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The rise of CTV has been practically unstoppable, with the global pandemic strengthening the platform further as many people were forced to stay indoors due to government lockdowns. Connected TV has begun to dominate the home entertainment sector, and more and more marketers are turning to it as an effective advertising medium.
However, many people who advertise via CTV struggle to effectively monitor their campaigns due to a number of obstructive factors, predominantly, inconsistencies relating to CTV ads measurement across different publishers, platforms, and devices.
Image courtesy of Unsplash
In this post, we will discuss how we can overcome the challenge of inadequate CTV Measurement.
What are the challenges when it comes to CTV Measurement?
Many marketing professionals struggle to gain measurable insights when it comes to their advertising campaigns on CTV channels, with no correlation or sharing between the CTV publishers, the delivery platform, and the CTV device itself. Stats show that 57% of marketers feel that the lack of consistency between each CTV third-party is the most difficult challenge in regard to advertising via Connected TV.
Measurement is vital to ensure a good ROI compared to the CTV ads cost and that the correct audience is being targeted, with suitable levels of engagement. So how can we measure CTV ads effectively?
In order to effectively analyze and monitor CTV ad campaigns, it is important to understand the factors which make it difficult. As mentioned above, a lack of collaboration between each party involved with the delivery of CTV is the main challenge, as the data becomes fragmented across numerous devices, combined with a lack of identifiers between platforms, differing metrics, and third-party involvement – thus creating a bit of a mess…
However, due to the nature of CTV, in terms of offering a personalized experience to each user based on their viewing habits and location, it is possible to collect relevant information which can help optimize future ad campaigns and improve targeting.
We will go into more detail on this later in the post but first, let’s make a comparison.
The difference between measuring CTV and Linear TV
Linear (Traditional) TV
Linear TV is famously difficult to measure in terms of advertisement success, although it has always been immensely popular due to the sheer number of viewers. Unfortunately, there is no way of monitoring how the ads are being viewed, how they are engaged with, or whether there is anyone watching at all. This means zero information can be gathered about the success of the Ad.
Ad targeting for Linear TV is based on demographic, the age of the viewer & household incomes, with Ads chosen to be aired at specific times of day to reach the desired target audience. Showing an ad during programs, which achieve high ratings, or during prime time can be extremely costly.
In an attempt to measure these ads, advertisers based their assumptions on changes in traffic when the ad is aired. While elements such as on-screen QR codes, social media hashtags, and tracked phone numbers can also be beneficial.
Connected TV (CTV)
CTV, on the other hand, specifically OTT (over-the-top) TV delivery, offers much more information and valuable metrics if the right tools are used, allowing for much more targeted ad campaigns and higher rates of success.
Using a programmatic advertising platform such as Viewpoint, marketers can purchase Ad inventory based on the number of impressions it receives, offering greater guarantees than Linear TV. OTT measurement Metrics, reporting, and analytical information are also available in real-time using a dedicated Ads platform.
Completion rates of CTV ads are around 90% due to the user’s inability to skip, meaning the return on ad spend is higher than most advertising mediums.
Click here to read how to measure CTV ads performance effectively for Improving Connected TV Advertising campaigns and achieving a greater return on investment.
