A device map with TV as the master key can link all of a household's digital devices and follow users outside the home to enable cross-screen engagement and attribution. Building a robust device map requires identifying devices through various data sources, linking them probabilistically or deterministically, and continuously refining matches using machine learning to account for false positives and negatives. Putting the device map to the test during major events allows for real-time syncing of ads to second screens based on TV viewership, measurement of cross-screen impact on metrics like brand recall and sales lift.

1. BUILDING A DEVICE MAP | 1
May 2017
Whitepaper
Smart TVs
for a Smarter
Device Map
A device map with the TV as the master
key can be the secret to unlocking a
holistic marketing strategy

2. BUILDING A DEVICE MAP | 2
Introduction
Overview of a device map
with TV as the master key
Table of
Contents
Building a Powerful
Device Map
The science behind creating a
robust and thorough device map
Putting it to the test
Targeting and measuring in a
unified device world
About Samba TV
Samba by the numbers
3
4
10
13

3. INTRODUCTION | 3
Device map
for the modern marketer
For the last five decades, television has put the “mass” in “mass media”. Back in the day when shows like Happy Days,
Cheers and Seinfeld commanded appointment viewing audiences, advertisers could rely on TV as a single platform to
reach viewers with their high-impact TV commercials. Today however, with time-shifted, on-demand and over-the-top
services, viewers control when, where and how to watch their favorite shows across a growing number of connected
devices including laptops, tablets, smartphones, smart TVs, Apple TV, Roku and more, making it difficult for marketers to
understand ad exposure and impact.
With this in mind, while it’s common for advertisers to develop strategies and allocate budgets by device, planning in
silos creates blind spots in ad effectiveness, path to purchase, frequency impact and overall reach. For example, when
measuring what drove a digital conversion, are TV ads included in the attribution strategy as well?
With a cross-platform device map, advertisers can see the true impact of their TV and digital media investments.
When digital devices and televisions from one individual or household are linked together, it becomes easier to target
people across screens based on behaviors, provide the right message depending on exposure and measure de-
duplicated impact, proving out ROAS.

4. INTRODUCTION | 4
TV is the master key
Early device maps simply linked one person’s mobile device activity – like in-app ad
exposure – to their laptop or desktop browsing habits. However, those early device maps
had no way to establish a “household.”
Today, device maps are centered on the primary screen where set-top boxes and smart
TVs become the master platform thanks to their dominant, persistent connection at the
household level. TV has become the bridge between those early graphs and a new, truly
cross-screen device map.

5. Building
a Powerful
Device Map
BUILDING A DEVICE MAP | 5
The most powerful device map is one that’s created
by identifying a household’s current devices and remaining
always on, even when the viewer isn’t in front of the television.

6. BUILDING A DEVICE MAP | 6
Identifying the devices
However, how does the TV become the master key of the device map? The best way is if the firmware
to identify the TV and collect viewership data is directly embedded into the chipset level of the TVs through
partnerships with the original equipment manufacturers (OEM). Any digital device using a compatible SDK or
API can then be mapped deterministically back to the TV. Adding more device data from sources like set-top box
data, IP addresses, web traffic, bid requests from ad exchanges, device IDs, and cookies can further increase the
footprint of this device map.
A deterministic device map links devices to
individuals using login data, like the email
IDs of registered users – signing into The
New York Times from a tablet, smartphone
and laptop using the same ID, for example.
This method is limited in scale since it works
only when the services being used are
registered to that ID and it can’t be shared
across vendors or services, creating
a walled garden. It also can’t link devices that
belong to the same household but don’t use
an ID ― like a shared family tablet or devices
without a log in, like a TV.
This ideal method
combines the best
of deterministic and
probabilistic mapping.
It has the scale of a
probabilistic device map,
but can fine-tune results
with a deterministic truth
set by adding more
persistent identifiers.
DETERMINISTIC
PROBABILISTIC
HYBRID
A probabilistic device map makes its
matches using more freely available
information, like location or IP address.
This is less accurate than deterministic
IDs, but far easier to scale. For this to
work well, a probabilistic device map
needs to use a persistent, privacy-
compliant identifier.
BUILDING A DEVICE MAP | 6
Three types of device maps exist, each with a different way of linking devices:

7. BUILDING A DEVICE MAP | 7
Capturing Outliers
Identifying missing devices
Missing devices are devices that should belong to the
household but are not captured in the device map.
• Using multiple data sources to identify digital devices, like
TV-to-device pairing, cookies/device IDs and bid requests
through exchanges, can ensure the device map captures all
the digital devices in any given household.
• Households that have additional TV sets that are not Smart
TVs are captured by enhancing the Smart TV dataset with
set-top-box data.
Which TVs truly belong to a household and
which are in offices, hotels or airports?
A device map needs a way to scrub out “rogue” TVs while correctly
identifying the primary/home set. How is this done? With
continuous machine learning, algorithms track usage patterns
of the TVs and their mapped digital devices, weeding out false
positives and false negatives within the dataset.

