CTV Advertising Guide: Benefits, Examples, and How Brands Use Connected TV

Television viewing is not limited to cable or satellite in today’s world. Viewers are tuning in to shows, movies, and videos via smart TVs, streaming devices, and apps. With this shift, companies are becoming increasingly crucial.

In this blog, you will learn what CTV is in marketing, how it works, how CTV advertising works, why it matters for businesses, and provide connected TV advertising examples that will make you understand more about it.

What Is CTV?

CTV stands for Connected TV. It is any television that can be connected to the internet and that can use apps or streaming services. These include smart TVs, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, and game systems.

So, what is CTV in marketing? In marketing, CTV refers to the delivery of ads to viewers of television content online. This stands in contrast to traditional cable TV ads, as CTV ads can be more targeted, measurable, and interactive.

People love CTV because it can be scoped in to watch what you want, when you want. CTV is very popular with marketers because it allows them to reach their target audience at scale.

Why Connected TV Advertising Matters

TV advertising, traditional as it was, worked beautifully, but had its own set of limitations:

• Advertisers couldn’t always choose who would see their ads

• It was difficult to calculate the results

• People often skip ads

But connected TV advertising companies have mitigated many of these limitations.

Benefits of CTV Ads

Here’s what you need to know about why CTV is important:

1. Better Targeting

CTV allows companies to reach defined groups by age, interests, location, and past viewing habits. This makes an ad useful to the right people.

2. More Accurate Measurement

And unlike on old TV, where we could only speculate about who saw the ads, with CTV you actually see numbers such as how many people viewed your ad and which ones clicked.

3. Flexible Ad Formats

CTV ads can range from short like 6 or 15 seconds to interactive where viewers can click to learn more.

4. Higher Engagement

Those watching CTV tend to choose what they watch, so they are more attentive. This leads to better engagement.

5. Cost Effective

Brands can waste money only on the most important audiences. They don’t blow the budget on groups that will not be interested.

So, connected TV advertising companies are a boon to brands, as they deliver more for less, bringing marketing spend back.

What Is CTV in Marketing vs. Traditional TV Ads

To grasp the meaning of CTV in marketing, it is useful to contrast it with traditional TV commercials.

Traditional TV Ads

• Ads play during scheduled shows

• Advertisers purchase advertising based on large audiences

• Limited tracking of who watched

CTV Advertising

• Ads appear as people watch streaming content

• Advertisers pick specific audiences

• Easy to track detailed results

For instance, a company that sells baby products can use CTV to show ads only to parents, rather than to all TV viewers.

How Does CTV Advertising Work?

Now, let’s learn how CTV advertising works in simple steps:

Step 1: Audience Planning

Marketers choose who they want to reach based on age, interests, or behavior.

Step 2: Choosing Platforms

They choose connected TV advertising companies and platforms where their audience consumes content. These may include platforms such as Hulu, Roku, YouTube TV, and smart TV apps.

Step 3: Creating the Ad

Brands make short video ads. Those can be text only or interactive formats that allow viewers to learn more.

Step 4: Ad Delivery

The ads appear when the selected audience is watching CTV content. For example, if someone is streaming a cooking show on a smart TV, they might see an ad for a kitchen product.

Step 5: Measuring Performance

Marketers check in on results after ads run. They can know how many people watched, how many completed the ad, and whether viewers then acted such as by visiting a website.

In the process, this cycle illustrates how CTV advertising works from beginning to end.

The Role of Connected TV Advertising Companies

So, what are connected TV advertising companies? Their role is to assist brands in planning, running, and measuring CTV ad campaigns. They act as intermediaries between advertisers and streaming platforms.

Main Services They Offer

• Audience targeting tools

• Ad buying

• Creative support

• Analytics and reporting

Companies that allow brands to target digital TV screens more easily.

Types of CTV Advertising Formats

CTV ads can come in different forms. These formats allow brands to tell their stories in expressive ways.

Pre Roll Ads

You see these before a show begins. They tend to be brief 6 to 15 seconds.

