Connected TV (CTV) advertising cannot be ignored. We know that streaming services now account for more than 40% of total TV usage, and continue to outpace cable. But you can’t expect to get real business results simply by talking about your brand in a crowded room. The real impact of CTV comes from its versatility and measurability. Whether you’re an emerging or established brand, there are real customers ready to make purchases from your CTV advertising strategy.
Don’t know how to start getting in front of your future customers? We can help! Recently, Adweek hosted a webinar, sponsored by GroundTruth, to hear from media partners and experienced marketers about their winning CTV ad strategies, and we’re giving you a sneak peek.
How competitors and partners think about CTV advertising
To start the conversation, Rosie O’Meara, Chief Revenue Officer at GroundTruth, asked the panel their thoughts on CTV advertising, the success they’ve seen, and what they see for the future. Each panelist agreed that companies neglect CTV advertising at their own risk. Beyond the share of the audience, which continues to grow, it also offers specific benefits that linear TV advertising doesn’t. Namely, it’s a performance-based channel.
According to Kelly McGee, Director of Digital Marketing at Jersey Mike’s, real-time reporting offered by CTV ads helps build strategies for other advertising channels. Instead of being limited to awareness metrics, CTV reports offer more insights and actionable ideas. McGee mentioned that they’ve tested everything from campaigns to dual languages on CTV. Stefan van de Graff, Co-Founder of Chamber Media, added that CTV offers the “prestige” of linear TV ads for audiences while remaining an affordable and strategic option, with more direct ROAS metrics, for challenger or emerging brands.
It’s clear from the panel’s answers that if your company hasn’t yet invested in CTV advertising, it should be at the top of your marketing priority list. Not only is it where your audience is, but it’s also where your competitors are talking to your customers. To ensure that your ad spend drives real business results, be clear about the following:
- Campaign goals. Are you aiming for awareness, retargeting, foot traffic to your stores, or something else? The impact of CTV advertising is directly related to your goals, and identifying where the ads fit into your funnel is critical for success.
- Campaign tactics. Remember that people use multiple streaming platforms throughout their week. When you’re working with publishers directly and agency partners for your campaigns, it’s easy to lose track of performance metrics, such as frequency or foot traffic by household. Set up a trusted reporting dashboard so you’re spending in the most efficient way.
- Media types. Many companies hesitate to spend money on big budget videos to place on CTV platforms, but CTV ads are so much more than strictly videos. Use the media that makes the most sense for your budget.
Challenges of CTV advertising (and how to avoid them)
To close the discussion, O’Meara asked the panelists what challenges they’ve experienced with CTV advertising, and what they’ve learned from their experience. As with anything new, there is a learning curve that we want to help ease for marketers as much as we can.
The panelists were all very optimistic about what is possible through CTV ad campaigns, and offered their best solutions for each of the challenges they’ve faced. Here are the most important takeaways that you can prepare for ahead of your next launch.
- Focus on your customer, not trends. Nico Nieto, Chief Marketing Officer for Naf Naf Middle Eastern Grill mentioned that new marketing channels offer new opportunities, but only if you remain intentional about customer behaviors and your company goals. Do what makes sense for your customers to avoid spending money unnecessarily.
- Plan for multi-channel results. Van de Graff reminded everyone that there is a larger distance between seeing a CTV ad and taking an action than seeing a digital ad and clicking a link, for example. When planning for ROAS, remember CTV will have a longer period between first view and first purchase.
- Connected reporting. In digital advertising, the reporting dashboards are holistic and connected almost immediately. With CTV advertising, you will need to do a little more work to connect impressions and real-world results.
None of these challenges are impossible to overcome, and the panelists were all quick to reiterate that CTV advertising campaigns are well worth the challenges. The most pressing challenge for your marketing team, it seems, is to decide when to get started!
Learn more by watching the Adweek and GroundTruth webinar
To learn more about how to run successful CTV ad campaigns, with real business results, from experts with practical advice, watch the full webinar here or read the summary from Adweek 2024. If you have any questions not mentioned in the webinar, feel free to ask them on LinkedIn! Tag us and we’ll find the best answers for your specific questions.
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