Disney+ Hotstar Amp Brand Outreach With CTV Targeting
For South Asian nations, including India, cricket is a profound enigma. As a result, cricket enthusiasts are in for an adrenaline rush next month as the major tournaments kick off. The ODI World Cup this year will be the ideal venue for companies to partake in both festive ecstasy and cricketing enthusiasm. As the holiday season approaches and these prominent tournaments are taking place, businesses have the perfect opportunity to take advantage. Brands can now leave their imprint by engaging with consumers in creative ways thanks to Connected TV (CTV) targeting.
A CTV Recap
As a part of programmatic advertising, CTV has risen to popularity in recent years. To explain CTV in short, simple terms, it is any device that can be connected to your traditional TV set, like a Smart TV. It offers online viewing and streaming experience via the internet. These ad formats are very cost-effective, easily trackable, and safe for brands. As such, they also offer a broadcast-quality experience. In a report by Exchange4Media, and a survey by Statista, the CTV advertising market is expected to grow by $45 billion by 2025.
CTV expansion is responsible for India’s rising content consumption. As a result, Disney+ Hotstar, the largest OTT platform in the nation, leads the curve. Disney in India has revealed that users can stream the Asia Cup and the Men’s Cricket World Cup on their mobile devices for free. In a statement, the company stated, “The move to lift the paywall for mobile-only viewers […] is aimed at further democratizing the game of cricket and making it accessible to as many mobile users in India as possible for the duration of the season.”
How will it benefit Advertisers?
CTV offers shared viewing. During peak sports tournaments like the Men’s Cricket World Cup or the FIFA World Cup, spectator emotions are high. This results in heightened emotional responses to the ads they are subjected to at that time. Disney+ Hotstar offers a subscription video-on-demand viewing experience. During live events like these sport world cups, Disney+ Hotstar switches to a hybrid model where, during commercial breaks, they display ad campaigns from brands. Viewers are also shown ads on their screens while live streaming the sports content, however, the ad does not cover the entire screen like traditional TV. They can access the brand’s website without disrupting their streaming experience. Here’s how it will help brands in their outreach strategies with Disney+ Hotstar
Brand Reach
As CTV popularity grows in India, more brands opt for CTV advertising. Disney+ Hotstar has a wide audience base in India. As such, the platform’s track record of offering the highest CTV results, brands are excited to collaborate with them in the upcoming cricket season. By combining their first-party data with the streaming platform, they will receive perceptive insights about their target audiences while controlling ad frequency and reach. This will help them understand how and when their ads are to be displayed so they reach the right cohort.
Audience targeting
Brands will be able to efficiently identify where and how the Disney+ Hotstar audience streams with first-party data. This will help them cater their ads according to not only the audience but the location as well so that they resonate with the population better. Advertisers will also be able to measure the campaign’s efficacy.
User actions
While streaming events like cricket or other sports, audiences are not constantly inundated with commercials. Hence, there is a high chance that viewers will watch the entire ad without skipping it. For the upcoming cricket season, Disney+ Hotstar has introduced video and display billboard ads. This will work in favor of the brands as audiences are more likely to remember the brand resulting in high brand recognition and loyalty. Although viewers might not convert into customers immediately, they will have gained a worthy prospect.
Cost-Friendly
CTV advertising is cost-effective for brands. This is because CTV ad format reaches only a single individual device according to the brand’s targeting campaign. It is unlike traditional TV advertising where viewers are subjected to the same ad around the network. Brands will be able to manage their cost per impression thanks to this ad format. At the same time, advertisers will be able to produce high quality, high performance, and targeted ads. Brands will benefit from this as the audience is more likely to respond positively to better quality ads, increasing loyalty and visibility. Advertisers with niche audiences will also enjoy a better ROI while eliminating any extra costs that might otherwise occur.
Disney+ Hotstar and CTV
Disney+ Hotstar is known for its sophisticated targeting capabilities. Therefore, this cricketing season offers marketers a fantastic chance to succeed with audience involvement. They ran 47 campaigns ICC T20 World Cup in 2022. The results can be used to measure the efficacy of their CTV advertising campaign. The analysis provides insightful information on how sports advertising affects brand visibility. Here are some of the analysis’s major takeaways.
By the numbers
The campaign delivered 25% higher results than the industry benchmark
- Sponsor brands were twice as high as inventory buyers.
- Brands with investments over Rs. 5 crores saw two times more impact on awareness and favorability
- Brands with supplementary campaigns like branded cards, billboards, etc. witnessed 1.5x and 2x higher impact on awareness and favorability respectively.
With Disney+ Hotstar, a number of brands have already found success, and they are grateful for the platform’s assistance in reaching previously untapped audiences.
Read More: PubMatic Takes On DSPs in Video & CTV Deals, Aims for Direct Access
PubMatic Takes On DSPs in Video & CTV Deals, Aims for Direct Access
PubMatic has introduced a new product called Activate, which allows brands and agencies to purchase CTV and online video inventory directly through the SSP. This is similar to Magnite’s ClearLine and The Trade Desk’s OpenPath, providing an end-to-end solution for buying inventory. Unlike real-time bidding, Activate supports direct deals, including programmatic guaranteed and private marketplaces. PubMatic is positioning Activate as a supply path optimization (SPO) solution, which involves removing intermediaries from the supply chain.
