The advent and expansion of OTT (over-the-top) and CTV (connected TV) advertising have brought about a thrilling advancement in digital advertising—the capability to hyper-target your audience right in their living rooms.
While television has traditionally been a medium with extensive reach, advertising on conventional broadcast or satellite TV employs a one-size-fits-all approach, often failing to cater to niche audiences.
Moreover, the rise of cord-cutters transitioning to streaming services has propelled digital media to surpass traditional media in terms of time spent.
Compared to traditional advertising mediums, CTV advertising offers a significantly more sophisticated approach to audience targeting.
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What is Connected TV Advertising?
Connected TV (CTV) enables the display of advertisements on internet-connected TVs and devices that support streaming video content beyond what is provided by cable providers.
By the end of 2022, it was anticipated that over 39.3 million households in the United States would have severed ties with traditional pay TV, a number projected to increase to 46.6 million households by 2024.
The growing trend of cord-cutting comes as no surprise, considering the availability of streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, Apple TV+, and Disney+.
These platforms offer viewers the freedom to watch their desired content at their convenience, all at a more affordable cost compared to traditional cable subscriptions. Consequently, the landscape of TV advertising is undergoing a transformative shift, with CTV advertising experiencing a significant surge in popularity.
CTV advertising includes programmatically purchased ads shown on various platforms such as consoles, computer/mobile streaming, gaming devices, over-the-top (OTT), Video on Demand, and Smart TVs.
It’s an opportunity for brands to reach audiences who are actively consuming online content. It serves as a form of digital advertising that expands brand exposure beyond physical or online stores, capturing the attention of viewers browsing websites and watching videos.
The exciting aspect is that advertisers and vendors can leverage CTV advertising to extend their brand's reach by tailoring their campaigns to match the interests of their target audience. Connected TV advertising offers a simpler and more efficient alternative to traditional Linear TV advertising. Compared to the old approach, CTV advertising is not only more convenient but also more cost-effective.
In the past, purchasing ad slots involved a laborious process that demanded extensive time and effort, including lengthy negotiations, numerous meetings, and the risk of being outmaneuvered by competitors. However, this challenge was overcome with the introduction of programmatic advertising. This innovative approach enables the buying and selling of ad spaces through automated web service platforms.
With these platforms, buyers such as brands and ad agencies can easily browse and bid on available ad spaces in real-time, leading to enhanced transparency and a significant reduction in the negotiation complexities. Additionally, programmatic advertising opens doors for smaller buyers to compete for ad spaces that were previously out of their reach.
What Are the Benefits of CTV Advertising?
By adopting a CTV advertising strategy, you can tap into extensive consumer data collected by device manufacturers, OTT platform providers, and third-party advertisers.
In contrast, a linear TV campaign is limited to targeting a specific demographic. As digital advertising continues to evolve, CTV business campaigns offer the potential for significantly enhanced precision.
You no longer need to allocate resources to reach every viewer when your goal is to target a specific subset of the audience. CTV advertising technology enables this level of precision and efficiency.
To gain further insights into the CTV business model, let's delve deeper into some of the key advantages of CTV advertising.
- Precise Audience Targeting
- Cost-Effective TV Advertising
- Real-Time Metrics
- Premium and Responsive Audiences
- Variety of Ad Formats
1. Precise Audience Targeting
Connected TV leverages the precision of digital advertising, empowering advertisers to effectively reach their desired audience at the perfect moment. A notable advantage of audience segmentation is the ability to target viewers with tailored messages, thereby enhancing brand recognition.
To illustrate the significance of CTV advertising, consider a compelling scenario where a new video game is promoted specifically to individuals who own an Xbox or recommending a fresh pair of hiking boots to someone who frequently engages with outdoor content on YouTube.
2. Cost-Effective TV Advertising
Connected TV is often recognized as a relatively costly video advertising approach, typically commanding an average CPM (cost per thousand impressions) of $35 or more.
However, it offers superior performance in terms of CPCV (cost per completed view) and impression rates compared to other video ad placements. The reason behind this effectiveness lies in the communal viewing experience associated with television.
Whether it's watching the NBA finals, a thrilling super over, or the latest Marvel blockbuster, people tend to enjoy TV content with friends or family. This communal aspect allows for a broader reach compared to other internet-connected devices that usually cater to a single viewer, such as mobile phones or tablets.
3. Real-Time Metrics
One of the key benefits of CTV advertising is the capability to track and optimize ad campaigns in real time. This is made possible through the utilization of metrics such as clicks, direct responses, conversions, and cost-per-completed-view. By leveraging these metrics, advertisers can obtain valuable insights into their target audiences and make necessary adjustments to enhance the quality, frequency, and targeting of their ads. This iterative process allows for the creation of compelling content while maximizing the return on investment.
4. Premium and Responsive Audiences
Based on several reports, it has been observed that a significant portion, around 22%, of daily ad requests on CTV are concentrated between 8 and 11 p.m. This trend is primarily driven by Gen Z and Millennial viewers who prefer to indulge in premium content during this time. The content consumption pattern during these hours encompasses news, sports, live events, popular TV shows, and movies.
By strategically targeting the audience during peak advertising hours, advertisers can effectively reach them through premium channels. Additionally, CTV OTT users enjoy a high level of control over the content they watch. This elevated control translates to increased user satisfaction and higher response rates when engaging with any advertisement.
5. Variety of Ad Formats
Connected TV advertising offers remarkable versatility, enabling marketers to conduct experiments with various ad formats such as static, animated, and interactive video advertisements.
This flexibility allows for an exploration of what drives optimal consumer engagement and conversions. With CTV advertising, you have the ability to optimize your ads for different platforms.
