictions that the Internet will replace traditional media are not only not coming true, but the Internet has made television even stronger in recent years. In a world of fake news, quick facts and exhausted endurance, the moments of interaction with quality content are promoted. A global study by Amplified Intelligence (a leader in measuring attention and its relationship to sales) has shown that television engages 100% of viewers' attention 100% of the time, and online platforms allow only between 4 and 30% active viewing. "Using a second screen is now a parallel view for an upgrade purpose, rather than replacing the TV screen," says Proeva. This is also extremely useful information for advertisers, because it makes television the media with the strongest link between viewership and sales. According to her, the impact on sales of high-quality TV content is definitely superior to Facebook and YouTube. And this superiority is enhanced when television is combined with the power of other channels such as radio and especially mobile screens and the ability to access content on-demand, as provided by btvplus.bg and btvnovinite.bg.

In recent years, the market share of digital advertising has been constantly increasing, but according to her this does not hinder television advertising, because the market focuses on the synergies between different media channels. And she gives an example that just as morning fresh can provide us with energy for the whole day, so the choice of the best combination of channels for access to the audience should be well considered for each brand, because television brings the energy to the media mix. "Through television, more people are reached in a very influential way and with the power of all means of expression - in an environment with the consumer's attention and the opportunity for strong social interaction afterwards," says Dessislava Proeva. And that builds strong brands.

In all combinations with television there is an increase in the return on investment. At bTV, such an example is the combination with a presence in high-quality video productions in a digital environment, such as their digital sequels of global formats such as "MasterChef" and "The Farm". The media group has the privilege to easily build trust in their partners' brands, because they have the power of everything behind their brand and the confidence in their content. Additionally, they have the ability to target the digital presence, as well as many options for upgrading associations through their radio channels. With the advent of augmented reality technologies and alternative advertising forms, brands receive the most successful formula for presence and strong reach in the minds of the audience. "It is no coincidence that today there is increased investment in those kinds of solutions at bTV," says Desislava Proeva.

She is convinced that both around the world and in Bulgaria, television will continue to be a force, because it has the largest resource for creating quality video content, especially in the markets in our region. Regardless of the rise of streaming giants, the fact that local content is the most influential, closest to the people, to their values and priorities, keeps the attention strong on their content. Proeva assures that after an atypical year, bTV will continue to be with their viewers and partners to facilitate the return of a sense of normalcy through the upcoming Spring season and shows that traditionally bring good mood within households.

In the last three or four years, bTV has significantly expanded the positioning and offering of its TV content in an online environment. This leads to a large-scale growth of their digital portfolio. In addition to the improved access to Bulgarian TV productions, many exclusive video projects have been created for the viewers, digital extensions to their hit prime time formats, and the platform for delayed viewing btvplus has been optimized. "Quality local content combined with new technologies has led to this growth and this is the formula to keep and increase our audience in the future," says Dessislava Proeva.

In terms of technology, bTV Media Group has been a constant generator of innovation for 20 years and applies global practices on our market. "If we take the tape back, we will see that step by step we have launched solutions that today the market perceives as established," says Proeva. More than a decade ago, for example, the company introduced alternative forms of advertising on television. This allows for integrations in local content and global formats, and this is done on the content itself, in real time, outside the commercial break. A little later they made possible the first product placement. For several years now, bTV Media Group has been successfully using interactions with augmented reality technologies on the Bulgarian market.

THE USE OF A SECOND SCREEN IS ALREADY A RATHER PARALLEL VIEWING WITH AN UPGRADE PURPOSE, NOT REPLACEMEMENT OF THE TV SCREEN

The TV has automated capabilities of programmatic and DMP for segmenting audiences. In 2021, a video application for mobile devices will be launched. Multiplatform solutions are also integrated, which upgrade the access points and the engagement of the audience.

According to Proeva, however, efficiency is absolutely impossible without data reliability, because the most developed markets are beginning to link investment in advertising and audience access that they generate with real business results. Traditional television metrics and planning are entering an era in which advertisers will know how much sales they have gained from people that they reached with their messages. Industries rely on unified systems for audience measurement, and it is becoming increasingly necessary and absolutely possible to measure the access across all platforms, and deliver reliable and accurate information. This makes it easy to make informed business decisions.

It is in the interest of the entire media and advertising industry and its users to have the most complete data on interest, return and contextually appropriate environment in which to direct advertising budgets and communication. It is important for the media to know their viewers, for companies to know their users, their changing habits and interests, and to receive reliable feedback on their strategies. "Total Video is talked about a lot worldwide, because the content has long gone beyond the big screen and is all around us," says Dessislava Proeva, adding that the viewer's attention is focused on each screen, but not every screen reaches the target audience equally.

According to her, without modernizing the existing system for audience measurement in Bulgaria, there is no way for a brand to understand the real audience attention. The tendency is for the content to enter through all screens, which is why the Bulgarian market needs a comprehensive system for measuring the attention of each viewer. In this regard, bTV has taken the initiative for this important process and has reached out to the industry to get closer to the latest solutions on our media market. "We have taken the first step towards comprehensive user contact data with content on all platforms. As part of the company that has been moving the industry forward for 20 years and has imposed global practices in our country, I am convinced that we will have a solution soon.

And the industry needs valuable projects around which to unite. This is one of the reasons why a number of advertising forums have been dropped this year due to the pandemic, but not the Effie Awards, which distinguish the effectiveness of advertising campaigns. In this regard, Dessislava Proeva says that it is the effectiveness of advertising that is important for the industry, especially in times of emergency. "In such difficult times, working solutions are vital to the business, and Effie rewards them," says Proeva. For her, there is no more important moment than the present one to pay special attention to efficiency, and this is true for markets around the world, because the effects of the pandemic on economies are everywhere.

In recent months, despite the complicated situation, the industry has managed to implement extremely memorable and successful campaigns that deserve to be encouraged. "I believe that many of them will shine in gold, the characteristic color of Effie winners," says Dessislava Proeva. According to her, the Effie Awards create trends in the advertising industry and set standards for efficiency, which is the common goal of the entire market.  

Read the full story in the new issue of Forbes Bulgaria magazine and online on forbesbulgaria.com

PROFESSIONALISM

Dessislava Proeva has been Sales Director at bTV Media Group since January 2018. Prior to that, she headed the Television Sales Department from 2017, and since 2007 she has been part of the company's sales team. She has many years of experience in the field of sales and media, as well as in supporting and successfully implementing highly influential advertising campaigns on different platforms in the context of their content and strength. Dessislava Proeva is a member of the jury of the Effie Awards for the fourth consecutive year.

She graduated from the University of Saarland, Germany, where she earned a master's degree in business administration with a focus on information systems and controlling. She has passed a number of specialized trainings and seminars on current trends in media sales and advertising.