Erin Hynes January 14, 2022 In 2021, connected TV (CTV), video and audio solidified their place in multi-channel marketing strategies. Brands and agencies are now integrating these digital marketing channels into their marketing mix in order to take advantage of new opportunities for ad creativity and innovation, and so that they can efficiently and effectively reach intended audiences.
To explore how marketers are navigating CTV, video, and audio, Digiday and StackAdapt surveyed more than 75 brand and agency executives to uncover their approaches to budgets, targeting and measurement. Read on to learn some of the key takeaways from the survey, and download the full report to learn more.
CTV, Video, and Audio are Increasingly Relevant
Throughout the pandemic, many people have been confined to their homes. They increasingly used their phones, laptops and internet connected TVs to consume content. As a result, the pandemic’s onset accelerated growth in CTV, video and audio adoption. Now, spending more time looking at screens is the norm. This new norm has helped establish CTV, video, and audio as go-to channels for marketers who are hoping to reach digital audiences.
According to research, the growth in adoption of these channels is set to continue. In 2021, Leichtman Research Group reported that 80% of US TV households own at least one CTV device, while nearly 40% of adults watch video daily using CTV. In 2021, Emarketer projected that CTV ad spend would reach $ 14.44 billion by the end of the year, up 59.9% from 2020—and will increase to $ 18.29 million by 2024.
How to Approach CTV, Video and Audio
Marketers today are seeking to advance creativity, innovation and measurement in CTV, video and audio. This ensures they are effectively reaching their intended audiences, while also increasing return on investment (ROI). In our survey, we found that marketers are making the following three changes to their digital media strategy in order to reach their campaign goals.
Marketers are shifting investments.
StackAdapt and Digiday’s report found that a majority of advertisers have started investing in CTV within the past three years. With video and audio, a higher percentage of respondents (60% and 43%, respectively) started shifting investments more than three years ago.
Marketers are re-allocating budgets.
The report found that advertisers plan to increase the amount of budget toward CTV, video, and audio from 2021 to 2022, particularly in the upper-tier allocation range for CTV and audio. A majority of those investing more in CTV are shifting from their linear TV budgets and social media, while those shifting from video and audio are primarily shifting from programmatic digital channels and social media.
Marketers are re-arranging roles.
When onboarding or increasing investment in new channels, most marketers are rethinking the teams behind campaign execution. A majority of respondents said that external agency brand marketing teams or a hybrid of in-house and external teams are responsible for deploying CTV, video and audio campaigns.
Get Started With CTV, Video and Audio
Brands are approaching these digital marketing channels because of their unique benefits. For example, CTV, video and audio present targeting and measurement opportunities. While it isn’t possible to target audiences and measure results in real-time with linear TV advertising, it is possible to use a combination of privacy-first, behavioural and contextual targeting and retargeting within programmatic CTV and video in order to reach the right audiences. Digital channels further offer the opportunity to measure conversion data and return on investment (ROI), whereas with linear TV you cannot directly attribute performance to media cost.
To start reaping the benefits of CTV, video, and audio, you can take these action steps:
Create a multi-channel approach.
People often consume different types of content on different platforms, whether it’s through their phone, laptop, or internet-connected TV. You’ll need to strategize a combination of native, display, video, CTV and audio across multiple devices to get maximum reach, keeping in mind what makes sense for their media mix.
Differentiate the ads that are being served.
Showing the same ads on all devices and digital marketing channels likely won’t be an effective way to reach consumers. For instance, a non-clickable ad on CTV won’t serve the same purpose as an ad on a mobile device. You’ll need to be strategic about serving ads that will get people to engage.
Test out partners and technology.
You’ll need to consistently test out creative, targeting and measurement strategies to determine what is helping you hit your KPIs. Take the time to choose the right demand-side platform (DSP) to partner with. Look at the performance, the targeting capabilities, and the algorithms for each one to differentiate the players in the space.
Leverage These Digital Marketing Channels for Success
Marketing teams that apply these approaches to CTV, video and audio advertising will set themselves up to see return on investment and improve the success of their multi-channel marketing strategy in 2022 and beyond.
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