“The top KPIs advertisers desired for their digital video campaigns were sales lift, action, and brand lift—whereas the KPIs they were most likely to use were completed views, audience delivery, and engagement.”
-eMarketer
On the flip side, many advertisers focused on direct response (DR) come to CTV seeking the next growth engine after they’ve tapped out Paid Search and Social – or increasingly due to difficulties scaling DR further on Facebook. I’ve long argued CTV is so attractive because, despite performance marketers’ desires to only look through the lens of last-click attribution, CTV doesn’t allow for it! Cross-device, view-through conversion tracking must suffice, and improvements have made it a reliable backbone for CTV measurement.
However, in the chase of an ‘absoluteness’ of attribution, we see advertisers grow more infatuated with non-CTV over-the-top streaming (that being mobile/desktop/tablet full episode players (FEP) instead of the big screen). Now don’t get us wrong, there’s nothing inherently wrong with FEP inventory. But when most advertisers think of CTV…that ain’t it, chief. And for good reason! Because while it may be easier to attribute, we’ve also been able to measure that it doesn’t pack the brand lift punch. Both together can be a powerful combination, but they should be viewed uniquely, and advertisers should know where they’re spending, not letting an automated system or agency shift more and more dollars from CTV to mobile and claim they’re optimizing.
There’s no reason to settle for either reach or easy attribution. We don’t need “standardized measurement.” We just need to be able to answer the question of “Did running this campaign drive growth for my business?” And today, this is a question that can be answered.
There’s a better way
Over the last couple of years, technological improvements have enabled us to deliver the best for both types of advertisers. Unified buying strategies mitigate overfrequency and difficult reach measurement for traditionally linear buyers, while introducing them to the wide array of measurement opportunities CTV offers. And for traditional performance advertisers, the ability to strike a balance between demand capture and demand creation in order to craft a campaign that delivers on TV’s promise of brand building and digital’s promise of optimizing for conversions is extremely attractive. And it’s much more sustainable than picking off small pockets of low hanging fruit. The best part is that this is all done while providing transparency that both sides of the marketing coin desperately crave and finding solutions to measure CTV’s incrementality, ensuring attributed conversions are truly additive to a brands’ bottom line. We’ve finally unlocked the answer to “which 50% of my advertising is working,” and can avoid the black box that prevents learnings from being used cross-channel.
It’s true that there will be headwinds from the potential obfuscation of IP addresses (a key part of cross-device attribution) and competitive pressures from new CTV advertisers entering the arena. However, the recent convergence of consumer behavior, advertiser needs, and technological capabilities make CTV arguably the most exciting channel for brand and performance advertisers alike, making it a must-have tool in the toolkit of a Growth Marketer.
If you’re looking to dive into CTV or are thinking, “there’s got to be a better way,” reach out to DEPT® today!
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CSO of Growth, Americas