For retailers, customer data is driving CTV campaigns

By Ben Holding

The popularity and adoption of streaming exploded during COVID. Now, in the post-quarantine era, retailers are connecting with consumers who have redefined their relationships with screens — no matter their shopping preferences across the return to in-person commerce.

Connected TV is empowering retail marketers to adjust and adapt to changing times by combining linear TV’s storytelling capabilities with digital marketing’s targeting and measurement.

“Performance TV at large borrows the best from both worlds when it comes to TV,” said Oliver Embry, director of product innovation at MNTN. “It’s a high-value medium where you’re able to tell really engaging stories and create engaging messaging for the customer on that large screen while at the same time being able to measure and have the attribution of some of the other more lower-funnel performance channels.”

In 2022 and going into 2023, retailers are launching captivating TV ads targeting customers most likely to convert. Not only are marketers better able to track ad effectiveness and return on ad spend, but learnings from CTV can be applied across retailers’ marketing mix.

How CTV fits into retailers’ performance marketing strategy

Audiences use more streaming services than ever and are more receptive to ads when engaging with streaming content.

For instance, 80% of CTV viewers are more likely to pay attention to ads from brands that align with their lifestyles and opinions, according to research from Magnite. This finding is echoed in research from Hub Entertainment, which reports that 60% of viewers said they prefer shows with ads customized to them.

“Relative to other channels like social or paid search, the CTV consumer is choosing and opting into that content — they’re choosing to tune into their favorite show or their favorite channel,” Embry added. “And what that does is it actually creates a more engaged customer when it comes to the view-through and attribution of some of those ads.”

In response to these shifts in consumer behavior and preferences — just 21% of CTV users report that they are likely to pay attention to video ads on social media, according to Magnite — more brands and retailers are placing more emphasis on CTV ad spend.

According to research by MNTN and Digiday, 41% of brands that reallocated ad dollars to support their CTV strategies did so from social media budgets. CTV also brings together professionally produced video content with a level of personalization that resonates with audiences. More than half of Gen Z viewers (54%) enjoy watching ads on CTV, especially when targeted and based on their interests, according to ClickZ.

Similar to social and search, CTV is a performance marketing channel that allows retailers to use segmented audiences and measure campaign effectiveness with extensive reporting. However, CTV goes further by combining those targeting and measurement capabilities with television’s high-impact storytelling, creating a “best of both worlds” ad platform.