Why Performance-Powered Brand Marketing Is a (Big) Game Changer in 2024

5 Min Read

This past weekend was the unofficial kickoff to the marketing and advertising new year. With so many brands unveiling their newest ad creative during the Big Game, it’s a great way to start the year. But it’s still just that: the beginning. 

Throughout the rest of 2024, it’s clear Connected TV (CTV) is going to be essential in marketing strategies. This year, the Big Game (and its accompanying content) aired across several different channels and platforms, including CTV and OTT channels. With the necessary channels in place, advertisers are exploring how to make the most out of both performance and brand marketing in 2024. 

Matt Collins, Director of Product Marketing at MNTN, joined Ad Age to discuss how marketers can see both brand and performance wins on Connected TV. Let’s take a look at some topics they covered during their conversation. 

CTV Got Us Fallin’ In Love (With Television Advertising) 

The future of television is here, which means the future of television advertising is here, too. 

In 2024, eMarketer estimates CTV will reach 68.5% of the US population, giving advertisers an incredible opportunity to reach target audiences of various backgrounds. Plus, the amount of time viewers are spending watching CTV is growing, reaching an estimated 2 hours and 3 minutes per day for US viewers. As people watch more CTV content, advertisers have more chances to make an impact. 

Performance-Powered Brand Marketing 

In the past, TV advertising struggled with measurement limitations, resulting in little to no directly traceable insights about campaign performance. Today, CTV gives marketers the ability to drive strong, measurable results while building a strong brand presence. 

For brand marketers, CTV can complement your branding work by also driving lower funnel performance. Don’t worry, we’re not trying to mess up your org chart — but we do think the different arms of your marketing team can work together to identify goals and track progress. 

Making the Most of CTV’s Performance Power  

Not every CTV platform is built equally, and if you want to get the most out of your TV advertising budget, you’ll need to work with a performance-focused partner. Let’s take a look at a few ways you can make the most of CTV: 

An Always-On Approach

Evergreen campaigns deliver performance lifts when brands need them the most. One example from MNTN Research: Rumpl, a MNTN Performance TV advertiser, increased their Q4 ROAS by 15% in 2022 by running an evergreen campaign throughout the year.

Plus, this always-on approach helps maintain branding and performance through CTV’s halo effect. Our data shows that some advertisers using all three digital performance channels saw growth in paid search and paid social media while running Performance TV ads. Rumpl experienced the halo effect for themselves — check out the full story here. 

Precision Audience Targeting 

Unlike traditional linear TV, CTV should enable you to activate third party, first party, and CRM audiences. At MNTN, precision audience targeting is an essential part of performance. By connecting with the right viewers, you can drive more interested and engaged people to your website. 

MNTN advertiser Rumpl is, once again, a great example of a brand with creative that delivers both performance and brand benefits. By using two different ad variations to target two different audiences, the blanket brand grew their quarterly ROAS from 1.54x in Q1 to 3.6x in Q4. 

Performance-Focused Tools

Performance TV can drive incredible results for your brand — but only if you have the right tools. MNTN was built with performance in mind, giving advertisers the opportunity to connect with their audience, drive results, and grow their business. One way MNTN does this is through Verified Visits™, our exclusive attribution model.

Another element to look for is innovation. As technology continues advancing, your CTV partner should, too. At MNTN, we recently released a series of updates, which we’re calling MNTN Next Gen TV. It features improved ROI capabilities within the platform, competitive inventory pricing, and a function to track app downloads, just to name a few elements. Learn more about MNTN Next Gen TV here. 

Fresh Creative Solutions 

In 2024, the right video creative is a make-or-break for your brand, no matter the goals of the campaign. 

To help advertisers maintain fresh video creative and keep their audiences engaged, MNTN has two different creative solutions. First, advertisers can work with QuickFrame, a video production marketplace that connects you with leading video makers from around the globe to produce content for any use case or objective. 

Second, MNTN advertisers can use Creative-as-a-Subscription™, which allows brands to get a steady stream of fresh Connected TV creative at no additional cost beyond what they’ll pay in media.

A Testing Mindset

Last but not least, a testing mindset is another strategy component that’s essential for performance marketing. From A/B testing to multivariate analysis, it’s essential to create a year-round testing strategy to go hand-in-hand with your always-on CTV advertising. The more insights you can drive from your video creative, the more you can learn and optimize your future campaigns. 

Add Performance Power to Your 2024 Brand Marketing Strategy 

With the right strategy and tools, brands can optimize their budgets to drive both performance and brand marketing all year long. This allows them to make the most of their ad creative, capture viewers’ attention, and grow their businesses. 
Ready to learn more about performance-powered brand marketing in 2024? Watch the full webinar here.