Connected TV: What Is It and How Will It Benefit Your Company?

Television advertising can sometimes be a great way to advertise, but it can also be very broad, delivering your message to too many customers that may not even be interested. However, you don’t need to scrap television completely from your advertising plan with Connected TV, or CTV.

It’s a growing market, with 64% of households in the U.S. currently owning a CTV device*. These devices are essentially internet-enabled televisions, whether that connectivity comes from a streaming device like the Amazon Fire Stick or Roku, an internet-enabled gaming console, or it’s a smart TV with its own built-in connection. For consumers, these devices allow users a way to watch television without a cable subscription, giving them the new nickname of “cord cutters.”. For advertisers, it offers a new, innovative way to reach a unique audience. While consumers can view content on other devices, such as mobile, tablet, desktop and laptop, these are not considered CTV.

The inventory for advertisers choosing Connected TV is premium, professionally produced television content and is available in three different formats: Full-Episode Player (FEP), Live Streaming, and Video on Demand (VOD).

• FEP can appear on any device on apps and web browsers and is typically standard television length of 30-60 minutes with commercial breaks. Content can range from news to stand-up comedy, cooking shows, soap operas and more.
• Live Streaming is just as it sounds: the content is being streamed in real time over the internet. This is usually provided by a paid streaming service, such as SlingTV or DIRECTV Now, so consumers don’t miss out on big games, live shows, or new episodes they want to watch.
• VOD is increasing in popularity as viewers dictate the schedule. No worries if they miss a new episode as they can simply click to stream or download the content when it is convenient for them. This option is typically offered from content providers that also have live streaming capabilities.

Why should CTV be a product you consider adding to your advertising campaign, especially if you are already running typical television advertisements? Because more people are now using a video streaming service than have a cable subscription. To be exact, 67% of those who were surveyed and 77% of millennials watch streaming services**, and over time, those numbers will only continue to grow.

Advertising on CTV allows you to get into specific audience targeting, with first-party targeting, third-party targeting, lookalike modeling, CTV retargeting, and even cross-device targeting. Your ads can also serve based on specific parameters, such as serving only on specific device types, specific device make and model, frequency capping, geography, and time and day, making your campaign work for you in getting in front of the customers you want most.

If you are interested in learning more about Connected TV advertising opportunities and how it can help your business, contact us today! We will help you determine if this strategy is a great fit for your business and help you develop a plan to get the most out of your advertising campaign.
*Source: Edison Research & Triton Digital, “The Infinite Dial 2017”, March 9, 2017
**Source: Fluent LLC, “Streaming Survey,” May 30, 2017