Background:

This award was given for our work on a Digital Transformation project for ITV’s Planet V, an ad-tech platform that revolutionised the way ITV engages with advertisers.

ITV is the UK’s largest commercial broadcaster, and the rise of digital technology has been transformational in how ITV sells advertising across its platforms. Given the stiff competition for revenues in the digital broadcasting age, Planet V was one of the most ambitious and strategically important technology projects ITV has ever embarked on. But ITV had major goals for Planet V that involved it becoming a platform used by other commercial broadcasters and eventually the industry’s de facto video ad platform.

Key issues:

Planet V had around 1,500 users across the UK’s major advertising agency groups and was used to book 95% of ITV’s digital ad inventory. However, to realise its potential, there were issues to address. Many of these revolved around user experience. The ad agency teams that used Planet V expected a high level of User Experience when working with third-party AdTech companies, and Planet V needed to match those experiences. Even Planet V’s predecessor – SAS Intelligent Advertising for Publishers – which was still in use, was seen as having a more responsive UX than Planet V. It became apparent that for Planet V to achieve its goals, it needed to deliver a seamless user experience. In short, it needed transforming.

The solution:

ITV’s choice for the transformation was Full Clarity, a UX, Product and Service Design Consultancy, highly experienced in working with enterprises but also comfortable in a start-up environment. The nature of Planet V – an innovative and disruptive project located within a major enterprise – meant this capability was essential. It was also a complex project, so technical expertise was also important and the Full Clarity team quickly embedded with the Planet V internal team.

Given the importance of improving the User Experience, Full Clarity’s initial activity was around an extensive UX research phase with Planet V’s agency users and internal stakeholders. This cohort was engaged via multiple remote and in-person workshops, followed by user testing, sprint-by-sprint testing, and ongoing iterative feedback loops, delivering on ITV’s core value of continuous improvement. This feedback was instrumental in helping shift Planet V from a seller-centric experience to a buyer-centric experience. The Full Clarity team deployed UX research techniques such as stakeholder workshops, journey mapping, affinity mapping, lightning demos and feature flagging to get as much data and insight as possible before commencing design work.

The team then delivered wireframes, high-fidelity UI designs, prototypes and an overarching component driven UI design system. The goal was to create a navigational system that enables the user to have autonomy when both planning and booking advertising campaigns, enhancing their experience with Planet V. The final system was designed so that different users can work with the platform in the way they most prefer, and make it incredibly simple and effective to explore, plan and book advertising.

It was a lengthy and complex project to work on, but it was completed successfully through a combination of deep user research and user testing, continuous stakeholder communication, clarity of thought, innovation and quality of UX/UI design output.

The impact:

ITV’s targeted digital advertising revenue has grown by more than 60% and attracted over 600 new advertisers. 95% of ITV’s digital ad inventory is now booked through Planet V.

This change to the UX has delighted ITV’s advertisers, and ITV is now beginning to attract other broadcasters to the platform. In July 2023, Sky Media, the broadcaster’s advertising sales arm, joined Planet V, and it will have its own area on Planet V so that it can maintain control of its sales through the platform. Planet V is now the UK’s 2nd largest video ad platform behind Google, providing advertising agencies with access to data-enabled, fully addressable audiences at scale.

As of June 2024 Planet V, has on-boarded over 2,000 users, facilitated access for 1,100 new-to-ITV advertisers, welcomed both Sky & STV onto the platform, and delivered in excess of £1billion of ad-revenue.

Summary:

This award recognition highlights Full Clarity’s commitment to transforming complex digital platforms into user-centred, high-performance solutions that drive business success.

As we celebrate these achievements for our client and also our double success at the National Technology awards, we remain focused on continuing our work in digital transformation, innovation and software platform modernisation, partnering with clients to navigate and excel in the ever-evolving digital landscape.