Scott Schiller: CTV Is Not The Future of TV (It IS TV)
The future of TV is now. Scott Schiller, Global Chief Commercial Officer at Big Village, points marketers to an incredible opportunity to be on the cutting edge of digital content advertising with connected TV.
“Millennial and Gen Z audiences are leaving linear TV for CTV, never to return. Advertisers have no choice but to move to CTV with them.”
By Scott Schiller
With nearly two-thirds of the population projected to utilize connected TV in 2022, marketers have an opportunity to innovate through digital content.
While marketers and agency colleagues were busy trying hard to generate consumer demand during a global pandemic, managing through a thicket of consumer privacy regulations and an imperative to integrate solutions in a post-third-party cookie world, something profound happened in the advertising and media industry. Connected TV (streaming content through television) went from an experimental medium to table stakes for brands seeking to connect with audiences.
Some brands may still be hesitant about using connected TV (CTV) to reach target audiences; however, consumers are eager to “cut the cord.” VOD, streaming, and general "cord re-evaluation," especially among the coveted Millennials and Gen Z demographic, is accelerating.
The CTV user base in the US will reach 231.7 million in 2022, nearly two-thirds of the total population. CTV ad spending increased to $19.1 billion this year and is projected to reach $29.5 billion by 2025. There is no longer a “future of TV”—the future is here.
“Marketers leading a successful CTV strategy are savvy, and get in the game with authentic learning rather than playing catch-up later with laggard competitors.”
Digital Video and CTV Don’t Need to Be Perfect to Be the Right Choice
CTV's relative infancy as an ad platform is an oft-used excuse for many to sit on the sidelines and wait. But that’s not the only thing driving this slowed acceptance of something "new."
The media buying world is now focused on creating "better" targeting and measurement tools (although AdAge reports dramatic inconsistency among Nielsen’s challengers). The sheer number of video types and platforms can make buying specific audience segments at scale labor-intensive, further complicated by "the great resignation.” Many are just waiting for the eventual consolidation among the powerful ad-supported streaming platforms so that buying and scaling campaigns can be far more streamlined.
But much like the rise of cable TV, digital display advertising, and social media, digital video and CTV are heading to be a core driver of the media mix. That is where the most valuable audiences can increasingly be found, consuming content in a multi-platform world. As digital video and on-demand video platforms enable audiences to access content on their schedules while simultaneously giving brands the advantage of better targeting, combined with the compelling impact of video storytelling, there is no time to wait. Brands and marketers need to determine how best to target their audience, deliver their creative, and measure their campaign performance.
The Digital Video CTV Experience is Evolving and Improving
With little fanfare, the technology supporting CTV advertising has improved dramatically in recent years. Better tools augmented with first, second, and third-party data, enable brands on CTV to provide ads tailored to specific audiences and interests in ways that traditional TV was not built to do.
For brands comfortable with programmatic buying for display, CTV can provide a seamless addition, leading to programmatic CTV rising by 39.2% this year, on top of an 82.4% increase in 2021. Programmatic offers direct media buying and the scope of inventory, with the added benefit of digital targeting and analytics.
This growth underscores the importance of cross-channel targeting and measurement solutions as digital and linear continue to converge. Having cross-channel solutions to plan, evaluate, and measure across channels effectively is essential in today’s marketplace. Specifically, incremental reach measurement and frequency, and cross-channel targeting at the household level are a must for any media campaign in 2022. ENGINE Media Exchange (EMX) has been focused on leading the cross-channel media mix solutions focused on the planning, buying, and measurement of omnichannel media and CTV.
Even in the short term, the growth of CTV is helping TV and video spots move from an effective brand storytelling reach and frequency tool to a results-based option with conversion marketing.
CTV Means New Ways for Customers to Act
New technology is exciting because its possibilities are only just beginning to emerge. Ecommerce is an excellent example of what happens when digital meets linear TV. Marketers can now embed calls-to-action such as QR codes and other icons within CTV content, allowing audiences to request more information with a single button push. Brands can genuinely build and close the sale right on the ad spot. Through signals of initial interest, brands can then follow up with additional targeted CTV ads as part of a cross-channel targeting program.
Attribution tracking and a deeper understanding of a customer’s journey can also help marketers develop tools and metrics to better determine a targeted consumer's actions on other devices.
Because it is far more measurable, marketers are already using CTV to begin A/B testing multiple video creatives. They are cost-effectively gauging their relative effectiveness across various ad-supported streaming platforms while also gaining insights into the types of spots consumers are most likely to respond to on linear TV and other video-intensive digital media.
“Even in the short term, the growth of CTV is helping TV and video spots move from an effective brand storytelling reach and frequency tool to a results-based option with conversion marketing.”
Embrace the Disruption
The numbers show that Millennial and Gen Z audiences are leaving linear TV for CTV, never to return. Advertisers looking to engage these highly sought-after consumer segments with compelling video brand messaging have no choice but to move to CTV with them.
The barriers for entry remain relatively low. Marketers leading a successful CTV strategy are savvy, and get in the game with authentic learning rather than playing catch-up later with laggard competitors.
CTV is here to stay—and as marketers, we must keep pace with our audiences.
June 15, 2022