Mid Roll Ads

The shows run in the middle of other programming, akin to commercial breaks on traditional TV.

Post Roll Ads

These play after a show ends.

Interactive Ads

And some CTV ads do allow viewers to click buttons on screen with a remote, such as Learn More or Shop Now.

These standards demonstrate CTV advertising, how it works in real life, and options for ad plays.

Connected TV Advertising Examples

Let’s go through some connected TV advertising examples you need to know if you’re trying to adopt the use of CTV:

Example 1: Food Delivery App

A brand that delivers food would like to attract young adults. They rely on a CTV ad that airs while cooking or food shows are playing on Roku devices. Viewers watch a 15 second ad and are given a promo code. Afterward, many users go to the app to order food.

Example 2: Travel Company

A travel firm serves ads for discount vacations to people who watch travel shows on smart TVs. The commercials run as brief promos before the show gets underway.

Example 3: Fitness Gear

A fitness brand targets people who watch health and exercise videos. They rely on interactive CTV ads that let viewers press a button on their TV remote to visit the brand’s website.

These interactive TV advertising examples give you a sense of how ads will appear in different scenarios based on your audience’s behavior and interests.

CTV vs. OTT: What’s the Difference?

There’s a misconception about the difference between CTV and OTT. Let’s make it simple:

• OTT refers to video content delivered over the internet, such as Netflix or YouTube

• CTV is the device or screen being used to access that content

So, OTT is the content. CTV is your streaming screen.

Brands frequently run advertisements in both OTT and CTV environments, where CTV specifically refers to the device side.

Who Should Use Connected TV Advertising?

CTV advertising is effective for a variety of businesses:

Small Businesses

Little local brands can now reach targeted audiences with little budget.

E Commerce Brands

Online stores may display ads to individuals who like similar products.

Large Enterprises

Big brand marketers can capitalize on CTV to drive awareness and reach millions with pinpoint precision.

That means whether you have a small local store or a large national brand, connected TV advertising companies can help grow your business and put you in front of audiences watching streaming TV.

Measuring CTV Advertising Success

One of CTV’s strongest assets is its ability to measure results.

Key metrics brands look at

• Impressions

• View Through Rate

• Click Through Rate

• Conversions

CTV reporting enables brands to see what worked and what did not. This information can empower marketers to optimize future campaigns.

Challenges in CTV Advertising

CTV ads are potent, but there are a few hurdles:

• Fragmentation

• Ad blockers and skipped ads

• Measurement standards

Though the landscape of CTV advertising is messy, connected TV advertising companies strive to help brands overcome these challenges and achieve great results.

The Future of CTV Advertising

Experts say CTV will only become more popular as people transition from cable to streaming. New technology will make it more interactive and personalized.

Future trends include

• AI powered ad targeting

• Shoppable TV ads

• Advanced analytics

With this development, CTV in marketing will also become a normal element for many companies in advertising.

Conclusion

Connected TV advertising companies that help brands ads to people who are watching TV that connects to the internet. They simply enable brands to easily target the right audience, track results, and spend wisely. Marketers select audiences, create ads, deliver ads on CTV platforms, and then measure how those campaigns perform. Connected TV advertising examples demonstrate how food apps and travel brands are using CTV ads to grow.

CTV is revolutionizing how advertising looks and creating an environment where brands can reach audiences in new, better ways. As more consumers tune in to streaming content, the relevance of CTV advertising will continue to grow.

In the digital world we’re living in today, partnering with good connected TV advertising companies can help you reach your customers where they spend a lot of their time TV via internet streaming.

Team Unity Media here to help businesses succeed with CTV advertising. We serve as one of the top connected TV advertising companies, helping brands plan, buy, and measure CTV campaigns. Our approachable manner helps new to CTV companies feel secure and supported, with an instinct for making ad buying easier and overall more successful. Team Unity Media is centered on crystal clear objectives, clever targeting, and accountable ROI, helping all brands find the right audience at the right time.