Streaming video has transformed the TV landscape. Many audiences that once watched linear TV through an antenna or cable box have now “cut the cord” and view content exclusively through services like Roku, Hulu and Youtube.tv.

CTV is making inroads across all audiences. What was first the domain of local retailers and direct-to-consumer online brands has now expanded to include a broad range of advertisers, including real estate companies. Consider the following numbers:

• More than three-fourths (78%) of U.S. households are now reachable by programmatic OTT/CTV advertising, up from 59% in Q1 2020.
• Cheap, ubiquitous “smart TVs” have made streaming easy and accessible to millions. Recent data indicated there are more than 109 million smart TVs in the U.S., and this is projected to increase in the coming years.
• Legacy networks are busy launching their own CTV channels, and services like Roku offer thousands of ad-supported channels for free through connected TVs.

For advertisers that always wanted to appear on the big screen but didn’t have the resources, CTV offers an exciting new channel to explore.

The New Frontier of TV
For some time, the term “cord-cutters'' referred to a generation of tech-savvy young people who were using technology to free themselves from the commitments of regular cable packages. In recent years cord-cutters have grown to include consumers of every age and background. Many people now use CTV and streaming services to supplement their other TV viewing options, for example.

What makes CTV advertising attractive, especially for smaller advertisers new to TV, is the ability to target specific audiences and track ad performance in ways that weren’t available with linear or local TV. The lower barrier to entry means that CTV will be the first foray onto the Big Screen for many mid-market advertisers.

How to Start a CTV Campaign
What should you know before getting started with CTV?

Determine your purpose: First, you need to determine the KPIs for your CTV campaign. This can include brand awareness, new customer acquisition or testing video creative.

Decide which audience to target: Perform an audience evaluation and determine the best approach. Targeting can involve specific consumer segments or geographic/demographic audiences depending on your goals.

Choose your platform: Next it’s time to decide the best platform to launch your CTV campaign given your particular audience. Different audiences gather on different platforms, which will influence and tactics for your campaign.

Finalize content: Many advertisers want to simply take a single video or TV ad and adapt it for CTV. This is a mistake. One of the unique differentiators for CTV is the ability to dynamically target different creative to different audiences. Having a few different creative versions can dramatically increase performance.

Launch: Once everything is in place, it’s time to start airing your CTV ads and measuring results. Measurement typically requires some technical expertise, which you can bring in-house or hire an agency to undertake. The questions you want to answer include:

• What households saw the ad? Where were they and what CTV platform were they using?
• When did the ad run? Was it on a weekday afternoon or a Saturday night?
• What was your ROI based on exposure and impressions? One thing many advertisers  will appreciate about CTV is that they only pay for ads served to their target audience and granular tracking makes detailed analytics possible.

With this data, it’s possible to continually improve CTV campaigns on the fly, learning from each advertisement what works and what doesn’t. A good CTV strategy will not only tell you about your advertising, it can also teach you a lot about who your ideal customers might be. When incorporated into a campaign that includes other channels, CTV can dramatically impact the ROI of your advertising budget.

The Covid-19 pandemic has meant that more people than ever are glued to their screens at home, and most of them are watching premium digital video. With the new opportunities presented by CTV technology coupled with increased migration trends, a captive audience and a looming economic recovery, now is the time to introduce CTV into your marketing plan.