According to PubMatic, Activate has the potential to boost revenue for both publishers and buyers. The new product eliminates intermediary costs associated with the bidding process and addresses outdated transaction methods currently used in CTV and video. Almost 60 percent of CTV and 18 percent of online video transactions are non-programmatic. By enabling programmatic guaranteed and private marketplaces, Activate could unlock $65 billion in programmatic spend. PubMatic co-founder and CEO Rajeev Goel said,
By seamlessly connecting buyers and content owners via a single layer of technology, we are significantly reducing the hops, discrepancies, data proliferation, opacity, and complexity in the programmatic marketplace. This will result in higher ROI for buyers and increased revenue for publishers, consistent with our mission to fuel the endless potential of internet content creators who rely on advertising as a primary source of revenue.
Read more: Connected TV Ad Fraud: Is It Real And How To Avoid It?
How does it work?
Activate works by providing buyers with access to available inventory and the ability to apply their own first-party data to target relevant audiences. Buyers can then activate their campaigns and access reporting and analytics for optimization purposes. One key feature is that buyers can use their preferred ad server. In return for the service, PubMatic collects a percentage of the advertiser’s spend, but is also considering subscription models.
Ad agencies Dentsu, Havas, and OMG Germany, along with CPG brand Mars, LG, and Fubo, are among the launch partners of Activate. Mars gains enhanced budget control with Activate, while Fubo embraces increased transparency for media owners.
The CTV and online video market
Both PubMatic’s Activate and Magnite’s ClearLine are concentrated on video placements, encompassing CTV (Connected TV) and online video. Currently, the majority of CTV inventory is acquired through direct deals rather than programmatic methods. PubMatic estimates that 57% of the $65 billion global CTV market is currently transacted via direct insertion orders. That’s $37 billion just waiting to go programmatic. PubMatic also estimates that roughly 18% of the $150 billion online video market, or $28 billion, is transacted via direct IOs. The decision of PubMatic and Magnite to prioritize end-to-end solutions for CTV suggests that Demand-Side Platforms (DSPs) may have certain limitations or challenges in effectively addressing the CTV market.
The development of Activate took PubMatic 18 months, with the acquisition of measurement and reporting platform Martin in September 2020 helping to accelerate the process. The Martin deal provided PubMatic with additional expertise on the challenges faced by agencies and advertisers in campaign planning, as well as buy-side workflow tools, analytics, and optimization technology. Additionally, with the decline in third-party data availability due to regulatory changes and device manufacturer policies, direct access to first-party publisher data has become even more valuable for advertisers. The solution leverages this first-party data to provide advertisers with enhanced control and insights for their campaigns.
Google Ads Enhances CTV Advertising
Google’s Display & Video 360 (DV360) platform has added new features that help advertisers better plan, buy, and measure their connected TV (CTV) campaigns. With the shift to streaming over the last few years, an increasing number of advertisers have prioritized building connected TV (CTV) campaigns into their media strategies. As more advertisers focus on CTV, the platform’s new features aim to improve the targeting, forecasting, and measurement of CTV campaigns.
Let’s take a look into some new features in Display & Video 360 that advertisers use to plan, buy and measure CTV campaigns.
Plan: Reach Planner
Reach Planner in Display & Video 360 is a tool to accurately forecast the reach and expected performance of CTV campaigns. It helps advertisers discover new publishers and CTV inventory and drive more efficient budget allocation decisions.
TV functionality feature in Reach Planner enables advertisers to evaluate the unique and incremental reach of streaming publishers such as YouTube, Hulu, and Roku, as well as linear TV. This information helps advertisers make more informed decisions when it comes to budget allocation and discovering new CTV inventory.
The Reach Planner update is currently available to advertisers in the US, Japan, Vietnam, France, and Germany. Advertisers in the US can also use TV consumption data from the top 150 local Comscore markets to narrow their target audience further.
Another new feature is Deal ID forecasting, which allows advertisers to understand how a Preferred Deal or Programmatic Guaranteed deal might perform before running. This is particularly helpful for CTV campaigns since much of the valuable inventory is sold through deals, especially during significant events like the World Cup or Super Bowl.
Interesting Read: Connected TV Explained: The Essential Glossary Of CTV
Buy: Premium placements
YouTube CTV (Connected TV) inventory refers to the ad space available on YouTube that can be accessed by viewers through a TV device that is connected to the internet. Advertisers who want to access this inventory can do so through Instant Reserve, which is a feature that enables them to easily book premium placements on YouTube CTV. Instant Reserve also unlocks audience targeting capabilities that were previously only available for open auction buys.
Instant Reserve offers curated packages that include YouTube TV and other YouTube Select lineups. These packages allow advertisers to reach their target audience more effectively by selecting placements that align with their specific goals and objectives.
Besides Instant Reserve, another way to secure premium CTV inventory is by creating deals or activating inventory packages in the TV section of Display & Video 360’s Marketplace. This means that advertisers can access premium CTV inventory and secure it in advance of their campaign launch, giving them greater control and certainty over their campaign performance.
In addition to the Marketplace, Display & Video 360 also recently launched CTV audience features that allow advertisers to reach audiences wherever they stream connected TV content. Advertisers can use their first-party audience lists to connect with people they already have relationships with, and then expand the reach of their CTV campaigns to reach larger groups like “sports enthusiasts” through Google audiences. This helps advertisers to increase their campaign reach and effectiveness by targeting specific groups of people who are more likely to be interested in their products or services.
