Health and CTV: Helping Advertisers and Consumers Reach Their New Year Goals

4 Min Read

While it may be hard to believe, 2022 is almost upon us. If you’re in the health and wellness industry, you’re no doubt already planning for the big New Year’s advertising push – and this one will be the biggest in years.

What a difference a year makes. Just last January, the world was still locked down and reeling with COVID-19, forcing advertisers to scramble. While the pandemic is still an ongoing concern for many, this coming New Year will look drastically different – and health and fitness brands have a unique opportunity to greet an eager audience with campaigns that inspire, encourage, and engage. And thanks to the power of CTV ads, brands can reach these audiences wherever and whenever they’re watching.

Changing Behaviors

As you’re already aware, the pandemic changed our health and fitness behaviors. Some people spent the pandemic (justifiably) stress eating and are now looking to get back into shape. Others, watching their gyms shut down, rethought what fitness looked like and invested in outdoor gear or at-home gym equipment. Some took the time to experiment with their diet and pursue lifestyle changes like veganism. Others found out –surprise! – they actually liked jogging or other workouts.

People changed in thousands of ways over the last two years, but together they’ll enter 2022 with health and fitness goals. And make no mistake, while many things changed during the pandemic, Americans making New Year’s Resolutions aren’t one. Last year, a study by Finder revealed that 141.1 million adult Americans – or 55.31% of the populace – not only made resolutions but also planned to follow through with them. An estimated 188.9 million adult Americans – 74.02% of the population – said they were “determined to learn something new, make a lifestyle change or set a personal goal.” This year will surely see an even higher percentage making plans thanks to a return to normalcy.  

It’s a health and fitness advertiser’s dream equation: a world emerging from a pandemic + consumer interest in personal health + occurring during New Year’s when people make goals = a once-in-a-generation opportunity for brands – one that’s attainable thanks to the rise of CTV.   

From Couch Potato to Fitness Freak

Changing behaviors didn’t just stop at personal health during COVID. One of few business success stories during the pandemic was the CTV boom, resulting in stunning stats like streaming seeing a year-over-year increase of 81%. Stuck indoors at a time when many premium streaming platforms were either launching or securing original must-see content, people cut the cord and subscribed to a record number of services.

And as the world opens up again, these viewing habits are unlikely to change. Research firm Conviva found that despite COVID restrictions loosening this year, worldwide streaming grew 13% in April-June 2021. It’s clear that even with a world moving past lockdowns, many viewers are now immersed in various streaming service ecosystems and have formed new habits. And as TV and movie production ramps back up during the fall and winter – when many Americans are likely to spend more time indoors – they’ll stick around to see all of the new content hitting the platforms. All of which makes for an engaged audience, staying inside and watching their favorite shows in the leadup to New Year’s.

How Brands Can Use CTV

All of this signals an incredible opportunity for health and fitness brands, a market valued at $4.75 trillion. Thanks to CTV’s ability to target ideal customers and deliver television ads directly into their homes, health and fitness brands can ensure their message is getting to the right audience. Here are just a few examples of how health and fitness brands can harness the targeting capabilities of Connected TV:

• Gyms: 12% of all gym signups happen in January. With CTV, gyms can reach former and prospective members to announce introductory rates, improved machines, and new classes.
• Home equipment: Use CTV to target former, current, or prospective customers looking to build their home gyms with the equipment that matters most to them.
• Outdoor gear: Reach your customers in warmer climates during the winter with fitness wear for outdoor activities, or create aspirational messages for audiences in colder climates (who doesn’t love a reminder that spring is on the way?).
• Food and dietary: Reach your ideal audience with messages to motivate them after a winter (and holiday season) of comfort food and snacking.
• Additional products: From athletic wear to cooking accessories, from headphones to music subscription services, there are no shortage of additional accessories that tie into the health and fitness category. Creative brands can jump in on this New Year’s opportunity to boost sales.

Prepping for 2022 – and Beyond

This is just the tip of the iceberg for how health and fitness brands can utilize the power of CTV, as creative marketers find new and compelling ways to leverage the channel. Using platforms like MNTN’s Performance TV can take campaigns the extra mile by only serving ads on premium networks, showing you when a viewer makes a purchase (regardless of what device they use), and offering real-time insights and performance metrics that demonstrate what’s working – and help you prepare for New Year’s 2023.