8. BUILDING A DEVICE MAP | 8
Identifying False Positives
False positives are devices that have
wrongly been included in the device map
• If a TV is connected to a higher-than-average number
of digital devices, and those devices are constantly
changing, the environment could be identified as an
airport, coffee shop or other public place.
• If a higher-than-average number of digital devices are
connected to a TV, but it’s almost always the same set of
devices, the environment could be identified as an office.
• If the digital devices mapped to a TV change at a higher-
than-normal frequency, the environment could be identified
as a hotel where users connect to the IP for a few days
at a time.
Identifying False Negatives
False negatives within a device map indicate TVs that
are wrongly classified as non-household. For example:
• An IP change for a digital device would technically indicate
that it no longer belongs to that household. But,
if the IP change is consistent with that of the TV, it could
indicate an IP refresh of the entire household. In such
cases the map needs to update and continue tracking
all devices as part of the same household.
• All digital devices using the same IP in a household are
plotted as part of that household’s device map. But, if a
digital device spends just a few hours in that environment, it
could be a visiting guest.
• If a TV has an accepted average number of devices
mapped to it, it would fall into the definition of a household.
However, there may be smaller environments (such as a
startup office) that would fit that description but should not
be considered a household. In such cases, measurements
of average time of day and duration of the devices active on
that IP would be able to capture the non-household nature
of these devices.

9. BUILDING A DEVICE MAP | 9
Tracking Outside
the Household
A truly functional device map needs to walk out the front door with the user and stay
with them in their office, in line at the food truck, and on the road as they travel.
That’s bad news for older technologies that rely on a constant connection between TVs and digital devices or apps
because when a connection between devices is lost outside of the home, marketers face a measurement gap. A
unique thumbprint for mapped devices – one that stays with users out in the world – is needed to build an intricate map
across all touchpoints including browser cookies, phone device IDs, the platforms serving ads to that phone, etc.
This great “circle of digital life” ensures that a device will always stay on the grid.

10. PUTTING IT TO THE TEST | 10
6devices
27.6M
tweets
75%
US average per household
sent using the hashtag #SB51
during the 2017 Super Bowl
of viewers use a second
screen while watching
TV shows
PUTTING IT TO THE TEST | 10
Putting it
to the Test
Second-screen usage soars during tentpole events which
is also when a user is most receptive to brand messages
making it the perfect opportunity to reinforce the brand.

11. PUTTING IT TO THE TEST | 11
ADS BASED ON TV SHOWS
A national beer brand might find it useful to
show digital ads on the smartphones of NFL
viewers as they watch the kickoff on TV.
ADS BASED ON TV ADS
A local pizza shop could show digital ads for
speedy home delivery when their own
ad or a competitor’s ad is on TV.
Sync & Retarget
Devices in Real-Time
You can carry the moment forward as you target football fans, music lovers,
or home improvement viewers based on what they’ve watched in the past.
A device map is an essential piece of the puzzle if you want to engage users based on their TV viewership. The
connection also has to happen in a few seconds: know exactly what content is playing on the TV, and then target the
digital devices mapped to that household.

12. PUTTING IT TO THE TEST | 12
An eCommerce advertiser might want to know which
purchases were driven by TV and digital ad exposure,
and the lift in sales when the two are combined.
A broadcaster might want to measure the tune-ins
to a live show that result from a blend of TV and
digital ads.
TV
Digital
TV + Digital
TV
Digital
TV + Digital
Measurement:
Cross-Screen Attribution
Understand the consumer’s path to purchase and pinpoint the exact
moments of TV or digital exposure that led to conversion.
The numbers are clear: brand recall rises with the right cross-screen engagement. A combination of TV exposure
and Twitter can result in a 45% increase in brand recall for season premieres, finales or other engaging content. The
key to this kind of cross-screen impact is measurement, and that starts with a device map that can track and plot
exposure on the digital devices and TVs of the household.

13. SUMMARY | 13
Unlocking Consumer
Connections with a
Device Map
When viewership behaviors are connected through a
sophisticated device map using TV as the master key, we’re
given access to a single, de-duplicated view of the consumer
across screens.
But, however powerful a device map is, it is ultimately not the
solution. Rather, the map is simply a guide that helps to unlock
opportunities for advertisers to engage with consumers in new
and meaningful ways.
A device map helps marketers:
• Link all of a household’s digital devices
• Follow users outside the home
• Engage users on second screens as they watch TV
• Measure everything with cross-screen attribution

14. ABOUT SAMBA TV | 14
About Samba TV
Samba TV is a data and analytics company providing essential television insights by leveraging the world’s most
comprehensive source of real-time viewership data across broadcast, cable TV, OTT and digital media. Through software
embedded in smart TVs and set-top boxes and mapped to connected mobile devices, laptops and PCs, Samba TV
helps marketers activate cross-screen campaigns and measure the impact of their media investment by bridging the gap
between digital and television. Samba TV is headquartered in San Francisco with offices across the United States and
Europe with plans for continued global expansion. For more information, please visit www.samba.tv or follow
@samba_tv on Twitter.
Samba by
the numbers
9TV
manufacturers
13.5M
households with TV
viewership data
66M
digital devices
with 1:1 mapping
1B+
digital devices for
programmatic reach