Originally Published in Results Magazine
True connected television (CTV), defined as watching episodic content delivered through wireless communication rather than via cable cords, marries the best (and sometime worst) of traditional linear advertising and digital-based marketing. It takes a calculative and measured approach to master this medium for your organization to be set up for long-term success.
Traditional media buyers understand how to reach a consumer in a lean-back setting, when a user is watching a video on his or her respective couch. Media buyers who have a linear background are used to dealing with Nielsen impressions when many people are viewing the same message at the same time.
Variables that play into running successful campaigns in linear television include: proper planning, measurement, and buying the commercial at a fair rate; incorporating key messaging in the creative to promote the pre-determined goals; and having advanced attribution methods to accurately measure if the campaigns KPIs are being met.
The above variables are the same ingredients that indicate a successful CTV campaign, as well: planning, targeting, purchasing fair market rates, creative messaging, and attribution. However, while linear television operates in a one-to-many environment, CTV operates in a one-to-one fashion.
A CTV ad is delivered to an individual device, meaning one household or user translates to a single impression. The mechanics of planning, ad delivery, measurement, and attribution all mimic how the ecosystem operates. Planning can be done using first-party data fused with viewership data, while measurement can be done on a user-based level where an anonymous TV household can be linked to other data, including both online and offline activity. Optimizations are made on an individual level, compared to macro-level Nielsen targets. Furthermore, the marketplace can be entered either through a direct relationship with a seller or through programmatic means.
Every campaign needs to be looked at individually to use CTV the right way. As more advertisers enter the CTV marketplace, it is important for video buyers to understand how to leverage reach and frequency metrics that look similar to linear buying. It’s essential that the advertiser has a harmonious campaign — combining linear and digital efforts — that maximizes incremental reach on a connected scale.
“As more advertisers enter the connected TV marketplace, it is important for video buyers to understand how to leverage reach and frequency metrics that look similar to linear buying. It’s essential that the advertiser has a harmonious campaign that maximizes incremental reach on a connected scale.”
Conversely, for more performance -driven marketers, it is important to understand the precise pre-campaign targeting that can be done and how an ad server ensures that only users who fit a specific profile are targeted for an ad. There are certain campaigns that require both of these tactics to be utilized in which understanding the presumed impact of mass reach coupled with precision targeting is of paramount importance.
While there is no set formula for running a successful CTV campaign, it is imperative that the team executing one has a deep understanding of both linear television and digital planning, as solving the CTV puzzle includes tactics and strategies from both worlds.
Josh Winograd is head of strategy for Chief Media and CEO of its Futures Media Advanced TV Division. He can be reached via email at [email protected].
