How CTV Makes Better Advertisers

3 Min Read

Connected TV has changed the marketing game forever, enabling brands to connect with their target audience whenever and wherever they are. No longer restricted by linear TV’s loose form of targeting and measurement, CTV’s ability to gather granular data now drives marketing initiatives and quantifies success. But this isn’t exactly news for marketers – the real secret is the other benefits of CTV, including how it powers better creative.

We’ll be taking a deeper look at the added benefits of CTV and how they influence a brand’s creative approach in a conversation with Adweek on Tuesday, October 26^th at 1pm ET/10am PT. Register now to save your place.

CTV is Not What You Think

It’s no secret that brands of all sizes are gravitating towards CTV. The pandemic has only accelerated this trend, thanks to consumers forming new viewership habits and subscribing to more services – driving advertisers to chase after them. In fact, 49% of U.S. TV viewers watch more TV since the pandemic began, and 72% prefer to watch CTV content with ads. Unfortunately, in their rush to embrace CTV many brands approach the platform as just an extension of their TV strategy. They force linear TV strategies, apply linear TV goals, and generally expect the platforms to behave the same way.

The truth is CTV offers far more control and data than linear TV and treating them similarly is an incredible waste of CTV’s true potential. Think of it like trading in a sedan for a sports car, only to drive it to the end of the street and back. Sure – you can tell it’s an upgrade over the sedan, but you’re not really seeing what it’s capable of. Even the savviest brand marketers must rethink their advertising strategies to maximize CTV, unlocking the secret to better creative.

TV + Digital = A Match Made in Advertising Heaven

So if you’re a brand marketer, it’s clear that you need to think about how you approach CTV advertising and understand why it’s better than linear TV. CTV combines the creative and compelling storytelling of the TV medium with the targeting precision and analytics of digital ad channels. The result is a visual story to inspire and convert, delivered with precision audience targeting and providing accurate reporting and analytics to measure success. The combination unlocks massive potential for optimizing and improving both strategy and creative advertising.

Because CTV is audience-first, you can target your audience regardless of what they’re watching. The days of guessing what shows your audience is watching and what time are over – CTV focuses on delivering the right to the right customer during their favorite shows. And thanks to the in-depth level of precision targeting, you can tailor your ads to speak to specific audiences, talking to them directly – then get data back that shows you how your ideal audience is reacting to your creative. It’s a constant, real-time feedback loop, giving you the data to show what’s working – and what needs to be tweaked.  

CTV in Action

Here’s an example. Using Performance TV’s built-in A/B testing for CTV creative, we recently ran an ad featuring our Chief Creative Officer, Ryan Reynolds. One ad had Ryan’s famous face on screen – and one just had his voice narrating a video montage.

Naturally, we all assumed that the ad showing Ryan’s face would perform better. This is why brands pay for celebrity talent! But the truth shocked us all: the winning ad was the one that never showed his face. Ryan took the news in stride – we think. Our campaign seamlessly switched to serving the more effective ad, and we got data-backed insights that challenged our assumptions and will influence future advertising.

Just the Tip of the MNTN

This isn’t even scratching the surface of the benefits of CTV – but that’s why we’re holding a webinar to take a deep dive. Join us and Adweek to learn more about unlocking the secrets of CTV, making more effective creative, and how it makes for better ads – and advertisers.