How to Reach Your Audience with Connected TV Advertising

Connected TV advertising (CTV) is a form of digital advertising that appears within streaming video content on an internet-connected television, such as a smart TV, a gaming console, or a streaming device.

CTV advertising allows you to reach your target audience with engaging and relevant ads while they are watching their favorite shows, movies, or livestreams.

CTV advertising is growing rapidly as more and more consumers are cutting the cord and switching to streaming services. According to eMarketer, CTV ad spending in the US is expected to reach $11.36 billion in 2021, up 40.1% from 2020¹.

CTV advertising offers many benefits for advertisers, such as:

• High-quality inventory: CTV advertising gives you access to premium video content from popular streaming platforms, such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, and more. You can also leverage the data and targeting capabilities of these platforms to reach your ideal audience with personalized and relevant ads.
• High viewer engagement: CTV advertising delivers a better user experience than traditional TV advertising, as it is less intrusive and more interactive. CTV ads are typically shorter, skippable, or opt-in, which means that viewers are more likely to pay attention and respond to your message. CTV ads also have a lower ad load than linear TV, which means that viewers are less likely to experience ad fatigue or switch channels.
• High performance metrics: CTV advertising allows you to measure and optimize your campaigns with more accuracy and granularity than linear TV advertising. You can track key performance indicators (KPIs), such as impressions, reach, frequency, completion rate, viewability, click-through rate, conversions, and return on ad spend (ROAS). You can also use attribution tools to link your CTV ads to your online and offline sales.

However, CTV advertising also comes with some challenges, such as:

• Fragmentation: CTV advertising is a complex and fragmented landscape, with many different devices, platforms, publishers, and formats to choose from. You need to understand the nuances and specifications of each CTV channel and partner to ensure that your ads are delivered correctly and effectively.
• Measurement: CTV advertising is still evolving and maturing, and there is no standard or unified way to measure and report on CTV ad campaigns. You need to work with multiple data sources and vendors to collect and analyze your CTV ad data, and you may encounter issues such as data discrepancies, privacy regulations, and fraud prevention.
• Competition: CTV advertising is becoming more competitive and expensive, as more advertisers are shifting their budgets from linear TV to CTV. You need to have a clear and compelling value proposition and a creative and differentiated ad strategy to stand out from the crowd and win over your audience.

To overcome these challenges and succeed with CTV advertising, you need to have the right tools and platforms to plan, execute, and optimize your CTV ad campaigns.

In this article, we will review some of the best products and platforms for CTV advertising and how they can help you reach your goals.

Best Products and Platforms for CTV Advertising

There are many products and platforms that can help you with CTV advertising, but here are some of the most popular and effective ones:

• Amazon Ads: Amazon Ads is a leading CTV advertising platform that allows you to reach millions of viewers across Amazon’s own streaming services, such as Amazon Freevee and Prime Video, as well as third-party apps and devices, such as IMDb TV, Fire TV, and Twitch². You can use Amazon Ads to target your audience based on their shopping behavior, interests, demographics, and location, and to measure your campaign performance with Amazon’s attribution and analytics tools. You can also leverage Amazon’s creative services to create and optimize your CTV ads.
• The Trade Desk: The Trade Desk is a global CTV advertising platform that enables you to access and buy CTV inventory from hundreds of premium publishers and platforms, such as Hulu, Roku, Sling TV, and more³. You can use The Trade Desk to target your audience based on their viewing habits, preferences, and device types, and to optimize your campaign performance with The Trade Desk’s data and insights. You can also use The Trade Desk’s creative tools to create and test your CTV ads.
• SmartyAds: SmartyAds is a CTV advertising platform that connects you with CTV publishers and platforms across the world, such as Netflix, YouTube, Apple TV, and more⁴. You can use SmartyAds to target your audience based on their geolocation, device, content, and context, and to optimize your campaign performance with SmartyAds’ real-time reporting and analytics. You can also use SmartyAds’ creative solutions to create and customize your CTV ads.

Here is a comparison table of these three CTV advertising products and platforms:

Product/Platform	Usecase	Pros	Cons	Price	Features
Amazon Ads	Reach Amazon’s streaming audience with relevant and personalized ads	– Large and engaged audience – Rich and accurate data – Full-funnel attribution and analytics – Creative services	– Limited to Amazon’s ecosystem – Higher competition and cost – Privacy and compliance issues	Varies depending on the ad format, inventory, and targeting options	– Display ads – Video ads – Audio ads – Interactive ads – Sponsored Brands – Sponsored Products – Sponsored Display
The Trade Desk	Access and buy CTV inventory from premium publishers and platforms with data and insights	– Global and diverse inventory – Advanced and flexible targeting – Comprehensive and transparent reporting and analytics – Creative tools	– Complex and fragmented landscape – Higher competition and cost – Measurement and fraud challenges	Varies depending on the ad format, inventory, and targeting options	– Display ads – Video ads – Audio ads – Interactive ads – Connected TV Planner – Data Marketplace – Unified ID 2.0 – Koa AI
SmartyAds	Connect with CTV publishers and platforms across the world with real-time optimization and customization	– Worldwide and scalable inventory – Precise and contextual targeting – Real-time and granular reporting and analytics – Creative solutions	– Complex and fragmented landscape – Higher competition and cost – Measurement and fraud challenges	Varies depending on the ad format, inventory, and targeting options	– Display ads – Video ads – Audio ads – Interactive ads – CTV DSP – CTV SSP – CTV Ad Exchange – CTV Ad Server

Benefits of Using CTV Advertising Products and Platforms

Using CTV advertising products and platforms can help you achieve the following benefits:

• Expand your reach: CTV advertising products and platforms can help you reach a large and growing audience of cord-cutters and cord-nevers who are consuming more and more streaming content on their CTV devices. You can also reach your audience across different devices, platforms, and publishers, and target them based on their specific attributes and behaviors.
• Enhance your engagement: CTV advertising products and platforms can help you deliver engaging and relevant ads to your audience while they are watching their favorite content. You can also use interactive and creative features to capture their attention and elicit their response.
• Improve your performance: CTV advertising products and platforms can help you measure and optimize your campaign performance with data and insights. You can also use attribution and analytics tools to track your campaign results and ROI, and to link your CTV ads to your online and offline sales.

How to Get Started with CTV Advertising Products and Platforms

To get started with CTV advertising products and platforms, you need to follow these steps:

• Define your goals: Before you launch your CTV ad campaign, you need to define your goals and KPIs, such as brand awareness, traffic, conversions, or sales. You also need to define your budget and timeline, and your target audience and segments.
• Choose your product/platform: Based on your goals and budget, you need to choose the best CTV advertising product or platform for your campaign. You need to consider factors such as inventory, targeting, measurement, and creative options, and compare the pros and cons of each product or platform.
• Create your ads: Once you have chosen your product or platform, you need to create your CTV ads. You need to follow the specifications and best practices of each product or platform, and ensure that your ads are engaging, relevant, and clear. You also need to test your ads before launching them.
• Launch your campaign: After you have created your ads, you need to launch your CTV ad campaign. You need to set up your campaign settings, such as ad format, inventory, targeting, bidding, and frequency, and monitor your campaign performance and results.
• Optimize your campaign: As your campaign runs, you need to optimize your campaign performance and ROI. You need to use the data and insights provided by your product or platform, and make adjustments to your campaign settings, such as ad format, inventory, targeting, bidding, and frequency. You also need to use attribution and analytics tools to measure your campaign impact and outcomes.

Conclusion