Measure: Ad Frequency and Reporting
Display & Video 360 can help advertisers manage ad frequency on CTV devices. Advertisers can manage ad frequency by tracking how many times an ad has been shown to a viewer and using this information to adjust the delivery of ads accordingly. It also provides insights into which publishers and strategies are driving the greatest incremental reach, which enables advertisers to optimize their campaigns and improve their overall performance.
They also released a Unique Reach Overlap report that helps advertisers identify duplicate reach across publishers, campaigns, and devices. The report provides information that can be used to determine campaign-level frequency caps, which helps minimize overlap and reduce media waste. This feature is available globally for all Display & Video 360 accounts and Campaign Manager 360. Advertisers can use this report to make data-driven decisions and optimize their campaigns for better performance.
Google’s Display & Video 360 platform has introduced new features to help advertisers plan, purchase, and measure their CTV campaigns, indicating the platform’s responsiveness to the increasing demand for CTV advertising.
Interesting Read: The AI Search War: Microsoft & Google Compete for Search Engine Leadership
Paramount Advertising Plans To Scale Identity With Unified ID 2.0 On CTV
Paramount Advertising is enabling Unified ID 2.0 (UID2) to transact advertising deals across its owned and operated streaming channels housed within EyeQ, the company’s video advertising platform. It will allow advertisers to target viewers by matching their first-party data with audience data across Paramount inventory, with the ability to scale the solution across Paramount’s EyeQ inventory.
UID2 is an industry approach to identifying viewers pioneered by The Trade Desk. It is a cookie-less identifier that encourages the use of hashed and salted data to maximize inventory value while preserving consumer privacy. Leo O’Connor, SVP and Head of Programmatic Advertising, Paramount said,
“With EyeQ, we set out to offer advertisers a premium CTV ad solution with massive scale, bolstered by audience optimization capabilities and simple, speedy campaign execution. We are excited to leverage Unified ID 2.0 in collaboration with The Trade Desk and provide innovative, privacy-conscious audience targeting solutions for our shared advertiser clients.”
Paramount EyeQ serves as a single point of entry for advertisers across Paramount’s streaming library, including Paramount+, Pluto TV, BET, CBS News, CBS Sports Network, Comedy Central, MTV, Paramount Network, Smithsonian Channel, VH1, and more.
Interesting Read: All You Need To Know About Connected TV Advertising!
Paramount-A private operator
Paramount will be supporting UID2 as a private operator. As a private operator, Paramount’s data will be hashed and salted into a UID2 token within Paramount’s tech stack before entering the programmatic ecosystem. This means that the original email address will be replaced by a random sequence of characters (numbers/letters) that cannot be traced back to it. In order to create a UID2 identifier, publishers must receive a user’s consent via email address.
With the announcement, Paramount joins several other major UID2 supporters, including Disney, Procter & Gamble, and several others who joined up to include Trade Desk’s effort. Tim Sims, chief revenue officer at The Trade Desk, said,
“Paramount’s inclusion of Unified ID 2.0 in select inventory represents a major moment in the seismic shift currently happening in TV media buying.”
Interesting Read: The Journey From Deterministic To Probabilistic Marketing
Integral Ad Science Reports Strong Q4 Earnings With CTV Growth
With a focus on measurement and ad verification, Integral Ad Science is pursuing two trends: contextual targeting and connected television (CTV). The company, which reports quarterly earnings, earned $323.5 million last year, an increase of more than a third from 2020. However, Integral’s net loss grew year-over-year as well, from $32 million to $52 million. CEO Lisa Utzschneider told investors that the key focus of the company is ‘growth’.
The recent significant acquisitions have enabled IAS to acquire key technologies, services, and global teams in key growth areas, such as CTV, contextual targeting, social media, and supply chain optimization.
It has now hired over 100 people every quarter, more than any previous quarter. In Q4, IAS’ biggest acquisition, Publica, brought in $7.5 million of total revenue. Publica was acquired for $220 million, the largest of three acquisitions IAS made last year. The Publica business is only 8% of Integral’s total revenue at the moment, but it’s a key component of Integral’s expansion into CTV. Lisa Utzschneider, CEO of IAS joined in late 2018. As stated by AdExchanger that Moat lost shares and customers following its acquisition by Oracle Data Cloud, leaving IAS and DoubleVerify, which also went public last year. To chase the CTV opportunity, however, means competing with other players, such as Nielsen.
Interesting Read: All You Need To Know About Connected TV Advertising!
A CTV ad server, such as Publica, can gather supply-side information, like the app or show in which an ad appeared, or the type of video content, in order to improve ratings for TV campaigns. Many global publishers have chosen Publica to power their ad serving and to accelerate their CTV strategies. These include new integrations with rlaxx TV, VlogBox, and WPSD Local 6 as part of Paxton Media Group.
Utzschneider told AdExchanger, “It’s helping us launch differentiated products that our competitors just can’t build.”
