Whether you are a CTV provider or an advertiser, you will surely need a CTV advertising platform to successfully monetize your ad campaigns, and stay ahead of competitors.
Video content continues to be on the rise, and CTV platforms and other networks are getting in on the trend – and that too quickly. The emerging digital space allows providers to streamline adverts on CTV channels through programmatic advertising.
If you are looking to advertise your mobile app on connected TV, this guide will answer your questions on how CTV advertising platforms work, and most importantly, what to look for when choosing from our list of top companies down below.
What is CTV advertising?
In order to define CTV advertising, we must first understand what connected TV is. Television has been around for what feels like a significant amount of time, and now it is being adapted to current technology and more advanced devices.
CTV, in essence, is an internet-connected device that allows consumers to watch video content on demand, instead of waiting for it to be broadcasted as with traditional television. Amazon Fire Stick, the infamous PlayStation and Xbox as well as Apple TV or smart DVD players are all examples of connected TV that stream content.
With connected TV, you do not need the traditional cable provider, a.k.a cable TV, or broadband connection, but it is instead consumed via the internet. And this very fact makes CTV the perfect space for targeted advertising.
To put it simply, CTV advertising describes the process of streaming TV advertising, or video ads that are delivered to viewers whilst they consume content, for example, movies and TV shows. The TV ads are displayed on either a smart TV or the connected devices we mentioned earlier, like Fire Stick.
This form of programmatic advertising is a productive way to reach highly targeted viewers, and support demand generation for your product or service.
So, how can CTV advertising platforms help you?
What are CTV advertising platforms?
If connected TV advertising describes the notion of streaming video ads on smart TVs and other mainstream devices, then CTV advertising platforms refer to providers that display adverts for marketers on multiple channels as well as streamline the content.
Think of connected TV companies as the mastermind behind content sharing that allow advertisers to reach a highly targeted audience based on demographics, common interests, and consumer behavior.
CTV advertising platforms are also considered programmatic advertising platforms that automate the buying and selling process of ad inventory. They deliver personalized ad experiences to target viewers based on accurate user data and their own CTV campaign insights.
Aside from CTV advertising platforms being able to display ad content to just the right user base to drive more awareness to your mobile app, there are plenty more reasons why you should consider working with them.
Let us dive in, shall we?
Why use connected TV advertising companies?
CTV ad spend is continuing to skyrocket over the past years. According to GroupM’s mid-year forecast, CTV advertising is most likely to expand by 13.2% worldwide in 2023 to $25.9 billion. And as of June, 2023, a report by Vivvix stated that connected TV ad spend reached $1 billion.
Not only has CTV ad spend been booming in recent years, but the percentage of traditional, linear TV audiences has been declining too, going down steadily from 76% over the past decade. This is mainly due to the fact that viewers who do not use cable or satellite can easily consume unlimited content online.
While the nature of traditional TV advertising allows advertisers to reach millions of viewers at the same time, they reach basically everyone watching one series or movie. Their ad content is therefore not targeted, meaning they do not reach high-intent audiences. So, there is a high viewing rate, but an even lower conversion rate when observing an ad campaign as a whole.
While traditional TV audiences decline, so do the impressions and performance of the TV ads. The campaign measurement becomes therefore more optimal through CTV advertising, as most users are likely to make a purchase after watching the highly-targeted ad.
Connected TV advertising is the new way to go, as you can tell, and partnering with top CTV advertising platforms will allow you to enjoy more key advantages that will make your ad campaigns more effective and measurable.
Featured CTV Advertising Platforms
PubMatic | The Future of Programmatic. Delivered. | View more |
Verve Group | Let's make media better | View more |
Extreme targeting
CTV advertising platforms make sure audiences are accurately segmented, based on personal interests, occupation type as well as their consumer behaviors. Hence, they are able to analyze this data, and reach and target customers that share a mutual interest in the product.
