How To Future-Proof Your Marketing Strategy with CTV 

5 Min Read

So far in 2024, we’ve noticed marketers seem to be feeling a bit overwhelmed. Between working to adapt to changing tech, consumer behaviors, and creative requirements, there’s a lot to balance. But by adding Connected TV alongside their other digital channels, marketers can connect with target audiences, drive campaign results, and mitigate some of these challenges. 

Recently, Eric Hatzenbuhler, the Director of Performance Marketing at MNTN, joined SmartBrief to discuss how advertisers can stay ahead of the competition by including CTV in their marketing strategies. Let’s take a look at the highlights of their conversation: 

The Growth of Connected TV 

The digital advertising space has changed significantly over the last few years. A few areas of interest for marketers: 

Audience Shifts 

The reason advertisers are flocking to CTV is, of course, because of viewership growth. In 2024, eMarketer estimates over 234 million people in the US will consume CTV content. And viewers are spending more time with CTV and OTT than ever before, with numbers quickly closing in on linear TV viewership. 

eMarketer estimates time spent with linear TV in 2024 will decrease to an average of 2 hours and 48 minutes per day. CTV, on the other hand, is on the rise at an estimated 2 hours and 3 minutes per day (up from 1 hour and 55 minutes last year). 

On top of the growth, audiences are shifting between platforms and tiers as new options — including ad-supported streaming plans — arise. 

Inventory 

Speaking of platforms, the streaming industry has been shifting rapidly. Between mergers, consolidations, and new platforms, 2024 has a lot in store for CTV inventory. With so many changes on the horizon and more inventory than ever before, it’s essential to create a holistic CTV strategy that doesn’t trap your ads in one spot. 

At MNTN, our advertisers’ ads only appear on premium streaming TV networks, which means they only run against quality programming. By taking an audience-first approach (as opposed to a platform-first approach), you’ll be able to reach your audience no matter where they’re watching their favorite shows. 

Measurement and Attribution 

One of the biggest challenges in CTV has been attribution and measurement. But the technology has advanced significantly of late, giving marketers more accuracy and reliability in their campaigns. 

These are just two of the elements that make performance possible on CTV. At MNTN, we use Verified Visits™ to accurately measure traffic. MNTN only takes credit for a site visit if a user saw an advertiser’s MNTN ad, then visited the advertiser’s site on a device within the same household — all within an attribution window defined by the advertiser. 

CTV Strategy Best Practices 

To get the most out of your CTV budget, there are a few best practices to implement. 

Run Evergreen Creative  

One of the most effective ways to maintain performance power on CTV is to use the platform as an always-on channel. Evergreen CTV creative can be an anchor for your brand’s digital marketing strategy, creating a consistent narrative for viewers to remember all year. Then, when it’s the right time for your brand, you can add seasonal campaigns to amplify your presence. 

Implement an Omnichannel Strategy

Adding CTV to your omnichannel marketing mix doesn’t mean you should throw your other plans out the window, of course. Instead, CTV should complement your other channels —in some cases, it can even help them perform better. 

At MNTN, we’ve found some of our advertisers who add CTV to their mix see better site traffic and conversions on paid search and social media through a digital halo effect. Our research shows using CTV together with other digital channels generates: 

• More attention
• More qualified visits
• More opportunities for conversions via other channels

Optimize Your Campaigns 

As you continue running your CTV campaigns, you’ll be able to collect and analyze more information about your creative and audience. These insights can give you the opportunity to experiment with different campaign elements to see what works best for the brand. This can help you find new audiences, discover key sales periods, and achieve higher levels of performance. On a creative level, you can also use this information to help inform the video production for your next round of creative refreshes.

With the right technology, there’s another way to optimize your campaigns, too. MNTN advertisers receive automated optimization throughout their campaigns. Our unique technology optimizes your campaign hundreds of thousands of times a day to deliver performance for your brand. 

The Next Generation of Performance TV 

In addition to everything we’ve already mentioned, there’s one important element we haven’t quite covered yet: the CTV partner you choose. Not every CTV provider has the right tools, technology, or team to help your brand grow. At MNTN, we always look to make sure you have the tools you need to stay ahead of your competition today and tomorrow. 

Most recently, we released Next Gen TV. This update elevates the peak performance you can deliver with TV, gaining improved ROI, highly competitive pricing, audience improvements, app integrations, and more. Learn more about MNTN’s Next Gen TV here. 

The Future of CTV

Since CTV is now a consistent and vital part of marketing strategies, following best practices for the channel is critical. With the right strategies, ad creative, and CTV partner, brands can make the most of their digital marketing budget and stay ahead of their competition — no matter what new streaming challenges come next. 

To learn more about effectively adding CTV to your marketing mix, watch the full webinar here.