Whether it's a static ad displayed on a home page, an interactive pre-roll, or a non-skippable in-stream video ad, you can tailor your approach to suit the specific platform and audience.
Furthermore, leveraging A/B testing methodologies empowers you to analyze which ad format and call-to-action yield the highest response rates. This valuable insight enables you to refine your overall advertising strategy and enhance overall performance.
Top 5 Connected TV Advertising Examples
- Showcase Your Product Like Modern Fertility
- Interactive Ad Approach with Volvo
- Branding Approach with Subway
- Meineke Makes a Telling Joke
- Fiverr Highlights Small Business Transformations
Showcase Your Product Like Modern Fertility
Fertility canbe a taboo topic, but it’s a health issue that nearly everyone needs to be aware of. Until Modern Fertility came into the marketplace, the cost of conducting fertility tests was extremely expensive.
To reach new audiences and promote being proactive of their health, they released a CTV ad that showcased their physical testing kit and explained how it worked.
The result was a video that takes a complex topic and sumplifies it so that all audience members could easily understand how the product works.
Interactive Ad Approach with Volvo
To introduce their latest S90 model, Volvo crafted interactive CTV ads tailored for Roku and Samsung streaming devices.
Volvo capitalized on the power of interactive CTV ads to showcase their latest S90 model on popular streaming services such as Samsung and Roku. These immersive ads allowed viewers to virtually explore both the interior and exterior of the vehicle, while also receiving personalized messaging that guided them towards the nearest Volvo dealership.
The interactive experience not only provided a comprehensive understanding of the purchase journey but also created a sense of immediacy, actionability, and captivation.
As a result, Volvo witnessed an impressive 35% increase in sales, demonstrating the effectiveness of the interactive CTV ads in driving consumer engagement and conversions.
Branding Approach with Subway
Subway, the renowned sandwich giant, enlisted superstar celebrities including Tom Brady and Serena Williams to generate buzz and amplify brand recognition for their latest menu offerings.
The influential personalities took center stage to introduce the new menu items and unveil an exciting giveaway, aiming to engage and excite Subway's target audience.
These stars played a pivotal role in introducing a range of enticing additions to Subway's menu, encompassing new bread options, seasonings, and ingredients. Additionally, they unveiled an exciting promotion featuring a 50-sub giveaway at each participating Subway location.
This well-executed campaign proved highly successful, delivering outstanding results. The top quartile restaurants experienced an impressive 33% surge in sales, while achieving the highest unit volume per week in over eight years. Widely acclaimed, the campaign was hailed as one of the most substantial media investments in Subway's history.
Meineke Makes a Telling Joke
Meineke, an auto repair company, faced challenges in comprehending the effectiveness and reach of its digital media strategy.
In their pursuit of enhanced insights and traction, Meineke undertook a strategic approach by implementing a Connected TV campaign that specifically targeted premium audiences engaged in NHL and NFL games.
This astute move led to remarkable outcomes, with a staggering 63% higher conversion rate observed for live sports ads, set at a third of the frequency typically seen on linear TV. The campaign's effectiveness was further evidenced by the generation of 48,000 in-store visits within a span of two months.
Notably, Meineke's ads proved to be exceedingly on-target, surpassing linear TV performance by over 180% in the coveted 18-34 age bracket. These remarkable results showcased the immense potential and advantages of leveraging Connected TV for targeted advertising campaigns.
Fiverr Highlights How They Help Small Businesses
In this ad campaign, the spotlight shines on small businesses that have demonstrated exceptional resilience during challenging economic circumstances.
Fiverr played a crucial role in connecting the businesses with the necessary services to foster their growth. By highlighting the dedication and resourcefulness of the individuals driving these enterprises, the ad fosters a sense of attainability for anyone with a business idea, inspiring them to pursue their goals with determination.
Fiverr's "It Starts Here" campaign encompasses a diverse range of concise video ad spots that will be broadcasted on digital streaming channels, social media platforms, and national US television. In addition to these channels, Fiverr will leverage its social media presence to provide viewers with more extensive insights through longer videos on YouTube and captivating spotlights within Instagram stories.
This approach aims to foster deeper connections between the audience and the showcased brands. Simultaneously, Fiverr is embarking on a brand identity evolution that retains the core essence of the original Fiverr brand while visually representing the company's growth and transformative impact on the global work landscape.
The new visual identity incorporates elements such as a fresh logo, an expanded color palette, a striking two-typeface typographic system, and a unique wordmark. This revamped visual identity wholeheartedly celebrates the creativity, enthusiasm, and determination of the Fiverr community.
In line with their commitment to community-centricity, Fiverr integrates its vibrant community into both the new advertising campaign and the imagery that supports the brand's evolution.
CTV is the Future of TV Advertising
As an increasing number of consumers are abandoning traditional cable and embracing streaming platforms, it becomes crucial for brands, particularly local ones, to grasp the concept of CTV advertising and leverage it to connect with their target audiences.
The positive aspect is that CTV shares similarities with traditional TV in various aspects while offering even greater advantages. While OTT and CTV advertising are still in their early stages, this rapidly evolving frontier holds immense potential. In today's landscape, where media overload and distractions abound on every OTT platform, marketers who embrace best practices can gain a significant competitive edge.
By leveraging the Connected TV advertising strategy, you can not only compare the performance of your CTV campaigns with other marketing channels but also gain a comprehensive understanding of the user journey. In summary, Connected TV advertising offers unparalleled opportunities to optimize your digital strategy with captivating and interactive content.
Think of CTV as a canvas and marketers as artists who can craft immersive and compelling stories that reach thousands through television screens. As more viewers shift to CTV platforms, marketers must adapt and strike the right balance to align with consumers' evolving media consumption trends.
