In the digital age, advertising has evolved drastically, covering more and more new horizons. One of the trendiest promotional mediums nowadays appears to be connected TV (CTV). With the significant growth rates of CTV usage over the past few years, it has become crucial for marketing managers to understand and leverage this modern platform.

CTV Uncovered 2023 consumer study conducted by AudienceXpress and Happydemics reveals that connected TV (CTV) viewing is on the rise in the UK, Italy, France, Germany, Spain, and the Netherlands (EU6). The study shows that 65% of European viewers have connected their TVs to the internet through Smart TVs, indicating a 5-point increase compared to the previous year.

In this blog post, we will explore what connected TV is, why it is a promising field for advertising, and provide you with a step-by-step guide on how to upscale your CTV ad campaigns. If you’re a marketer interested in connected TV advertising, this post is for you!

What is Connected TV (CTV)?

Connected TV (CTV) pertains to internet-connected television sets, enabling individuals to directly obtain access to streaming services, on-demand content, and interactive applications through their devices. It provides a more personalized and flexible viewing experience, enabling users to choose what they want to watch and when they want to watch it.

As the adoption of CTV continues to surge, it has become a powerful advertising means that allows marketers to effectively connect with their intended audiences through customized, data-informed campaigns. While CTV itself is not an advertisement platform, popular streaming platforms like Netflix, YouTube, and Amazon serve as advertising platforms where marketers can leverage the growing viewership and engagement on connected TV to promote their products or services. These platforms provide opportunities for targeted advertising, enabling marketers to reach specific demographics and deliver personalized ads to viewers.

For marketing managers creating advertising campaigns aimed at connected TV, this medium can provide several key benefits, including:

• Extended reach to a growing pool of cord-cutters and cord-nevers;
• Advanced targeting features enable accurate audience reach;
• Increased engagement through interactive and personalized ad experiences;
• Improved measurement and analytics for precise tracking of campaign performance.

Why should you consider CTV advertising?

CTV ads are advertisements specifically designed and delivered through connected TV platforms. They play a significant role in the advertising landscape for several reasons:

• Connected TV ads offer a high-impact viewing experience. Meaning that they captivate the audience’s attention, provide visually appealing content, and effectively deliver the marketing message in an engaging and targeted manner;
• They make it possible to accurately target specific consumer groups, their preferences, and their activities, allowing for more precise advertisement delivery.
• CTV ads can be tailored to the viewer’s context and preferences, producing more relevant and attractive content.

For instance, fitness apparel ads can target viewers interested in fitness content, offer personalized recommendations based on their preferences, incorporate interactive elements (a clickable feature that allows viewers to explore different product variations, colors, or sizes directly within the ad), utilize location-based targeting, and retarget interested viewers with incentives. By tailoring ads to the viewer’s specific interests and delivering a customized experience, CTV ads can increase engagement, ad recall, and conversion rates, resulting in more effective and impactful advertising campaigns.

As the streaming trend continues to rise, connected TV ads become a significant part of any comprehensive advertisement strategy.

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Step-by-Step Guide: How to Get the Most Out of Your CTV Ads

Step 1: Determine your campaign purpose and goals

In order to optimize the impact of your CTV ad campaign, it is essential to establish well-defined purposes and tasks that are consistent with your broader marketing strategy. Start by asking yourself what you want to achieve via your connected TV ads. Are you looking to enhance brand recognition, boost website traffic, or drive conversions? By setting measurable goals, you can track the profitability of your campaign and make data-driven decisions.

Step 2: Identify your target audience and segments

Understanding your specific clientele on connected TV systems is essential for effective targeting and personalization. Conduct thorough research to identify the consumer groups, their preferences, and the activities of your audience. Use the data insights and metrics to identify audience slots to effectively reach out to precise groups with personalised messages. This will improve the relevance and effect of your CTV ads, providing higher engagement and a more satisfactory campaign undertaking.

