There are always technological developments that massively influence our daily behavior and media use and change them in the long term. Smartphones have had such an impact and smart TVs are also about to fundamentally change our media habits. Instead of classic TV prime time, more and more people are putting together their own programs via streaming and video on demand. The access for media professionals is also completely different. No broadcasting license, just make videos and upload them to YouTube, for example, to reach potential millions of viewers on their big TVs in the living room. This development also opens up completely new opportunities for advertisers.
TV meets targeting
But what makes CTV so special? Connected TV, whether via smart TV, game console or smart TV stick, is a real all-rounder. It combines the visual power and emotionality of large-scale TV campaigns with granular targeting, which we know from digital marketing. Through targeting options such as interests, geography, household or cross-device, the desired target group can be reached much more directly than with conventional TV without having to give up on the premium environment and the associated brand safety. As a result of the fact that users can create their own broadcast schedule thanks to CTV and there are no bundled advertising blocks of several minutes, attention span and acceptance are at an even higher level than with TV - with the same visibility on the big television and a completion rate of almost 95 percent. For example, sporting goods can be specifically advertised to people who are currently training in front of their television — a better placement is hardly possible. Thanks to CTV, other special features of digital marketing are also finding their way into users' living rooms: contact class optimization and frequency capping. In contrast to classic TV campaigns, CTV offers the option of specifically controlling the number of contacts with advertising media. Regardless of whether frequency capping is desired after a certain number of contacts so as not to overburden users' advertising, or contact class optimization, i.e. the optimal number of contacts with the advertising medium in a specific period of time. And of course, the whole thing doesn't just work on YouTube. Other ad-based streaming and on-demand offerings such as Joyn, TVNow (RTL Plus in the future) or Zattoo also offer corresponding advertising formats.
TV: Can be measured and optimised all at once
In addition to the wide range of targeting options, CTV brings another advantage from the digital world into play: measurability. Branding measures in general and TV campaigns in particular are in a vacuum when it comes to measuring success. Of course, there are (extrapolated) ratings and opportunities for brand lift studies, but the results can only be really visible with great effort. CTV ads, on the other hand, have a similar range of measurable success parameters that we know from video ads, such as video completion rate. This innovation also makes it possible to optimize CTV campaigns on the flight and thus get the most out of the media budget.
CTV:TV 2.0
Connected TV is a comparatively young advertising channel, but it has outgrown its infancy at breakneck speed. It enables advertisers to brand at TV level within the desired target group — and even makes the effects visible. However, CTV cannot yet completely replace classic TV campaigns for the general public. The market power of linear TV is simply too great for that. The downward trend of recent years in terms of daily usage time has also been temporarily halted due to Corona and the associated circumstances. Nonetheless, CTV is an excellent tool for advertising in the living rooms of the desired target group. And as a congenial partner of classic TV, CTV also cuts an excellent figure by specifically extending television campaigns into the digital sector.
