The Premium Environment Advantage in CTV Advertising
Connected TV (CTV) is stealing the spotlight across the advertising industry. In 2023, almost 75% of UK households and 90% of US households owned at least one CTV device, while over a billion CTV devices were estimated to be in use worldwide.
The growing popularity of this format has led to 65% of video marketers considering CTV as a crucial component of their media plans — with global CTV ad spend estimated to surpass 42 billion dollars by 2028.
CTV ad formats offer marketers unique opportunities such as access to incremental, addressable audiences, as well as the ability to refine campaigns on the go using real-time user insights and greater ad watch time and conversion rates. In fact, data shows that 23% of CTV viewers make a purchase after seeing an ad — over three times the typical conversion rate of Google Ads — and consumers viewing CTV ads are optimally engaged and attentive 51% of the time — 40% higher than when watching YouTube and 17% higher than linear TV.
As this promising format continues to garner rave reviews, how can advertisers effectively optimize their ad placement strategies within CTV environments to impactfully and accurately reach their audiences, deliver superior customer experiences, and enhance campaign ROI?
Environment is half the show
When it comes to advertising formats, CTV’s differentiating factor is its premium environment.
A joint study by Vevo and Channel 4 found an almost 50% rise in consumers who have a notable preference for premium television content — content associated with trusted brands and high-quality, dedicated audiences — over non-premium alternatives, which often consist of less popular or niche content from smaller brands.
Moreover, brands that leverage premium environments like CTV are perceived as more trustworthy, credible, and valuable by consumers — doubling believability and trust metrics, tripling positive perception, and reducing negative associations by five times, as compared to ads in non-premium environments.
Consequently, advertisers are more likely to generate greater brand awareness and improve user experience and customer-brand relationships when using CTV ad formats, taking advantage of the trustable and high-quality environment it provides.
Breaking through the CTV noise
While CTV provides premium environments that are prime for advertising, there are several considerations that, when integrated within CTV marketing campaigns, can supercharge performance and generate superior brand awareness.
A study by Nielsen has shown that almost half of a campaign’s effectiveness is determined by the creative used. Those that leverage innovative, high-impact, and tried-and-tested ad creatives can garner the most attention in CTV, ensuring they sufficiently capture the users’ interests during the short allocated ad period.
The context, or surrounding content, in which the ad is presented is also crucial. Nearly two-thirds of consumers prefer ads that are related to the content they are already consuming. This is a key opportunity for marketers, as users have explicitly chosen the content they are watching on CTV platforms, and are therefore more likely enjoying the context in which the ads appear. As a result, advertisers that reach consumers with relevant ads will have the upper hand in converting already-interested viewers.
Another essential piece of the CTV puzzle for brands is reaching the right audiences. Brands that harness comprehensive first-party data to understand the interests, behaviors, and motivations of consumers will be the most successful at reaching specific viewers with tailored offerings, thereby maximizing engagement within their CTV campaigns. Additionally, having access to large volumes of consumer data and attention measurement solutions enables marketers to refine campaigns in real-time according to changing circumstances and user behaviors.
The evolution of consumer habits towards premium environments such as CTV presents a realm of untapped opportunities for advertisers. Those that strategically leverage premium CTV environments to precisely reach receptive audiences with high-impact ad creatives in fitting contexts can generate significant brand awareness, increase conversions, and deliver more memorable and satisfying experiences through this promising and popular format.
[Editor's note: This is a contributed article from Azerion. Streaming Media accepts vendor bylines based solely on their value to our readers.]
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