Step 3: Create compelling and engaging content for your CTV ad

Creating compelling creative content is crucial for connected TV ads to capture viewers’ attention and convey your brand message effectively. Google has developed the ABCD guidelines, which provide valuable insights and best practices for creating impactful ads. These guidelines focus on Attention, Branding, Connection, and Direction. To ensure your ad meets these guidelines and is optimized for success, consider using innovative platforms like Junbi.ai. Powered by AI, it offers key effectiveness metrics to test and optimize your ad content before launching campaigns, helping you gain clear insights and maximize impact and ROI. By combining the ABCD guidelines with Junbi.ai, advertisers can create compelling connected TV ads that resonate with viewers and drive results. Like this excellent example from Booking.com which scores in the 95th percentile on Junbi:

Step 4: Select the right CTV platform

When evaluating CTV platforms, it is essential to analyze factors such as their audience reach, demographic composition, and the extent of their targeting capabilities. This comprehensive assessment will enable you to make well-informed decisions about the platforms that best align with your advertising goals and target audience. Consider partnering with CTV providers and networks that have expertise in reaching YOUR desired customer pool.

YouTube is one of the most trusted, significant connected TV platforms with a large audience of regular users. It offers extensive reach and diverse targeting options, making it a valuable platform for CTV advertising. According to a study, 70% of YouTube users say that video ads make them more aware of new businesses and it is a way for them to get information about businesses and products.

Partnering with trusted platforms and providers ensures that your ads are delivered to the right audience at the right time, maximizing the effectiveness of your campaigns.

Step 5: Optimize ad placements and formats

Different CTV ad formats have their strengths and advantages. Understand the various formats available, such as pre-roll, mid-roll, or interactive overlays, and select the ones that are consistent with your campaign goals and strike a chord with your potential consumers. Follow best practices for ad placements on connected TV platforms to maximise visibility and engagement: drive awareness, increase consideration, and inspire action. Strategic ad placement within relevant content and contextually appropriate moments enhances the viewer’s experience and raises the chances of ad recall and interaction.

Step 6: Monitor and predict CTV ad performance

Different CTV ad formats have their strengths and advantages. Understand the various formats available, such as pre-roll, mid-roll, or interactive overlays, and select the ones that are consistent with your campaign goals and strike a chord with your potential consumers. Follow best practices for ad placements on connected TV platforms to maximize visibility and engagement: drive awareness, increase consideration, and inspire action. Strategic ad placement within relevant content and contextually appropriate moments enhances the viewer’s experience and raises the chances of ad recall and interaction.

Tips and reminders to get the most out of CTV ads

To get the most out of your connected TV ad campaigns, consider the following suggestions and important points:

• Incorporate interactive elements like a clickable links, quizzes, and QR codes that allows viewers to explore the product better: Interactive CTV ads encourage viewer engagement, can boost ad recall and longer viewing rates.
• Leverage real-time data: Utilise real-time data to customise your campaigns on the fly, adjusting targeting, messaging, or creative elements established on audience behaviour and trends.
• Avoid common pitfalls: Confirm your targeting is accurate, and invest in high-quality ad creative to captivate your audience effectively. To guide you in creating impactful ads, Google’s ABCD guidelines are a valuable resource. They emphasize the importance of Attention, Branding, Connection, and Direction in crafting compelling ad content. By following these guidelines, you can enhance the overall performance and engagement of your ads.

By implementing these tips and avoiding common pitfalls, you can enhance the effectiveness and ROI of your CTV ad campaigns.

Connected TV represents a tremendous possibility for advertisers to contact their target audience in an engaging and impactful way. By following the step-by-step guide in this post, you can ensure you make the most out of your CTV ad campaigns. Remember to implement the strategies outlined and stay ahead in the evolving world of advertising.

Explore Junbi.ai’s resources and solutions to unlock the full potential of your CTV ad campaigns. To take the first step towards maximising your connected TV advertising optimisation, click here to book a call with one of our specialists.