The hype around connected TV is real and the opportunities for marketers are increasing but there are still stumbling blocks and misconceptions around this growth area.
While 55% of households in the UK now own a smart TV, one in five Brits are spending nearly two working days streaming content on a connected TV (including dongles and gaming consoles).
Connected TV viewers are more accepting of ads than those not watching through CTV which leads, according to research conducted by Campaign and The Trade Desk, to 55% of marketers expecting their CTV media spend to increase over the next year while 60% expect to switch 10% of their linear budget over to CTV.
There is, however, a sense of two steps forward and one back with CTV. Ad-free content (SVOD) is immensely popular but there are increasing numbers of AVOD solutions coming into the market. There is reticence in AV teams about delving into CTV because of a sense that this is the preserve of digital and programmatic teams. There also remains a concern that, based on headline CPM, CTV is expensive. And this perception about cost is one of the myths that Patrick Morrell, director of inventory partnerships, EMEA at The Trade Desk, sought to debunk at Campaign’s recent TV Advertising Summit.
Myth 1: CTV will replace linear
More than 50% of people surveyed by The Trade Desk believe this to be true. The reality is different. Despite the huge growth in SVOD and AVOD (for ITV and C4, 75-80% of their impressions for on-demand services go through a connected TV), linear is still doing well. “Our research tells us that CTV is complementary to linear, not a replacement for it,” explained Morrell. “It’s an evolution of TV, not a revolution.”
Myth 2: All digital devices that show TV content count as CTV
This isn’t true and yet 47% of people surveyed believe this to be the case.
Myth 3: CTV is expensive
“It’s subjective,” said Morrell. “If your KPI is the headline CPM, then it could be deemed expensive, but our findings show that connected TV has one of the highest completion rates out there.”
Myth 4: CTV doesn’t achieve scale
Morrell believes that incremental reach and the quality of the data are the keys here. “The #LoveCinema campaign by OTT-first publishers like Samsung and Rakuten delivered 5% incremental reach for a campaign that was already using linear and BVOD,” he said. “They may not deliver the same scale as a linear campaign but they have rich data and because they are programmatic first, can do a lot of things other broadcasters can’t. In 2020 Rakuten had 900k unique users, now they have 3m.” The arrival of Discovery+ and their hybrid (subscription plus ad-funded) solution is a significant change.
Myth 5: No transparency
This is another moot point. A black-box approach where the identity of the publisher is of no concern does, of course, mean a lack of transparency. However, Morrell countered: “Working with premium broadcasters in the connected TV space, most deals are programmatic guaranteed or private marketplace deals. Having that relationship with the publisher means you know exactly who you're working with with no hidden fees along that journey. And there are lots of measurement tools that, while not part of the BARB gold standard or CFlight, are verified and allow you to show your influence and reach against linear.”
