In 2023, the continued increase in cord-cutters and the predicted recession will collide to further Connected TV (CTV)’s advertisement potential on advertising-based video-on-demand (AVOD) and free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channels.
CTV is coming to the forefront as a performance channel, and marketers should seize this tremendous opportunity. Here’s why:
CTV Strategies Will Be Used to Target Niche Audiences
White-label streaming technology, provided by companies such as Wurl, is getting more and more available and easier to use. Together with the increasing popularity of AVOD and FAST, this will trigger a boom in niche streaming services with very specific audiences, allowing marketers to run extremely precise ads with tailored campaigns that will lead to great ROI through conversion.
Think: A streaming service for U.S. sitcoms from the 1970s targeting your grandma.
While these niche streaming services do not have the reach of linear TV and mainstream SVOD (Again, you won’t stream ‘70s sitcoms, but your grandma might), they offer highly nuanced targeting options based on demographics and behavioral patterns, enabling advertisers to develop tailored campaigns that capture consumers’ attention across the entire funnel and even drive them to conversion.
With measurability across the board, marketers are in a better position than ever to leverage the power of CTV and witness improved performance and effective advertising in this space.
CTV Advertising Is a Fully Measurable Channel
CTV has evolved into a measurable, accountable performance marketing channel — allowing for more precise targeting, and, as a result, higher ROI. We’ve reached the point where the entire user’s journey is measurable, and using upper-funnel data, marketers can see exactly how TV ads tie into the wider marketing goals. Within the right parameters, even the impact of CTV advertising on mobile and desktop purchases has become measurable.
With the ability to pursue incredibly segmented audiences and fully measure the ROI on CTV campaigns, marketers will have more control than ever before over their CTV ads — if they lay the proper groundwork, that is.
How Marketers Can Engage the Right Audiences on CTV
Select CTV Inventory Vendors With Care
I’ve two recommendations for marketers looking for a winning CTV vendor such as Vibe, The Trade Desk, and tvScientific. First, make sure the vendor has experience in the CTV space, as partnering with a new vendor may lead to a lack of sophistication in measurement and targeting available. Second, ensure the vendor lets you determine the context in which your ads are displayed. For this, a vendor should be able to provide the data needed to monitor if ads are served properly.
Determine Your Targeting Strategy
As mentioned, as consumers look to tighten their belts, they will turn to AVOD and FAST channels, opening myriad targeting options for advertisers. Marketers can use the following targeting strategies to identify and pursue the right audience for their brand:
- Contextual targeting: Relevant ads are shown to viewers on the basis of what they most often stream.
- Demographics: Ads based on age, genre, or the user’s preferred media genre.
- Geolocation: Ads shown to users in specific regions.
- First-party data: Ads based on user-specific data (that can be accessed via a CTV platform). Advertisers can not only leverage first-party data from the CTV platforms and streaming services. Many vendors enable clients to bring in their own first-party data to optimize targeting.
- Second-party data: Ads given to users due to data from databases linked to CTV platforms.
- Channel targeting: Ads based on the app or streaming service a viewer uses.
With a tactical combination of the above targeting methods, advertisers can reach fragmented audiences across different OTT (Over-the-Top) services like Netflix and Hulu to capture specific high-value users for their brand.
Ensure Accurate Measurement and Optimize
Once you’ve selected your CTV partners and targeting strategy, it’s time to measure. By using a comprehensive CTV measurement solution (like Adjust’s CTV Advision) you can immediately spot how CTV drives direct performance and, even more importantly, manages to drive potential users to down-funnel channels such as Google Ads and Apple Search Ads. These insights are especially valuable for optimizing costs in difficult economic times.
With accurate measurement results in hand, marketers in 2023 will be able to test and perfect their campaigns for optimal reach. Therefore, the time to pursue highly segmented audiences via CTV is now.