Are you leveraging Connected TV?

I recently introduced my teenage daughters to one of my favorite mid-90s TV series, My So-Called Life. We binge-watched the series together. Even though it originally ran before they were born they have fallen in love with the high-school drama, the main character Angela, and heartthrob Jordan Catalano.

My daughters rarely watch live TV, and they are the norm for their generation. According to Nielsen’s Q3 2018 report, Traditional TV reached just 73% of 18-34-year-olds during the third quarter (compared to 86% of the adult population). The amount of time this age group watched traditional TV dropped 17.2% compared to the prior year. The traditional TV story is even more grim within the 12-17 age group. For brands needing to reach these disappearing young audiences, connected TV will be a necessity.

Internet-enabled TV connected devices can be found in 68% of U.S. households, and the majority of OTT viewers are younger than 34. Among all age groups, eMarketer estimates that about 182 million watch connected TV, a term that describes smart TVs, over-the-top (OTT) devices, gaming consoles and subscription services like Hulu.

As a Digital Marketer, I’m thrilled about the sophisticated targeting opportunities and reporting data CTV can provide. And yet, according to a recent survey only 15% of advertisers have connected TV in their media plan. Why is this so? I think there are two main obstacles holding back advertisers from jumping into CTV:

• Lack of understanding - TV advertisers are accustomed to buying ads based on the content they will appear against, but connected TV is sold on an audience basis. Like digital advertising, advertisers don’t necessarily know what content will carry their ads. This shift in strategy is keeping some out of the game. Also, for many agencies and brand marketers the buying experience is confusing because each platform has its own set of targeting options and measurement capabilities. And, marketers are still trying to figure out if CTV should be taken from the TV or digital budget.

• Cost - CTV inventory has high CPMs (cost per thousand), but with good reason. There are granular audience targeting abilities that create powerful opportunities to connect with your audiences. The key to success is establishing clear KPIs and expectations at the beginning of a campaign and ensuring the metrics can prove value and ROI.

I believe 2019 will be a great year for CTV maturity and growth as advertisers work through these issues. If you would like to jump on the CTV train, please contact us. We can simplify and streamline the process for your agency or marketing team.