Reaching a highly-targeted viewer base while avoiding other audience groups is extremely important, especially to more niche businesses. Advertisers instantly increase the chances of users visiting their mobile apps, with the intention to download and install.
Accurate tracking & attribution
Working with a CTV advertising company will allow you to accurately track your campaign through conversions. And through effective attribution tools, advertisers will be able to see how many viewers visited their mobile app and downloaded after watching the ad.
A top platform will measure your CTV performance and get insight into key metrics that will help improve and tweak campaign strategies and efforts. For example, you could gain insight into traffic, clicks and views as well as the types of viewers you reached.
You can also identify which creative choices or viewing times worked best and attracted the most users to your mobile app.
Flexible optimization
Another great thing about CTV advertising platforms is that advertisers can amend and optimize as they go, without having to waste too much time and budget on making significant changes. This is due to the fact that connected TV advertising companies can get real-time campaign data and monitor them on the fly.
Flexible optimization makes sure that every dollar is spent wisely and in the most efficient way possible, reducing the risk of budget waste. For example, advertisers can create multiple CTV campaigns and only change the variables that need to be altered, such as creatives, demographics and channels.
This method enables quick and flexible optimization to CTV ad performances, allowing conversion rates as well as return on ad spend to boost in revenue more quickly and efficiently.
What to look for in a CTV advertising platform?
When looking for the right CTV advertising platform to work with for your advertising campaigns, it is helpful to know what features you want your ideal platform to have, and also what exactly you are looking for.
You want to find a CTV ad network that can work towards your campaign goals effectively, and maximize revenue in a sustainable way.
So, here is a checklist of features that you want to look for when choosing a top CTV advertising platform.
Yield optimization
Yield optimization is a strategy that is used to maximize the significance of digital advertising. And as mobile advertisers are dedicated to achieving the highest yields for their ad impressions, yield optimization tools can help to increase ad performance and revenue through accurate data analysis, for example.
Other yield optimization techniques include audience targeting, programmatic ad targeting, real-time biddings (RTB) as well as creating variable strategies, like viewing timings based on consumer behavior and demand predictions.
Advanced targeting
You want to look for a CTV advertising platform that heavily focuses on more precise targeting strategies. With CTV being the new era of highly targeted ads, you want to work with a company that allows you to segment your target viewers with precision, and with the help of data-driven insights.
The kind of data that CTV advertising platforms provide access to is key. First-party data that is valuable to advanced targeting. It entails demographic information on users, including their attributes, such as age, gender and location. Any behavioral data gathered from consumption patterns are key too.
Platforms that give you insight into the TV watch histories, giving you an idea of, for example, genre preferences allow you to refine your targeted ad campaigns based on viewing behaviors. With data on ad exposure, you will be able to make sure your ads will reach the intended audience too.
Ad analytics tools
CTV advertising platforms will give you just the right ad analytics tools you need in order to accurately track and monitor your ad performance.
Having an overview of your ad campaigns is absolutely crucial to be able to make any changes necessary to boost those conversions in the longer term.
Collecting valuable data and getting real-time analytics, including regular and historical reportings, will maximize your advertising efforts, and allow you to achieve better and more sustainable results.
CTV advertising companies will give you the right reporting and data insights, lifting the heavy weight off your shoulders, so that all you need to do is focus on making your campaigns bigger and better.
Choose top CTV advertising platforms
The trend of connected TV advertising continues to evolve and grow with the advancement of current technology. And with the world becoming more digitized, especially after the global pandemic in 2020, CTV advertising platforms are a must-have, if you’re an advertiser or app owner trying to get your mobile app to the top of the app market.
Partnering with the right connected TV advertising company can be extremely beneficial to the longevity and success of your ad campaigns, taking them to further heights, with useful analytics tools and advanced targeting strategies.
We have carefully put together a list of top CTV advertising platforms that will suit your unique business goals and needs, reaching the right audience to increase impressions and install rates for your mobile app.