To keep costs low while generating ROI, savvy brands are embracing innovative approaches to production and media buys. These tactics allow advertisers to continue reaching audiences on CTV while remaining mindful of spending.

“Marketers should be investing in CTV — especially during times of economic uncertainty — because it delivers measurable returns,” said Tim Edmundson, director of content and research at MNTN. “It is highly targetable, fully measurable and can be optimized to focus on specific metrics like return on ad spend, cost per visit or cost per acquisition. This moves it into the same category of always-on performance channels like paid search and social. When you combine that with the prestige and brand recall TV advertising provides, you have a potent channel that marketers need to earmark ad dollars for.”

Even as ad budgets take a hit, CTV spending is climbing

With concerns about a looming recession carrying into 2023 and layoffs making headlines, companies are slashing ad budgets — but, given today’s fragmented media landscape, the impact isn’t equal across the board.

CTV ad spend in the U.S. is forecast to exceed $26 billion in 2023, up 27.2% from 2022, according to eMarketer. Furthermore, a survey of 100 retail marketers conducted by MNTN and Worldwide Business Research (WBR) found that 86% plan to spend more on CTV in 2023. On the agency side, 76% predict an increase in CTV ad spend in 2023, according to a survey from Pixability.

Marketers are increasingly drawn to connected TV because of its growing popularity among audiences and the channel’s performance capabilities. As cord-cutting continues and digital ads become increasingly more expensive and less effective, brands like Merrell footwear, Quility insurance and Dr Teal’s self-care also gave digital video a bigger piece of the advertising budget pie, as Digiday previously reported.

“More brands are leveraging CTV because they can reach the right audience and take a more consumer-centric approach,” said Bianca Reed, vice president of account management global tracking for Material+, a marketing services company, in a recent statement to Digiday.

According to eMarketer, there are 230 million CTV users in the U.S., which accounts for 67.8% of the population. Additionally, research from Magnite shows that 23% of CTV viewers made a purchase after seeing an ad, reinforcing how investment in CTV can drive sales.

“MNTN’s data shows that advertisers see a halo effect when it comes to their CTV advertising — it actually boosts the returns for their other performance channels,” said Edmundson. “Advertisers saw 22% stronger conversion rates for paid search and 9% stronger conversion rates for paid social after launching a CTV campaign.”

Brands are driving sales while cutting creative costs

Marketers may perceive video advertising as having a high cost to entry, particularly in this economic climate. However, innovations and functionalities in the CTV landscape …read more

Source:: Digiday

Author: Aaron