In 2022, 92% of U.S households were reachable by CTV programmatic advertising (according to Statista). The amount of CTV users is growing with more than 110 million users among Gen Z and Millenials alone. As such, more consumers are choosing streaming services than traditional television formats like cable and satellite.
What does this mean for advertisers? It’s time to make the switch to digital advertising formats like Connected TV (CTV).
And many already are. According to eMarketer, CTV ad spending projections are expecting it to hit $25.1 billion in 2023, $29.3 billion in 2024, and $33 billion in 2025.
As with any up-and-coming ad format, brands and advertisers need to analyze the channel and decide if it is suitable to implement into their respective omnichannel marketing plans. Based on goals, you need to know how a channel will push your campaign in the right direction of achieving your desired KPIs.
So, to help guide you in making that decision, we’ve outlined seven of the top benefits advertisers see when choosing to implement connected TV and how it complements the other channels you may already be using. Let’s dive in.
What is Connected TV (CTV)?
Connected TV (CTV) is a smart device where users can access streaming television, live television, and the internet for apps/browsing. This includes both devices with a built-in internet connection with pre-installed apps, such as a smart TV, and separate devices that use an internet connection to access content through the television as the display mechanism, such as an Amazon Firestick. Some of the most popular are Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Xbox, and Playstation.
How is CTV different from OTT?
OTT (over-the-top) is content where users stream television content through networks or devices accessed on any device, including Smart TVs, mobile smartphones, tablets, & laptops. Popular OTT providers include Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, Disney+, and HBO Now.
Although OTT and CTV are different functions of internet-accessed content, many times they are used interchangeably, and when buying ad placements, you can purchase them across both OTT and CTV, or separately. So, for the purposes of this blog, CTV is used to encompass both OTT and CTV.
7 Benefits of CTV Advertising
1. Today’s consumers are streamers
The average American household has four streaming service subscriptions and by 2026, there will be 80 million cord-cutting US households. With these platforms, viewers have access to a plethora of shows and movies across networks as well as original content. And when viewing this content, consumers choose where they watch, whether that be a connected TV, desktop, tablet, etc. As consumers continue to flock these platforms (many with ad-supported tiers), a growing audience can be reached through CTV ads.
2. More cost-effective to reach premium networks than linear TV
Many advertisers aren’t able to meet the minimums with linear television. Rather than buying into a television network with CTV, there is flexibility in choosing a price structure: cost per metric (1,000 views) or cost per completed view (CPCV). basis, making it more affordable to reach your audience on the big screen.
3. More Unique Opportunities with CTV than linear TV
In addition to flexible pricing, CTV reporting is more robust than you typically get across linear TV buys. Advertisers can see which segments are viewing their ads and make adjustments accordingly.
Another unique opportunity advertisers have is to run high-impact creative across CTV. For example, a QR code to drive users to convert, or a store locator to drive them to the nearest store to purchase the product. Television advertising is no longer just for awareness – and these creative formats in CTV advertising allow for measurable conversions.
4. 100% fraud-free and brand-safe curated CTV marketplace.
One of the biggest concerns advertisers face when creating their omnichannel marketing plan is ad fraud. When incorporating CTV, you’re purchasing via Private-Marketplace (PMP) or an Open Auction, eliminating ad fraud and brand safety concerns.
An open auction occurs on actively managed supply via major players such as SpotX, Samba TV, and Freewheel. A private marketplace buy is through a curated marketplace giving advertisers privileged access to premium publishers that are:
- Negotiated
- High-quality
- Human-curated
- Marketing objective-optimized
- 100% ads.txt verified
5. High completion rates, 100% viewable
Continuing in the realm of ad fraud, advertisers are understandably concerned about viewability. As we shift more and more to a digital world and advertisers and consumers are more accustomed to digital ads, advertisers want to ensure their message is received. CTV is the ideal format to justify these concerns.
Unlike other digital video formats (which have tremendous benefits of their own), CTV is non-skippable; consumers have to watch the ad to the end to continue viewing their programming. This is why the industry-standard benchmarks sit at 94% video completion rate (VCR) and 100% viewability.
6. Precision Targeting Capabilities
For advertisers who have long relied on linear television advertisements, it’s essential to understand that CTV not only allows you to reach a growing audience but also allows you to target your desired consumers better. When investing in linear television ads, you’re paying for your ad to reach all viewers with different demographics and contextual attributes. Some may be interested in your product, some may be part of your audience, but some may be neither, and in turn, you’re wasting those critical ad dollars.
With CTV advertising, deliver ads to contextually relevant placements through pre-determined content categories, ensuring that you reach consumers interested in your brand or product. For example, at Digilant, we use device ID technology to reach households within your target audience that use CTV devices.
7. Track online and offline sales with attribution partners to measure the campaign’s impact on performance
CTV has long been considered a channel suitable for the awareness and consideration stages of an omnichannel marketing plan. As most CTV ads aren’t clickable, advertisers have difficulty trying the ads to actual sales.
However, with various measurement and attribution solutions available, advertisers now have access to this data, how the ad ties directly to sales (both online and offline), justifying this ad format for all stages of the buying journeys.
At Digilant, we use our partnerships with MediaMath, The Trade Desk, and more, which gives advertisers the ability to measure the impact of CTV on sales lift, track exposure across your CTV/OTT campaign, and tie it to offline sales with measurements including:
- Viewer response and impact by weekday/daypart, device type, creative, campaign flight, app, etc.
- Audience overlap and deduplicated reach by publisher
- Key metrics such as frequency, conversion rates, and cost per visit
- Reach, frequency, and recency analytics along with impressions and responses by geo.
How CTV complements other channels in your omnichannel marketing plan
As mentioned above, CTV is a channel that can be used across every stage of the buying journey. With solutions such as cross-device and sequential messaging, advertisers can continue conversations with consumers once they view a CTV ad. For example:
- CTV and display: Once a consumer watches a CTV ad, it is followed by strategic display ads with a timely call-to-action
- CTV and paid search: Once someone familiarizes themselves with (or is remind of) your brand with a CTV ad, they inevitably search for products or services to buy. A paid search campaign ensures that search benefits your brand.
- CTV and paid social: Just as consumers are streaming video more, they are also more active on social media. So as they browse their social feeds, you can follow up a CTV ad with either display or video ads.
The benefits of CTV clearly outline why advertisers are making the switch to this digital-first channel. First and foremost, more consumers are tapping into this TV-viewing form. But beyond the growing viewership, the flexibility, pricing, and audience targeting abilities make it a clear winner.
The icing on the cake? Advertisers can track all marketing efforts in one place with robust measurement and attribution. With these tools, brands have a clear, overall picture of how all digital channels are working in conjunction to take their omnichannel marketing plan to success.
Digilant’s CTV solutions are built for your brand
With the ever-growing popularity of video watching, we recognize the importance (rather, necessity) of a solid digital video solution, CTV included. Our planning and insights strategists make informed decisions based on your goals (clicks or video completes, for example) and where your digital video will perform best. From there, our strategic partnerships with MediaMath, The Trade Desk, top publishers, and a robust curated marketplace ensure your ads are served across premium placements. And finally, we tie it all together with custom-built, automated, holistic analytics services to allow our clients to visualize their data, all in one tool.
Are you interested in learning more about our CTV solutions? We’re eager to talk more about how we can help you reach your goals. Contact us today.