Even though CTV is the biggest growth prospect but counterintuitively programmatic continues to be a tailwind for the business, and it continues to drive accelerated growth. Advertiser-direct, programmatic, and supply-side are the three main revenue areas for IAS. Advertiser direct revenue climbed 7% year over year, including revenue from the open web and social platforms. The fourth quarter’s programmatic revenue increased by 43% year over year. On a combined basis, advertiser revenue accounted for 84 percent of total revenue. The programmatic segment is expected to surpass the advertiser direct segment in the first quarter of 2022 as the largest component of total advertiser revenue.
A key driver for programmatic growth is the company’s contextual advertising product, which directs advertising dollars into brands-safe or brands-appropriate content. It also reconciles campaigns when ads are delivered to inappropriate media for brands. A potential investor asked in the earnings call whether geopolitical tensions (referring to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia) and increased online attention and social media content related to those “events” influence IAS’ interactions with advertisers. Utzschneider said,
“In terms of geopolitical events, our technology and services have never been more relevant. It’s — the relevancy has carried throughout this year, last year, given all of the unprecedented events that we have all experienced. And again, marketers, they continue to lean into our brand safety, brand suitability solutions, especially as we’re seeing that rapid adoption on the social platforms, the dynamic nature of social platforms and also the unpredictability of the content.”
Interesting Read: How Advertisers and Brands Are Responding To The Ukraine Crisis
Unlock The CTV Opportunity: What The Future Looks Like
2022 is the year of CTV- A captive audience, and an engaging screen!
Advertising on Connected Television (CTV) is like an open invitation into a customer’s living room. A prime seat that cannot be missed. And here are the numbers to prove it!
eMarketer forecasts that CTV ad spend will reach $14.44 billion, up by 60% from 2020. It will more than double by 2025, soaring past $30 billion.
It is possible to unlock those advertising dollars by combining audience-based buying with the type of high-quality, engaging content that linear TV has historically been renowned for. Industry experts aim to focus more on identity, interactivity and engagement, growth of ad-supported video-on-demand(AVOD), and convergence of TV and online videos.
Interesting Read: Connected TV Explained: The Essential Glossary Of CTV
Measurement and Identification
Ad measurement is a challenge primarily from the fragmentation of the ecosystem. In other words, there’s no common currency.
Nielsen’s panel-based approach worked seamlessly within the linear TV but proved insufficient for a highly dynamic and addressable CTV ecosystem. The approach is not equipped to provide advertisers with the required insight into a campaign’s performance. This resulted in losing its Media Rating Council accreditation in September
The fundamental problem is the lack of a common identifier across the various CTV platforms. A universal, cross-platform identifier would simplify planning and analyzing CTV campaigns for media buyers. Therefore, alternative currencies are experimented with to measure deduplicated audiences across linear and CTV platforms.
CTV is using IP addresses heavily as its last non-consent-based identifier. However, IP addresses could be in for reckoning in 2022 thanks to the rising privacy regulations. So, industry players must continue trialing new ways to make the most of the audience data they have.
Meanwhile, there will be a rise in clean room technology. Data sharing in clean rooms is a safe, secure way for media companies and advertisers to share their first-party data for targeting and measuring purposes. The system will help TV advertisers go beyond basic demographics such as gender and age and make more advanced audience-based purchases.
Interesting Read: Clean Rooms Explained: How Marketers Can Prepare For Cookieless World
Interactivity and Engagement
This is the golden era for content. Another upcoming big shift in the landscape of CTV – Interactive Content
High-quality, creative and engaging content will be key to attracting committed viewers. CTV breathes new life into interactive programming and helps brands build a connection with consumers
Viewers that engage in interactive programming are more likely to respond to eCommerce advertising when watching TV content. Users who can interact with an ad through a quiz, ad selector, or even a simple catalog of brands often stay engaged for a longer period beyond the ad runtime.
Purchases of what users see on the screen will speed up. Advertisers must measure beyond impressions to gauge engagement in new ways and drive real-world purchases.
Having said that, watching TV doesn’t suffice – it depends on what you are watching and how engaged you are with its matter. That’ll determine the audience engagement with the ad break and the messages in the ad break.
Ecommerce marketers benefit from CTV channels because they drive action across the funnel. An ad on CTV often prompts people to search online for what they want after viewing it.
Interesting Read: All You Need To Know About Connected TV Advertising!
AVOD is Inevitable
Well, all premium video content does not have ads.
In 2021, however, subscription content tipped the scales in favor of ad-supported content. Millions of subscribers subscribed to streaming services very quickly, and the trend only accelerated during the 2020 pandemic.
The most popular option, until recently, was subscription video on demand. Despite this, trends in the market indicate that advertising-based VOD is growing at breakneck speed. This finding is backed up by a report from the IAB showing that 62% of viewers prefer free content with ads. One such company, Roku, revealed in its 2020 annual report that 14 million new accounts were opened using its ad-based model.
The numbers agree that subscription fatigue is setting in. TVision reported that the time spent on AVOD increased 9.3% from Q1 2021 to a 38% share for Q3 2021. Meanwhile, subscription-based platform (SVOD) viewership decreased by 8.6%.
The penetration of AVOD services will also not slow down anytime soon, especially as more quality content is coming to those platforms – that’s the game-changer. It’s a virtuous cycle: More content means more viewership which leads to more advertising dollars. It’s highly that monetization will continue to gain popularity with AVOD’s capacity to bring together viewers, advertisers, and content creators.
