Traditional and linear TV advertising is officially out - and with expanded offerings, increased scalability and overall convenience and flexibility, Connected TV has risen to become one of the most lucrative and beneficial ad platforms for marketers everywhere.
In this blog post, we will outline why you should invest in CTV advertising - charting the growth of CTV to recent trends, benefits, research and expert advice to maximize ROI for your CTV campaigns.
What is Connected TV Advertising?
Before we begin, let’s first understand what “Connected TV” means - what exactly is it? Connected TV (CTV) is any television device that is used to stream video content over the internet. This usually occurs via downloaded applications that are then used to stream video content such as television shows.
CTV devices are available in the market in many forms including smart TVs, connected devices and gaming consoles.
CTV Advertising offers marketers data-powered targeting, optimization, reach and the ability to track and measure results. This has made it particularly enticing for marketers looking to reach the right audiences online.
Now that we have a foundational understanding of CTV advertising, the next section will focus on the growth of CTV as a marketing channel, particularly why marketers are ramping up their CTV ad spend.
The Growth of Connected TV Ad Spend:
With consumers spending more time at home and opting for on-demand and streaming services, advertisers have recognized the enormous potential of CTV advertising. As a result, they're investing more heavily in this channel, leading to a paradigm shift in the advertising landscape.
In fact, there are 213 million Americans watching content on CTV, 98% of U.S households own a CTV device and 66% of advertisers increased their CTV budgets last year. By 2027, CTV ad spend will reach a whopping $42.5 billion dollars.
Why Marketers are Increasing CTV Advertising Spend
Here are a few reasons why marketers are drawn to CTV advertising:
Benefits of Increasing Your CTV Ad Spending:
Growing Audience:
Undoubtedly, there has been astronomical growth in the audience for connected TV. In fact, 82% of households in the US have at least one connected TV device (a penetration higher than cable TV), with a mean of 4.1 devices per connected TV household. Plus, 30% of adults watch streaming content daily while 60% watch it weekly. (Leichtman Research Group) This is huge for brands trying to get their content in front of engaged audiences! Now they can target millennials, Gen Zs and Cord Cutters who do not have traditional TV.
Advanced Targeting Capabilities:
With Connected TV advertising, brands can deliver highly relevant and engaging ads to the right audiences at the right times. Through addressable (GPS), demographic (age, gender, language, etc.) and behavioral (keywords and preferences), advertisers can target audiences based on their mindsets and consumer portraits. Plus, user-registration data also allows for cross-screen targeting.
Increased Consumer Preference for CTV Ads:
It’s no secret that consumers are more tolerant to CTV advertising because they are watching content that they are enjoying and which is considerably cheaper than flipping through channels on cable television: Audiences acknowledge that connected TV ads are a regular part of the streaming experience and are more open and more accepting of them.
High Completion Rates:
According to Statista, in 2020, 95% of video ad impressions viewed on CTV devices were watched till the end in North America, while the average completion rate stood at 80%. This was likely due to brands incorporating more non-skippable ads within the streaming content, which ensured that their messaging was noticed by the audience.
Measurable Progress:
Since Connected TV advertising works programmatically, it offers brands the opportunity to track their success through different methods including video completion rate (VCR) and automatic content recognition (ACR). VCR indicates the number of times that a video plays to the end while ACR enables a smart TV to listen to/see what is playing on TV. Marketers can use VCR or ACR data to gain vital insights into viewership and consumer behavior to better align their ad messaging with what their audiences want to see.
Unique Ad Units:
CTV advertising gives advertisers the opportunity to use unique and dynamic ad units including pause ads, QR codes and interactive videos so that audiences can interact and engage with the brand content in a more authentic and immediate way.
Find out More about GumGum's CTV Solutions Here.
Here's How You Can Get Ahead on CTV
Clearly, to advertise on CTV is a no brainer! But, there are several considerations to keep top of mind in order to help you succeed and maximize ROI on CTV.
To make the most of your CTV ad spend and maximize ROI from your campaigns, check out GumGum's new educational video series, in partnership with IRIS.TV featuring expert advice on how you can drive success on CTV. This video series outlines:
- How to Reach & Target Your Audience on CTV
- How to Ensure Brand Suitability for Your CTV Ads
- How to Pick the Right CTV Partner to Drive Campaign Performance
Takeaways
Marketers must meet audiences where they are - on Connected TV. Now, it is a matter of using effective strategies to maximize success: reaching your consumers, keeping your ads safe and working with the right partners to ensure that your reaping all the benefits of CTV advertising.
