How to Make the Most of the CTV Revolution: Get Interactive

Brands are using programmatic video advertising more and more, as global digital ad spend shows. Around three quarters of all video ad transactions are already programmatic, according to one IAB report, while CTV impression rates had a 60% year-over-year increase (study by Innovid). 

For these reasons, advertisers and publishers are turning their heads towards CTV, even though for some this new field might seem intimidating. 

Daniel Elad, chief strategy officer at TheViewPoint, explains the huge potential of CTV, its ad formats and the benefits to publishers and advertisers. And it’s an interactive future.

What’s stopping publishers and advertisers from entering the CTV/OTT market?

With the advancements of all mediums, especially social media, you can’t overestimate the power of video. Streaming has soared during the lockdowns and brought CTV advertising to a new level of efficiency. We believe these content consumption habit changes will remain for longer than anticipated. There’s major unrealized potential in this industry for both sides of the chain.

But CTV as a medium has undeservedly gotten less attention. I guess both media buyers and sellers think it’s too complicated and vague, so not worth the investment. 

How are you addressing these concerns?

We offer smart supply optimization paths and a clear monetization model with no hidden fees or intermediaries. With our TVP Connect programmatic solution publishers know their ad placements will work for them effectively because they’re connected to relevant demand sources by our DSP concierge service. As for the buyers’ tables, we bring advanced tools, such as frequency capping, ad pod management and bidding optimization with our machine learning algorithm, TVP Intelpoint.

Generally speaking, CTV enables new formats, advanced measurement, personalization, higher completion rates and access to cord-cutter and cord-never audiences, who can’t be reached through linear TV. TheViewPoint has facts and figures to support all this.

For a consumer, CTV and linear TV are pretty much the same thing: they both make content available to watch on the biggest screen in the house, although CTV offers opportunities not viable on traditional TV; audiences choose the type of content to watch at any time and anywhere.

How do CTV conversions stand up against traditional TV ads? 

CTV advertisements are unlike ordinary TV ads. They must entertain and they encourage creativity, allowing marketers to experiment with numerous formats like static, animated and interactive video ads. These ads engage and bolster video performance. 

When it comes to interactivity, the possibilities of CTV go far beyond those of standard linear. Studies show that even ad-averse consumers devote time to advertising if it resonates with them. Research tested various formats, including browsable gallery, QR codes, TV 2 mobile – and branded video vignettes in 30-second interactive CTV ads generated 71 seconds of time earned on average, while 15-second clips had 67 incremental seconds. So yes, it appears CTV works better than regular ads.

How are these interactive CTV ads beneficial compared with other types?

Interactive CTV (or iCTV) ads take advantage of the innovations brought about by mass computerization to create engaging and dynamic TV content. Innovid, an omnichannel advertising platform, pioneered the development of interactive for CTV. They found iCTV has a threefold increase in watch-time against static video for 30-second ads – and well over five times more for 15-second spots. Innovid certified TheViewPoint to run interactive ads, and, of course, we capitalize on this technology.

iCTV allows dynamic ad content, encouraging creative solutions, personalized ads and high-quality interactions between brands and consumers. That, in turn, ensures a higher level of engagement and builds up strong brand loyalty. When a user can interact with an ad through a quiz, ad selector, or even a simple brand catalog, this creates added gamification and often keeps viewers engaged beyond the ad runtime.

What types of interactive ads delivered through your TVP Next ad server have proven to be most effective?

There are a few. Advertisers do get to experiment and establish what works for them. Sometimes you get unexpected results from simple formats like Branded Canvas – a stylistically adjusted background. Sometimes using advanced formats like Ad Selector, a format that enables an interactive gallery of videos and photos, aren’t as effective as hoped. It heavily depends on the creative. 

We see big potential in interactive ads that use location-based creatives using Dynamic Ads, though. These respond to users’ location, current weather, time, and other factors to serve very personalized ads. We also use shoppable QRs, Overlays, Extended viewing options (aka Flexible), TV 2 Mobile and other prominent formats. 

Why haven’t interactive CTV ads become mainstream yet?

Interactive advertising is the hidden gem of CTV, which partially ensures greater monetization opportunities but its down side is in its implementation and interoperability. But we urge our clients to use interactive CTV – that is the future of digital advertising.

What does the future hold for CTV? Do you think it’s going to become more interactive?

CTV advertising is not passive. If we look at the pure numbers, CTV has become one of the fastest-growing digital ad mediums. This year, according to eMarketer research, total CTV ad spend will surpass $11 billion. One year ago it was around $8 billion. In the US, there are over 200 million people using streaming services; this number is rapidly growing. 

Viewers can now instantly buy advertised products or services. This opens up opportunities. And this niche is still largely unexplored – new formats will appear that will drive more engagement and revenue growth. 

I believe interactive ads will boom in the streaming and connected television fields. Players in this space are being encouraged to seek new methods to advertise using the latest technology. And there are more solutions and formats popping up monthly. iCTV already shows incredible audience engagement figures, and it’s more effective than traditional ad units. It is a benefit for both advertisers and publishers.

This content was originally published on Campaign US