2022 will see big shifts by new entrances into the market who will have better access to TV with more personalized targeting. However, this does not mean all doom and gloom for SVOD. In order to stay on top of the new normal – endless consumer choice – streaming platforms need to invest in and expand their content offering.
Is Convergence the Future?
Advertisers struggle to reach scale as viewership habits shifts from traditional linear television to the internet-enabled connected TV (CTV) or other video-on-demand(VOD) options. In spite of the fact that traditional linear TV still has mass appeal, and is an essential component in any media plan, advertisers can also pursue nuance, flexibility, and precision with CTV.
So, can convergence be the answer?
For linear campaigns, advertisers are turning to CTV for incremental reach. An advertiser’s incremental reach represents deduplicated audience across their linear and CTV ads. Ad agencies that couldn’t reach users with linear TV schedules are now reaching them through additional CTV buys. It’s possible to achieve incrementality because consumers desire choice and want to have all their options at hand.
In the era of big data, we know more than ever. There is an old chestnut that says, “if you know better, do better.” CTV provides unprecedented opportunities for strategic growth.
Interesting Read: A Look Ahead: Convergence Of Linear TV And Digital TV Advertising
Connected TV Explained: The Essential Glossary Of CTV
Connected TV (CTV) is growing rapidly in programmatic advertising and taking it by storm. And it does not come as a surprise!
CTV ads are most effective, highly targeted, trackable, and brand safe. Compared to traditional TV advertising, they offer broadcast-quality ad experiences. According to the CTV Neilsen guide, 60% of U.S. advertisers plan to shift ad dollars from linear TV to either connected TV (CTV) or over-the-top (OTT) this year.
Given the growth in consumption and advertising opportunities, CTV usage has increased by 123% since 2018. However, given the breadth of CTV, identifying ad opportunities is not easy. In most cases, Over-the-top (OTT) and Connected TV (CTV) devices are confused for one another when accessing TV/video content. Moreover, adding Linear TV or traditional TV (in today’s parlance) makes the water even murkier.
Thus, this glossary explains the difference between Connected TV (CTV), Over-The-Top (OTT), and Linear TV. In a quickly evolving programmatic advertising landscape, the glossary aggregates many terms and acronyms used by marketers.
Interesting Read: All You Need To Know About Connected TV Advertising!
First Things First
Before we delve into other terminologies, let us understand the baseline definition of certain streaming terms.
Linear TV
Linear TV is a traditional cable or satellite TV with set viewing timings. A viewer can watch a show at a specific time on a specific channel.
Connected TV
CTV or Connected TV simply means any device like smart TV used to stream TV and video content through the internet. A TV set that can access OTT content and is connected to the internet. According to a recent report, 80% of U.S. TV households have at least one connected TV device. Connected to the digital world, CTV can display programmatic ads to its viewers in real-time.
Interesting Read: Trade Desk Partners With Samsung Ads For Programmatic CTV
Over-The-Top (OTT)
To put it simply, this is the process of streaming content from an app on a CTV or any other internet-connected device. In addition to video-on-demand platforms, OTT applications include audio streaming, messaging, and internet-based phone services.
A Similar Offering
There is a new set of industry jargon that is often confused with Connected TV advertising. They are remotely close to CTV but not the same.
Programmatic TV
A method of buying and delivering ads on linear TV with a technology-automated and data-driven slant. Some TV ad slots are available for programmatic purchase through DSPs. The most important point to note is that the ads are different from Connected TV (CTV). There is a common misconception that programmatic TV is referred to as “CTV Programmatic” or “OTT Programmatic.” These terms refer to Connected TV, as opposed to traditional TV. Understanding this difference is vital for advertising professionals in this new environment.
Advanced TV
An umbrella term referring to any TV content streamed through the internet -live or on-demand. It includes OTT, connected TV (CTV), and addressable TV but beyond traditional, linear TV models. Advanced TV’s is popular worldwide. A Samsung study suggests 63% of all TV viewing time is held on streaming services.
Addressable TV
Addressable TV or ATV is a technical ability to provide each household watching a different ad experience for the same program. It enables advertisers to target specific audiences with individual advertisements and optimize their marketing campaigns. Ads for addressable TV are served programmatically just as they are for addressable digital advertising.
For instance, Mr.A might experience real estate advertisements because they are looking to buy a house, while you see an ad for a motorbike based on your previous interest.
The below image explains how the addressable TV works.
Interesting Read: Here, There, Everywhere, It Is Cross-Screen Advertising!
Inventory and Formats
Video on Demand (VOD)
Video-On-Demand (VOD) is also known as Addressable VOD. Users can watch the content they enjoy at any time that’s convenient for them. Television viewers don’t plan their schedules around the TV, instead, they fit it into their own busy schedules.VOD content can be streamed or downloaded after it is aired live. As a result, viewers can access it anytime and anywhere even if they miss an episode. It can be found on set-top boxes, OTT content services, mobile web, mobile apps, and video streaming services. Unlike traditional TV, viewers can pause, fast-forward, and play as per their choice, and ads are placed within the content.
SVOD
Subscription video on demand (SVOD) is a streaming service based on a subscription model. Consumers subscribe for a fee, to access a catalog of on-demand content and watch are ad-free content. SVOD examples include Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, HBO MAX, and AppleTV+.
