The pandemic has altered the pattern of content consumption by audiences all over the world. Staying at home, online streaming of television, movies, and videos became the primary source of information, entertainment, and escape.
The freedom to view content on any device, at any time, became almost obsessive for consumers, accelerating viewers from linear TV to the connected TV. The ongoing streaming boom has prompted various brand marketers to invest loads of money in connected TV advertising.
CTV advertising is driving today’s marketing and information industry.
What’s the difference?
Advertising, in simple words, can be defined as a method of communication or sharing information about a particular product or service to the target audience and takes place via newspapers, websites, posters, etc. Now, connected TV can stream content beyond those provided by the cable operator.
It is usually linked with another device, such as mobile or desktop. The facility requires an internet connection and has already created a fanbase for itself in the market.
Connected TV advertising (or CTV advertising) allows one to show advertisements on a connected television, thus reaching a wider range of audiences. Various brands can reach their customers via smart TVs and OTT (Over the Top) devices.
Why target OTT for advertising?
OTT advertising helps brands to reach their audiences directly within their living rooms. But, many may be wondering: Why choose OTT for this job?
Let’s discuss some of the primary OTT benefits.
- Great reach – A recent survey showed that OTT advertisements gave brands a sizable boost and reach to customers, which wasn’t achieved by traditional linear TV advertising. Another speculation predicted that by the end of 2022, the number of OTT users should increase to 198 million. These numbers prove that OTT is here to stay.
- Targeting audience – Unlike traditional TV advertisements, OTT can specifically advertise according to geographic and cultural needs. It increases efficiency and saves resources.
- Cost-saving – Budgeting can be quite flexible since the number of viewers can be tracked.
Benefits
Despite all the positives of connected TV advertising, one should first check if this method suits their business interests. Here are several benefits of including connected TV advertising in your marketing plan below.
- Fraud-free marketplace
Ad fraud is one of the major challenges advertisers experience when developing an omnichannel marketing strategy. When you use CTV, you’re buying through a Private-Marketplace (PMP) or an open Auction, eliminating all concerns about ad fraud and brand protection.
Advertisers gain access to premium publishers ensuring the following:
- High-quality
- Human curated
- Negotiated
- Marketing objective optimized
- 100% ads.txt verified
- Unique opportunities
CTV reporting is more robust than what you generally get with linear TV buys, in addition to having more flexible pricing. Advertisers may see which networks’ audience segments they are targeting to confirm who is viewing their advertising.
Advertisers can also run high-impact creative across CTV, which is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. For example, a QR code is used to encourage people to convert, or a store locator is used to direct them to the nearest store where they can buy the product.
- High rates of completion
In the context of ad fraud, advertisers are understandably concerned about viewability. Advertisers want to ensure that their message is received as we move more and more towards the digital world, and advertisers and consumers become more accustomed to digital ads. CTV is the ideal medium for addressing these concerns.
Unlike other digital video formats (which have numerous advantages), connected TV advertising is not skippable; consumers must watch the ad until the end to continue watching their programming. As a result, the industry-standard benchmarks of 94 percent video completion rate (VCR) and 100 percent viewability have been established.
- Enables advanced targeting
OTT provides a wealth of information about what viewers watch and how they behave. Thanks to a detailed picture rendered in numbers, advertisers can reach people based on their unique watching habits. OTT content delivers advertising on a one-to-one basis. That means you can target a consumer no matter where they are or who they are.
- Future of CTV
In recent years, several changes have been observed in the pattern of content consumption. Numerous households have slowly abandoned traditional television and shifted to various streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, etc. This “cord-cutting” represents a rapid shift that has pushed the digital advertising industry into a boom state.
Although in its infancy, connected TV advertising is here for the long haul. Viewing habits are beginning to resemble those of linear TV, and there is no doubt that OTT/CTV advertising will become the norm in the future. Over the rest of this decade, with the advancement of technology, CTV advertising will surely emerge as an important component in the digital marketing field.
