Advertisers hoping to reach under-18 viewers on YouTube can keep PACE with a new tool

Precise TV has unveiled a first-of-its-kind solution to help advertisers reach consumers under the age of 18. At the IAB PlayFronts, the contextual video ad tech platform unveiled PACE, a tool that helps users target young viewers in an efficient and legally compliant manner.

PACE, which stands for Precise Audience Content Evaluator, draws from its namesake company’s proprietary data to serve as “the first comprehensive video advertising solution for audience targeting and measurement for under-18 demographics,” according to a press release from Precise TV. By applying machine learning to that data, PACE aims to reduce wasted spend among advertisers seeking to reach the relevant cohort.

In an email to Tubefilter, a Precise TV rep demonstrated how PACE can be used to break down audience segments, even within the nebulous “under-18” category. For example:

• Educational creator Ms. Rachel gets 85% of her traffic from viewers aged five and under.
• Ryan’s World viewership is split fairly evenly between the 2-5 and 6-9 age brackets. The toy channel has a majority of male viewers (65%) compared to Ms. Rachel’s majority-female audience (55%).
• Most of MrBeast‘s audience (75%) is male, and the most common age demographic among his fans is teens between the ages of 13 and 17. They account for 39% of his viewers. Check out the image up top for the full breakdown.

Precise TV is building PACE on top of its existing work in the children’s entertainment ecosystem. It previously used its database to inform brands about the ways that viewership trends influence purchasing decisions among kids and parents.

“Brands seeking the attention of kids and teens have long struggled with a lack of visibility into their campaign performance,” said Precise TV Co-Founder and Co-CEO Christian Dankl in a statement. “With PACE, we’re providing a level of precision and transparency never seen before.”

PACE arrives at a time when U.S. regulators are thoroughly investigating digital ads that target underage viewers. Precise TV is answering any safety concerns by ensuring that PACE operates in a COPPA-compliant manner. The data used to train PACE’s models is anonymized and aggregated, and parents are present when their kids fill out viewership surveys.

As brands, creators, and agencies get used to working within the confines of rulebooks like COPPA, we’re seeing a lot more products designed to fine-tune campaigns that are linked to children’s entertainment. Common Sense Networks, for example, has brought child-safe partnerships to Roblox, and media company Moonbug recently announced its first-ever brand campaign for smash hit nursery school series CoComelon.

PACE may be the most sophisticated targeting and measurement tool introduced into that ecosystem thus far. Working alongside brands in its beta testing phase, PACE has achieved 76% campaign delivery in core demographics, such as boys between the ages of 7 and 12. Precise TV describes that result as “a massive improvement over industry benchmarks” — so there are plenty of reasons for advertisers to get excited.