Some SVOD providers, on the other hand, offer a hybrid model that offers ad-supported content at a lower subscription price. Hybrids are categorized under SVOD since users still need to login and pay a subscription fee. Hulu, Peacock, ESPN+, and Quibi are a few examples.
AVOD
Advertising-based video on demand (AVOD) is ad-supported content and free to consumers. YouTube and Hulu are the best examples.
TVOD
Transactional video on demand is the opposite of SVOD. Customers buy content on a per-view basis. A customer would pay for a movie or TV show that they desire to watch. Examples of TVOD are Google Play, Apple iTunes, or YouTube movies.
Multi-channel Video Programming Distributor (MVPD)
In layman’s terms, it is a service that provides multiple television channels. The service providers deliver video programming services for a subscription fee through cable or satellite television. Examples include Comcast, DirecTV, DISH, Cox, Verizon, and more.
vMVPD
vMVPD stands for Virtual multichannel video programming distributor (yes, quite a mouthful). These are also called skinny bundles and offer economical digital cable or satellite packages. A streaming service or service provider provides video programming over the Internet without creating their own content. Sling TV, Playstation Vue, Pluto TV (Viacom), Xumo are a few examples.
Wrapping Up
Connected TV (CTV) is becoming a part of every marketer’s brand mix. Brace yourself for the future of advertising. This guide is an effort to well-versed you in the exciting world of Connected TV (CTV) terms.
Quick Recap
A quick recap of the full-on dictionary of Connected TV (CTV)terms with an illustrated guide.
Interesting Read: The Ultimate A-Z Glossary Of Digital Advertising!
Roku And Shopify Collaborate, Create App For SMEs To Launch CTV Ads
Shopify and Roku have announced a collaboration to provide a Roku app for creating CTV ads and managing campaigns to all Shopify businesses’ dashboards. The goal is to get a piece of the $16.4 billion spent on local TV advertising by small and medium-sized enterprises.
The inclusion of Roku in Shopify’s marketing solutions will make it the first-ever TV streaming app available in the Shopify App Store, allowing SMBs to strengthen their brands and generate income through TV advertising.
Roku’s platform, which is designed for merchants to employ on their own and with low ad budgets, has already shown to be successful, with one advertiser’s brand seeing a 63 percent increase in consideration.
Related News: TikTok Partners With Shopify In The Middle East
Roku And Shopify Collab: What Does This Mean For Sellers?
Thanks to Roku’s app, Shopify sellers of any size will be able to quickly construct TV advertising campaigns utilizing exact demographics and measurement across their marketing pipeline. This is a great leap forward from the traditional linear and cable TV advertising solutions, which have limited targeting and measurement possibilities.
Amir Kabbara, Director of Product, Shopify, said –
At Shopify, we’re focused on helping our merchants reach more consumers, boost their sales, and build thriving businesses.
By launching the new Roku app in the Shopify App Store, merchants can bring their products directly to TV screens, while allowing consumers to discover exciting new brands right from their living room
Shopify users can download the Roku app from the Shopify app store, following which they can easily choose their audience, budget, timing, and duration for their ad – and finally, submit the creative. Quickly, users will be able to commence their campaigns and communicate their brand message to the millions watching TV at home.
Interesting Read: Here, There, Everywhere, It Is Cross-Screen Advertising!
All You Need To Know About Connected TV Advertising!
With traditional TV seeing an increasing plummet, our advertising behavior has seen a paradigm shift. This shift is accelerated by the growth of CTV or Connected TV advertising.
The entire landscape of digital advertising is being taken over by CTV now – and that is largely because of the option of getting your commercials on the big screen without the large price tag, reaching cord-cutters and highly engaged viewers in no time!
Expanding on what we essentially mean by CTV – it is a kind of television that is connected to the internet and may be viewed via regular cable television. The Connected TV can stream OTT streaming services, internet browsing data, and internet apps.
These OTT or Over-The-Top platforms give marketers an edge in advertising and publishing their content. Moreover, there are more than 164 million U.S. consumers viewing video content via connected TV devices, and a forecast of up to 204.1 million viewers in 2022.
With CTV gaining mass appeal across the world, we can expect to see a complete digital renaissance in the coming years.
Keep reading below as we explore Connected TV advertising, various ad formats, benefits, its presence in the MENA market, the OTT platforms that enable CTV advertising, and most importantly – its future!
What Is Connected TV Advertising?
Delving into connected TV meaning, viz-a-viz advertising would simply mean exploring a form of advertising that is programmatically generated.
Advertisements for connected TV can be put on any TV or device that can be linked to the internet and access video streaming material beyond what is accessible through a cable provider’s standard offering. Additionally, ads purchased programmatically and displayed on consoles, computer/mobile streaming, gaming devices, over-the-top (OTT), or Smart TVs are referred to as CTV.
Any device that is intended to handle multimedia and connect streaming from the Internet can support connected tv advertising.
If you still have your reservations about what is connected tv advertising, really…then we got some answers for you.
CTV advertising is a private marketplace (PMP) business. Multiple layers of auctions are used in the programmatic media purchasing network, with each level having its own set of pricing and access restrictions. This gives advertisers access to precise placements while in an auction with fewer bids, resulting in considerably better winning rates.
In comparison with traditional TV advertising, CTV allows for more precise targeting and inventory selection, resulting in a more efficient route for reaching a larger market.
