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Why Businesses Should Embrace CTV, Geo-Targeted Advertising

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As many businesses begin preparations for 2022 planning, with it comes the notion that we are entering an endemic era—one in which resources and budgets for businesses across an array of verticals will likely remain a bit scarce through the continued uncertainty. While additional marketing exposure is often an effective tactic to help generate new, and foster recurring, revenue, advertising dollars are often among the first to get cut as one survey mentioned 38% of respondents paused all-new advertising efforts when the pandemic struck as business wasn’t booming.

So, what's the solution? Brands should still be advertising, but make sure to evaluate which opportunities have the highest ROI. CTV has become one of the fastest developing mediums; in fact, 75% of today’s consumers are watching more streaming content than they did in pre-pandemic times. With this in mind, it seems no longer controversial, but instead fair, to say that businesses who do not embrace CTV advertising don’t stand a chance in effectively targeting today’s key demographics. 

Let's take a look at how businesses of all sizes can innovate, on a budget, through smart CTV advertising tactics.

Unpacking the Battle: CTV vs. Linear

Traditionally speaking, linear TV advertising has not seen much room for innovation. Advertisers buy spots based on programs where it would make sense for such an ad to run during commercial breaks. It is a straightforward process that produces results but isn’t very targeted nor cost-effective. 

Enter CTV advertising. While linear TV advertising has stayed the same, CTV advertising has been constantly evolving to create a more enjoyable ad break experience to the viewer. Some of these innovations include custom squeeze back frames. This feature allows for brands to really capitalize on using a more general creative video with a custom squeeze back frame to tailor an advertising message to a specific audience or location. This saves the company time and money by not having to create multiple custom advertising videos and buying specific placements. CTV advertising technology can place these squeeze back frames on the fly and create multiple versions of a squeeze back frame in a matter of minutes, therefore eliminating extra unnecessary advertising spend.

This is just one example of how the new and advanced CTV technologies can provide access to entertainment advertisements for a fraction of the price that it would take to advertise on linear TV. CTV effectively lowers the barrier to entry so that businesses of all sizes may take advantage. 

Quality Engagement Is More Important than Number of Views 

The power of a great advertisement is in the quality of the ad. But it's also about getting in front of the right viewer at the right time. When we think about linear vs. CTV, we also have to think about "lean back" versus "lean in" watch concepts.

When a viewer is watching CTV, collectively speaking, they are usually "leaning back," or immersevely binge-watching a series that has captured their attention. This inherently correlates to higher ad impressions. In fact, a study from Magna and IPG Media Lab found that CTV advertisements had a 3.8 times higher retention rate than those using linear TV. Advertising on CTV has the opportunity to yield a higher conversion rate due to a more engaged audience. 

Advertisements That Fit Your Audience

Just like Facebook can recommend that pair of shoes you were just looking at on another website, new CTV technologies can also apply a similar concept by means of hyper-local targeting. CTV provides viewers with a powerful ad break experience through applying ad personalization tactics based on users' program interest, time of day they tune in, duration, and location.

Such technologies can connect a strategic geographically located viewer to your advertisement, which would be relevant to a specific shopping radius – down to the zip code. This provides a more customized experience for the viewer and encourages them to shop local. For example, there could be a national ad campaign for Toyota, and with smart tech, the frame around the ad could be directing the viewer to their local dealership with a QR code call to action or even incorporating UGC from that specific dealership. The possibilities are truly endless with CTV. Hyperlocal targeting also helps businesses avoid unnecessary spending on larger geographic areas that don’t make sense for their viewership but may be required to pay for with linear TV advertisements.

Taking a step back from everything we’ve discussed, it is safe to say that CTV is a medium that isn't going anywhere anytime soon. CTV advertising is on the cutting edge, not the bleeding edge, signaling that now is the time for businesses to take advantage of a market that is ready to boom. It can be challenging to know what type of CTV advertisement would work best for your brand, but starting somewhere is better than not starting at all. Since most CTV advertisers can provide feedback and impression rates on the spot, there is a great opportunity here for businesses of all sizes to carefully tread through and navigate the waters as they head into uncharted territory.

[Editor's note: This is a contributed article from ElementalTV. Streaming Media accepts vendor bylines based solely on their value to our readers.]

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