Why Strategy Needs To Be at the Center of Your CTV Campaigns

4 Min Read

Connected TV has forever changed the advertising landscape, giving marketers the unprecedented ability to combine TV’s brand awareness strengths with digital marketing’s performance. But to make the most of the platform’s targeting, measurability, and creative impact, your strategy must be more than an afterthought—it needs to be purpose-built to do more for you.

Oliver Embry, Director of Product Innovation at MNTN, recently chatted with Ad Age’s Natalie Zfat about how brands can build a results-oriented strategy, innovative solutions that drive better performance, and insights from MNTN’s newly launched innovation program. If you missed it, a recording of the webinar can be found here—or you can keep reading for a high-level view of some of the insights shared.

The Four Cs of CTV

The conversation started with Ad Age acknowledging that CTV ads have drastically changed how quickly a brand can get a TV spot live. Whereas it used to take six to nine months to get an ad live, Connected TV makes it possible in less than 24 hours—a pipe dream for advertisers just five years ago. Ad Age asked Embry, “How has CTV advertising helped large brands—who historically have moved slowly—to have an ‘always-on’ mentality?”

Embry discussed how he thinks the “always-on” mentality has arisen from what he calls the “four C’s of CTV:” customer, channels, creative, and cost. “Previously with linear television advertising, you had to cast a wide net in terms of who you were looking to engage and where you were engaging them across networks. Our MNTN Performance TV platform is audience-first, where we’re engaging customers based on whether they’ve opted into the audiences our clients have segmented out. We’re also not advertising directly on channels—we target our customers’ customers wherever they are watching. Next, the creative process has absolutely changed how ads are made in terms of time to market and how brands can react to micro or macro trends both inside the industry and out. And finally, the cost has gone way down. It’s more cost-effective in terms of ad production and running campaigns.”

Building ‘Purpose-Built Campaigns’

Ad Age’s Zfat noted that the last time she spoke with Embry, he commented that CTV allows brands to create more “purpose-built” campaigns. “Is that simply a function of the malleability of the platform?” Zfat asked. “That nimbleness enables an advertiser to be more thoughtful?”

Embry explained by bringing it back to the Four Cs of CTV. “I think it’s about being able to strategically plan and identify the ways you’re looking to engage your customers, potentially outline a budget, and determine what creative might look like,” Embry replied. “If your campaign starts to evolve, if certain geo-segments you’re targeting start to perform better, if certain creative elements are seeing an engagement boost, we can nimbly read and react in a meaningful way.  I think it’s as important as ever to have strategic plans and develop a Four Cs of CTV plan because it allows you to quickly react to the moments that matter to you to drive better campaign performance.”

The Launch of MNTN Labs

Ad Age asked about MNTN Labs, a new initiative from MNTN that provides industry-leading innovation and knowledge-sharing programs, and what audiences can expect. “We want to be closer to our customers so they can be closer to theirs,” Embry said. “MNTN Labs stands around three pillars: product innovation, which is about building meaningful products and having empathy [for our clients and their needs]; MNTN Research, which uses our subject matter experts within the CTV community and uses data-backed insights to help customers across the industry; and MNTN University, which helps educate our current partners on current trends and get hands-on with our education.”

Embry hinted at more to come as he continued, “Over the next twelve to eighteen months we’re looking at rolling out some ‘Ph.D. programs,’ as I like to call them, that will let our partners get even more hands-on to solve pain points they have both across their company and industry.” Embry ended by noting that he’s very excited about how MNTN Labs will continue innovating and enabling advertisers to unlock new opportunities with their customers.

Watch the Full Webinar for More

Embry had a lot more to cover with Ad Age, including how CTV advertising helps small businesses, why the platform is no longer an upper-funnel medium but a lower-funnel exercise as well, and a case study of a brand that was able to act upon CTV’s nimbleness. To watch the full recording click here.