Simply put, CTV is the present and future medium for powerful digital advertising. Now, before we get too technical, let us shed light on the benefits of Connected TV for advertisers.
How Will Connected TV Advertising Give You An Edge?
In the space below, we have curated a list of ways how connected tv benefits your company!
1. Helps Create Brand Resonance
Commercials are broadcast at a considerably reduced frequency on OTT and linked TV, and usually only one ad at a time. In support of this, recent research revealed that when compared to completion rates on other platforms, OTT consumers complete 98 percent of video commercials.
Because viewers aren’t inundated with commercial after commercial vying for their attention, they’re more likely to give undivided attention to an ad and remember the brand. When compared to desktop and mobile viewers, OTT viewers demonstrated greater levels of brand recognition and favorability, according to the same survey.
Even if they don’t take action right away, showing an ad to a more responsive viewer increases the likelihood that they will become a customer in the future.
2. Helps Reach The Right Audience
…at the right time.
Connected TV is expected to continue increasing at a rapid rate, eventually surpassing linear television, by providing viewers with a controlled watching experience with access to high-quality content that allows them to pick what they want to watch when they want to watch it.
Because OTT platforms are mostly being consumed by millennials, the controlled advertisement ( that is also audience specific) will give the generation a feeling of command over their media consumption. Most millennials have a tendency to jump ahead with an ad or skip it because it does not resonate with them.
But with connected tv advertising, advertisers can assess their target audience and reach them at the right time – generating more traffic and gathering more potential clients.
3. It Is Light On The Pocket
CTV advertising is an opportunity for advertisers to save chunks of impression costs. Only one person sees an ad when they watch it on their personal Internet-connected device, whereas advertising on television might be seen by multiple individuals.
The same ad is viewed by several individuals at the same time, lowering the cost per impression for the advertiser. This renders it a budget-friendly option for the advertiser.
4. Enhances User Experience
Connected TV allows for full-screen delivery of targeted, highly customized, HD-quality advertisements with stereo sound. As a consequence, better ad quality enhances brand loyalty and increases brand visibility.
Furthermore, advertisements on connected TV provide a natural large-screen experience with excellent ad viewability. It mimics the look and feel of regular cable television. Consumers not only pay greater attention to CTV advertisements, but they also watch them for longer periods of time.
These were some ways that a connected tv benefits you and your quest to disseminate your content across the right people.
What Are The Different Formats Of CTV Ads?
The online ecosystem has long been a great place to deliver and consume a variety of ad formats, and now CTV advertising is actively changing the way people watch television.
Advertising on connected TV is a great experience. It enables advertisers to test animated, static, call-to-action, and interactive video advertising in order to enhance consumer engagement and video content performance.
Here are some amazing Connected TV advertising formats that you could incorporate:
1. In-Stream Ads
In-stream video advertising allows you to provide viewers brief, memorable commercial messages at various points of viewing.
2. Pre-Roll Video Ads
These connected tv advertising pieces are presented before the main content and are catchy enough to be memorable. Pre-roll video ads significantly aid in increasing sales and brand exposure.
3. Mid-Roll Video Ads
This ad format enables a TV-like user experience and is shown during the main content. Viewers are usually not hesitant to watch mid-rolls.
4. Post-Roll Videos Ads
Because they are shown after the primary material, they are the least distracting and have no effect on the user’s viewing experience. After seeing a post-roll ad, viewers are more likely to perform the intended action.
5. Pause Video Ads
It is presented while the viewers’ eyes are on the screen, paying close attention to the message in it, and it does not compete for attention with other devices or forms of information, resulting in a high view rate.
Marketers may greatly increase the success of their digital campaigns by having various video formats at their fingertips. Brands may fine-tune audience reactions, personalize engagements, and send tailored messages to diverse audiences throughout the world by picking customized connected tv advertising formats for each individual campaign.
In the section below, we have given a closer look into the premium OTT platforms/apps that allow CTV advertisements!
4 Top OTT Platforms That Allow Connected TV Ads
Here are four amazing OTT platforms/apps that allow seamlessly connected tv advertising.
1. Apple TV
With the introduction of its ad-free streaming service, Apple has launched a worldwide effort into the original TV. You may quickly subscribe to the channels you want without having to download any additional third-party apps.
Using the Apple TV app, you may watch the material that comes with your membership privileges. Additionally, the Apple TV stick flawlessly streamlines CTV ads along with entertainment content.
2. Amazon Fire
One of the best connected tv advertising platforms, Amazon Fire offers voice search capability, an improved keyboard, and rapid access to apps, as well as playback controls and navigation. It also downloaded the app controlling your traditional TV from the Amazon Fire tablet.
These applications are compatible with both Android and iOS smartphones. Gaming consoles, cable boxes, and other connected TV devices all broadcast OTT video advertisements.
OTT video inventory allows programmatic targeting to be applied to streaming media, bridging the gap between current digital media and conventional television advertising.
3. Google TV
Google’s Smart TV makers have a distinct advantage, providing them with a view into both the traditional and OTT worlds. Smart TVs come with a variety of built-in internet-connected apps, and you may pick from a variety of Smart TV packages.
Google TVs provide businesses and advertising with an almost limitless number of features.
4. Roku
Connected TV marketers get the greatest capabilities from Roku, and the OneViewTM ad has numerous sophisticated options. Identity, Instant OTT prediction, In-flight attribution, and proprietary audience are all devised by Cross, and it produces the best results.
