First off, if you are not familiar with CTV, you probably are and just don’t know it. Connected TV or CTV refers to any TV that is connected to the internet. These TVs are more likely to show content from Netflix, Amazon, Vevo, Tubi, and YouTube. Not to mention the growing plethora of new video content providers on the internet. Estimates show that in the US, by the end of 2020, nearly 80% of households will have at least one CTV.
With the advent of internet advertising, advertisers, ad services, and marketers have to change their strategies and tactics to keep their campaigns in front of TV viewers. With linear TV, advertisers had to gear their ad campaigns towards large groups based on geography, show viewership, or time slot. In the world of CTV, it is possible to target viewers using a huge number of variables. For example, age and interest demographics and many other things. This is due to the amount of user data that the internet collects today.
Rather than purchasing ad time for a specific channel, show, and time. Now, advertising services purchase ads to appear during specific media and content. Another key difference in a CTV ad is that marketing agencies and advertisers do not deal directly with the TV service providers or content publishers. Advertising is sold in auctions through what is called an Ad Exchange. More specifically, the advertiser is buying what is referred to as an impression. This is a view based on specific video content. The Ad Exchange creates auctions for the impressions. Here is where the Ad Agencies (for their customers) bid on them. As in any auction, the highest bidder wins the auction (advertising impression).
Most advertisement services now use what is called programmatic advertising. This is the use of software to purchase advertising. The software programs use advancing algorithms that analyze big data to determine the best advertising impressions for a particular client. The software will then assess the ads available in the marketplace (auctions) and purchase accordingly.
The prices of CTV advertising tend to be more expensive than linear TV advertising. In fact, it is often 3 to 5 times more. However, this is offset by the fact that a CTV ad tends to have much better results than other forms of advertising. CTV has the advantage of being able to leverage the vast amount of data (big data) it has on viewers and what they watch. Thus, allowing the advertiser to very precisely target who views their ads.
Due to the highly technical nature of CTV advertising, it is very important that the service you do business with is extremely proficient in CTV advertising. Experience is an obvious thing to look for. They should have extensive experience with CTV campaigns. It is also good if they have experience in the linear TV and Network industry.
Your ad service must have a very strong data analysis function. This is key to driving the programmatic CTV advertising platform. However, if they do not have a good understanding of the data and how the platform uses the data, you won't see results. Especially as they probably will not be able to locate and acquire the best advertising impressions for your campaigns. Data analysis is not only key to targeting the appropriate audience, but it is also critical in enabling the programmatic algorithms. These will identify the most cost-effective ad spots to purchase for you.
Lastly, most advertising purchases are driven by the automatic programmatic CTV platforms. However, running a high-performing campaign still requires a lot of manual effort. You must ensure that ad inventories are effective and up to date. Make sure that your ad service has an excellent programmatic platform but is also capable of closely monitoring your ad campaigns. They should adjust them for the various media platforms (SmartTVs, game consoles, etc.).
In closing, CTV advertising is a quickly evolving and critical industry to get your arms around. A great ad service can help you do this. They must have experience in CTV advertising, have an exceptional programmatic platform, and be experts at analyzing data. Not to mention able to manage ad inventories to make campaigns the most effective and profitable for clients.
