Balancing the Challenges and Benefits of Television Advertising 

5 Min Read

In the past, television advertising could only really be used to promote awareness of brands. Without measurement and attribution, it was nearly impossible to understand the details of your campaign performance. While you could see overall growth, you couldn’t pinpoint it to a specific campaign or piece of video creative—brands could only really spread their message and hope it stuck. Now, thanks to Connected TV (CTV), all of this is changing—but how? 

To find out more, MNTN Research and Retail TouchPoints polled leading retail advertisers, and now we’re sharing the results. Tim Edmundson, Senior Director of Content Marketing and Research at MNTN, recently joined Retail TouchPoints to review the results, present key findings, and share best practices for television advertising. 

An Overview of Television Advertising in 2023 

We wanted to see how marketers are adjusting their television advertising strategies throughout 2023 and beyond. So, we asked! 

How Are Advertisers Using CTV vs. Linear TV? 

Amid continued economic uncertainty, we know many marketing budgets are under close watch. We asked retailers how they’re balancing their current budgets, and many of them had a focus on video. No matter the format, TV is a prestigious and impactful ad channel.  

 When it comes to television advertising, retailers said they’re advertising on:

• 9.48% Connected TV only
• 8.62% linear TV (LTV) only
• 50% both CTV and LTV
• 31.9% neither

While some folks are utilizing one or the other, half of the marketers we surveyed have implemented both LTV and CTV into their marketing mixes. Brands that have used linear TV in the past might assume CTV will be a similar experience. 

While this can be the case, many marketers are more familiar with modern CTV platforms than they might think. Certain Performance TV platforms, including MNTN, have features that more closely resemble the self-service features of search and social media ad platforms than anything to do with linear TV. 

But over one-third of marketers said they don’t use TV ads at all. Other marketing leaders said they weren’t adding CTV into their overall marketing mix. And we wanted to know why. The three key reasons cited were: 

• Awareness 
• Cost
• Education and resources 

While CTV ad spend continues increasing, there is still a significant portion of folks who aren’t aware of the benefits of the platform, but the days of crafting broad video ads are gone. 

What Can You Accomplish with CTV?

While you used to be stuck waiting and hoping your content might resonate with at least some of your viewers, you can now instantly gain insights into your campaign. 

CTV offers the ability to reach a wider variety of goals than LTV. While you absolutely can use certain CTV platforms to drive awareness, it’s the performance goals that really allow the platform to shine. 

Is My Brand Ready for CTV Advertising? 

One of the most important questions we received during the webinar was: how am I supposed to know when my brand is ready to air CTV ads? 

In general, the answer is: if you’re asking, you’re ready. 

With a large portion of marketers already on CTV, there’s a good chance your competition is already there, reaching your shared audience segments. 

Even for small and local businesses, CTV can still be an incredibly powerful marketing tool. At MNTN, we work with a lot of regional retailers, and even brick-and-mortar businesses can target audiences by location. People are watching streaming platforms everywhere, so you can still connect with local audiences through Performance TV’s targeting capabilities. 

Find the Right Platform for Your Goals 

When diving into the technical functions of CTV solutions, the first thing you need to know is that not every platform is created equally. But don’t worry—there’s good news. No matter what your goals are, there’s a solution out there for you. 

Before you jump in, you’ll need to understand your goals. Then, as you shop around the CTV space, keep in mind the difference between awareness and performance goals. You’ll want to know which you’ll need (the answer can be both!) to reach your goals, so you can ensure the platform has those features. 

If you’re focused on awareness, you’ll need to reach a significant amount of people. But if you’re looking to add CTV to your performance marketing strategy, you’ll need a platform that can provide: 

• Effective measurement, so you know how you’re progressing toward your goals. 
• Accurate attribution, so you can feel confident about each part of your strategy. 
• Specific targeting, so you can reach your ideal audience. 

To make sure you get these features, you should ask certain questions, including: 

• Where will my ads run? Will they be displayed across channels, apps, and platforms? 
• Do you utilize premium or traditional digital video inventory? 
• Can I use different data sources? 
• How can your platform help me reach my goals? 
• How does reporting work? Is it real-time reporting? 

With the right CTV ad platform, you can combine the power and prestige of television advertising with a measurable performance strategy. Plus, with straightforward, self-service features, more advertisers can successfully launch ads on the leading streaming platforms. 

Anchor Your Campaign With TV Advertising 

It’s time to rethink your approach to TV advertising.   

Today, television ads can act as an anchor for your entire marketing campaign. You can use TV as your prestige channel, and then expand upon it on other channels, like search and social media. 

As more marketing teams focus on creating a well-rounded marketing strategy with awareness and performance goals, CTV can be the foundation that lets your brand sail past the competition. To learn more about the best practices for television advertising in 2023, watch the full webinar here.