One of the top connected tv advertising platforms, Roku has released an upgraded advertising platform that expands the OTT market’s versatility. It just launched a new consumer data initiative to help CPG marketers make their CTV advertising more quantifiable and accurate.
These were some of the premium CTV advertising platforms – and now, let us move on to have a look at CTV’s performance in the MENA market.
CTV Advertising In MENA
According to eMarketer, the number of subscription OTT video watchers in the Middle East and Africa increased by approximately 31.2 percent in 2020, making MENA one of the fastest-growing regions among Asia-Pacific, Central, and Eastern Europe, Latin America, North America, and Western Europe.
Advertisers have the potential to put their creative messaging amid TV programming as CTV and OTT advertising environments develop in MENA markets, maximizing reach and ROI with advertisements that are more relevant and targeted than those on linear TV.
Connected TV Advertising: What Does The Future Hold?
Connected TV ads are clearly the future of advertising. With advertisements being customized for the target audience, higher engagement rates, higher dependency on internet-driven smartphones, and simply the rise of general interest in consuming video content – connected tv advertising is flourishing and how!
Connected tv advertising statistics around the world show that there is a mass acceptance of the shift that is happening digitally. There are more than 164 million U.S. consumers viewing video content via connected TV devices and a forecast of up to 204.1 million viewers in 2022. Furthermore, according to the research on the connected TV industry, the number of households with CTV is expected to grow by 82 percent by 2023.
The CTV market has exploded in popularity in recent years, with research indicating that 53% of all UK homes use at least one streaming or subscription service.
Moreover, the pandemic has increased the amount of time we spend viewing digital television, according to Ofcom. And what began as a fad pushed largely by 16- to 34-year-olds has now spread to the over-55 demographic, who are beginning to embrace a new way of viewing television.
Shedding more light on the connected tv advertising statistics, the CTV programmatic advertising reached 78 percent of US households in the past few years and saw approximately a 122 percent rise in worldwide programmatic ad expenditure in 2020.
Moreover, Roku has been dominating the CTV market lately, accounting for 46% of programmatic ad expenditure in CTV. Samsung, Apple, and Amazon followed in second and third, respectively, with around 10% market share. From Q120 to Q420, Apple grew its ad market share by 379 percent.
In-Closing
As we saw, connected tv advertising provides companies with a significant chance to develop truly effective advertising campaigns by providing more customizable packages, possibilities to personalize commercials and more engagement.
Marketers will need to cooperate with other data owners to continue to improve the efficacy and measurability of their advertisements in order for the TV to succeed in the digital age.
Giving companies the capacity to accurately define audiences, move expenditure from one channel to another, and measure more successfully will all be required for the industry to demonstrate that a CTV investment is justified not just in the immediate term, but also in the years ahead.
Connected tv advertising is evolving and taking shape globally, and is expected to continue its world domination in the coming years.
Smart Acquires DynAdmic , A Cookie-Free CTV Advertising Platform
Smart AdServer, an independent ad monetization platform, has acquired DynAdmic, an integrated video advertising marketplace, to expand its CTV and media services offerings.
DynAdmic’s technology and operations will be incorporated into Smart’s offering to provide buyers with unique media solutions and media publishers with a new exclusive monetization channel.
To better connect ad campaign performance goals with user privacy needs, the combined group will benefit from innovative cookie-free contextual targeting possibilities.
DynAdmic, which was founded in Paris in 2012, has expanded worldwide to seven locations including the United States, France, Germany, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, and Dubai, with the United States accounting for 60% of its income.
With 120 employees, DynAdmic grew by 32% in 2020 and is expected to rise by 90% in H1 2021.
Advertisers can use its proprietary audio and video content identification technology to achieve a cookie-free contextual targeting solution. DynAdmic runs specialised video advertising campaigns, with OTT and Connected TV accounting for 40% of those campaigns.
Smart CEO, Arnaud Creput said that their strategic development in the United States will be accelerated as a result of this acquisition and that they are committed to building a scalable, independent option to the dominant platforms that prioritize privacy, transparency, innovation, and performance. He further added –
“We are impressed by the technology and expertise developed by DynAdmic to bring superior performance to brands and agencies with OTT and CTV contextual targeting. The addition of DynAdmic complements Smart’s cookie-free and CTV strengths, which are the most critical shifts in our industry.”
Smart’s absorption of DynAdmic is a logical next step in the company’s global expansion, given its acquisition of LiquidM in December 2019 and the launch of its “direct buy” platform Smart Buyer Connect.
DynAdmic completely connects with Smart’s existing holdings and ongoing strategies to invest in technologies and media services that assist media buyers and bring them closer to quality publishers while delivering managed media solutions. And on the other hand, Smart’s publisher clients can gain an advantage of DynAdmic’s new monetization channel that will boost demand.
Stéphane Bonjean , DynAdmic’s CEO and Bruno Champion, the CTO said –
“Smart’s full-stack capabilities will allow us to rapidly integrate with their platform which, along with their strong technology, expertise and global presence, will generate significant value for our clients and partners.”
They also added that they are ecstatic to be joining a pioneer and industry leader and that they consider Smart as the appropriate partner to help them accomplish their growth goals.
“We share the same values of independence, excellence, and innovation.”