Driving Connected TV Performance in Q4 (and Beyond) 

4 Min Read

Now that Connected TV (CTV) has become a staple in your media mix, you might be thinking of applying a set-it-and-forget-it strategy and calling it a day. While this approach minimizes the time you invest in the platform, it can also limit CTV’s performance power, reach capabilities, and engagement rates — and no one wants that. (Trust us, we polled the whole world.)

Rebeccah Bakich, Digital Marketing Manager at MNTN, recently joined MarTech to discuss the best practices for launching and optimizing CTV campaigns to grow your business, avoid ad fatigue, and drive consumer engagement. Here are some highlights from this conversation: 

Set Your CTV Campaign Up for Success

Okay, so maybe we didn’t poll the whole world, but we did look at MNTN advertisers to see which elements help set brands up for CTV success on day one. 

According to our research, advertisers who launched prospecting campaigns right away (but waited to launch retargeting) saw slower growth than brands who launched both simultaneously. Advertisers who wait to launch retargeting until halfway through their first 90 days only see 17% more site traffic and 52% more ROAS than those who launched at the same time. 

But advertisers who launched both prospecting and retargeting simultaneously found faster growth than advertisers who waited to launch retargeting. This combined strategy delivered 27% more site traffic and roughly twice the return on ad spend (ROAS) than those who didn’t. 

So when you’re ready to launch your CTV campaigns, make sure your strategy aligns with your team’s goals. If you’re trying to reach multiple audience segments and achieve faster growth, you’ll want to launch both prospecting and retargeting together. 

The Importance of Post-Launch Optimization 

Like we said earlier, a set-it-and-forget-it approach just won’t cut it in today’s fast-paced, digital world. Audiences and ad formats change frequently, so you have to continuously optimize your campaigns. Let’s explore a few ways in which post-launch optimization is essential: 

Eliminate Ad Fatigue 

Many advertisers (across all formats) are concerned about ad fatigue. If consumers watch the same ad over and over again, they’re going to get tired of it — and potentially the brand that aired it. Of course, this is a valid concern. We’ve all been there, sitting on the couch thinking, “If I hear that jingle one more time…” And you (obviously) don’t want your brand to be on the receiving end of this sentiment. 

In order to avoid this, advertisers are optimizing their creative strategies with this exact concern in mind. One key way brands are finding success is by regularly refreshing their creative to prevent viewers from seeing the same ad too many times. Thankfully, with many ad types, styles, and elements to consider, there are endless ways to reach your customers through video marketing. In terms of strategy, we’ve found brands who maintain evergreen campaigns with several different pieces of content and then activate seasonal creative during key times for their business tend to find the most CTV success. 

Keep Your Audience Entertained

When you first air CTV ads for your brand, you might not know exactly what your audience wants to see. You can start with user demographics by CTV and OTT platforms to understand who your audience is, but you’ll still have a lot to learn about their CTV-specific viewing habits and expectations. 

If you air two ads — one animated, one live action — at the same time, the results of these videos can help you more precisely understand your audience’s preferences. From there, you can use multivariate testing to continue optimizing your creative. If you’re not sure where to start, try testing different end cards, voiceover, talent, locations, or hooks. 

With a customizable reporting suite, you can also gather insights from your past and current campaigns to make future adjustments. With purpose-built creative — creative made with your audience in mind — you’ll be able to connect with them quickly and efficiently. 

Meet Goals as They Evolve

As you optimize your CTV plans, you can adjust your strategy to meet your goals. For example, if your current plan isn’t driving the site traffic you want, it might be time to adjust your process. 

With the right CTV platform, you can optimize toward your KPIs, reach your audience, and grow your business. Some leading CTV platforms will even help you out through automated optimization. MNTN uses fully automated optimization to achieve performance goals you set yourself. When using the platform, just input your budget, goal, and ad creative, and the campaign will automatically optimize across 50+ different inputs to ensure your ads get the results you want. 

Create Effective CTV Strategies for Your Q4 Goals 

As we make our way through Q4 and keep our eyes on 2024, it’s essential to set your brand up for success. And that means continuously optimizing your creative and strategy to make the biggest impact possible. 

If you’re ready to learn more about effective CTV strategies for Q4 and beyond, watch the full webinar here. Plus, Bakich provides comprehensive pacing recommendations for your holiday budget, so don’t miss out!