As an industry, we have become so good at talking about problems that we've not had the time to solve all of them.
Ok, so I can see how that might sound flippant but think about it - how many times have you heard someone on a panel say 'Yes, competitive separation is a problem that needs solving'. Seriously, I first heard of it being a problem in 2016 and the last time I heard of it being a problem was in 2022. The truth is that some of the problems CTV advertisers face today are simply very difficult to solve.
But this isn't the only difficult problem that CTV Advertisers face. In our opinion, here are 6 really important things that all good advertisers should be aware of as they plan their next CTV advertising campaign:
COMPETITIVE SEPARATION
Every good CTV advertising business and brand cares about what people see before (and less so after) their ad. Whichever way you plan to deliver your ctv ad campaign, make sure it includes a comprehensive way of guaranteeing that a competitor's ad cannot run against yours.
CONTEXTUAL RELEVANCE
In the perfect world, advertisers want to buy impressions that cross two very different targeting thresholds:
Effective household level targeting (eg auto intenders).
Contextually relevant content.
Achieving both can be hard, so either find the right balance or find a solution that allows you to do both (hint - Slingshot).
BRAND SAFETY
There are lots of different meanings when it comes to brand safety for CTV advertisers. But if you watch this, then you will see another meaning for CTV Brand Safety that may have passed you by:
CONTENT ADJACENCY
While it's probably only relevant to a small minority of CTV advertising professionals, verticals such as pharma have incredibly strict rules when it comes to the content they are allowed to run against. This can make buying ad spots incredibly expensive...
DEVICE AND AUDIENCE QUALITY
Ok, so this is a biggie. A few weeks back, a collab between GroupM and iSpot TV managed to prove that 'phantom viewing' on CTV (we call it zombie viewing) really does exist. What does this mean? In short, it means that there is a distinct chance that ads you have PAID to run, have been served to TV's that are turned OFF. How does it happen? Simple - because millions of CTV sticks and devices out there are connected to their own power, so when you turn off the TV, the stick stays on.
PERFORMANCE
This might be one of the fastest moving areas in CTV advertising. Two years ago, 90% of campaigns would have had 'brand awareness' set as their primary campaign objective. But in just 2 short years, the need for brands to see a return on ad spend (ROAS) has taken center stage. With this, the industry has responded and solutions/best practices now exist that help brands achieve consideration, intent - even outcomes.
In case you're still reading this and want a few more challenges, there's way more than what we talked about here today:
Delineating CTV KPI's from success (read more here).
Ad fatigue.
Personal and relevant CTV ads are not the same thing (read more here).
Attribution.
Honestly, the list goes on. It is a crazy world out there for CTV advertising, but the future is a bright one.
In fact, it is because of all this that we now host frequent CTV Advertising Open Days - our next event is coming up and YOU ARE WELCOME TO JOIN.
To learn more about Origin Slingshot's turnkey Native CTV solution - click here.
ABOUT ORIGIN
Origin is a creative technology company whose pioneering Native CTV advertising solutions are reshaping the way we engage and activate consumers on the largest screen in the home.
Fusing dynamic content animation with proprietary ad serving technology, Origin's Native CTV ad formats elevate attention, recall, consideration and outcomes for brands who want to amplify their presence on Connected TV.
Origin was founded by media veterans Fred Godfrey and Stephen Strong whose careers have been shaped by their relentless commitment to enraging the status quo. Learn more at www.originmedia.tv.