Unlocking the Power of Retargeting on Connected TV

Retargeting has long been a powerful tool in every digital advertiser’s toolbox, allowing brands to hone in on lower-funnel customers.

Targeting capabilities on CTV advertising are taking this strategy to the next level. Now, advertisers can retarget audiences wherever they are, from mobile to web to television — creating true cross-device coverage for your campaigns.

What is CTV Retargeting?

CTV retargeting refers to serving a follow-up ad to a user previously exposed to a brand. This can include showing a CTV ad to:

• A viewer that has previously visited the advertiser’s site or mobile app
• A viewer already exposed to an ad on a different channel
• A viewer that has recently visited an advertiser’s physical store and is in the advertiser’s CRM system

Audience segments can be incredibly granular here. For instance, you can retarget based on the user’s behavior on your website – what categories they browsed through or whether they added items to their shopping cart but didn’t check out, allowing advertisers to hone in on viewers with the highest chance of converting, and even to serve a more personalized CTV creative.

Advertisers primarily use retargeting to locate audiences that have given clear signals they are in-market and considering a brand. By retargeting these audiences and increasing the frequency of advertisements served, advertisers can ensure a brand stays top-of-mind and increase their chances of converting. For instance, whether you’re looking to advertise a new deal or remind shoppers of their abandoned cart, let them know while they watch their favorite show for a truly cross-device experience.

This is just one example of how advertisers can retarget audiences who are highly engaged with your brand, which leads us to our next point…

How do CTV advertisers use retargeting?

Digital advertisers have historically relied on third-party cookies on the web or device identifiers on mobile apps to retarget users.

To understand how retargeting on connected TV differs, it helps to know how third-party cookies work in the digital world.

1. When a user visits a site, a small piece of code (called a pixel or cookie) is placed on their browser.
2. This cookie can then observe their browsing behavior — even once they leave the site. The cookie gathers information about their behavior and interests as the user browses various sites.
3. When the user visits a site in partnership with the retargeting platform used, such as Google Ads, Criteo, or AdRoll, the retargeting platform can recognize the user — all thanks to the cookie installed.
4. Now, the retargeting platform can identify the user and glean their interests and behavior. The platform can use this information to serve a retargeting ad personalized to the user.

CTV uses the same mechanism. Again, a pixel is installed on the advertiser’s site. However, this pixel does not continuously collect information about the user once they leave the site. Instead, the tag identifies the user, and then immediately traces that information out to the retargeting platform’s device graph. The graph is based on all of the IPs the user transmits while interacting with the site. Using this data, the platform can determine which connected TVs to retarget.

In other words, display advertisers retarget using third-party cookies that solely interact with the device where the website visit occurred. On the other hand, connected TV retargeting leverages device graphs that connect to all of the devices and IP addresses within the user’s household.

Retargeting works well by itself or in tandem with other strategies. By looking at the demographic information of users who have engaged with an ad, an advertiser can also create a lookalike audience to build out a new target audience. In other words, data gathered for retargeting is also highly useful for building out a campaign and extending reach to a broader audience, this time equipped with more insight into who is likely to engage and, hopefully, convert.

Why use CTV retargeting?

Consider that around 92% of those who visit your site are not ready to make a purchase. TV is one of the most effective advertising formats, making it the perfect channel to re-capture your audience’s attention. By retargeting on connected TV, advertisers can reconnect with and push interested customers further down the funnel.

Connected TV retargeting also aligns with the modern consumer’s cross-device experience. From mobile to web to TV and beyond, users shift from one device to the next — and even sometimes use them simultaneously. Retargeting allows advertisers to create a truly cross-device experience and engage with audiences wherever they are.

Retargeting certainly has its benefits. As we’ve seen in the display and mobile world, though, advertisers can fall into pitfalls if they’re not careful. Display advertisers have historically overdone retargeting, leading to frustration among consumers. According to InSkin Media, when consumers see as few as five repetitive targeting ads, 55% are turned off from purchasing.

The big takeaway? Mismanaged retargeting can do more harm than good. With this in mind, advertisers leveraging retargeting should remember quality, not quantity, is vital to success.

Upgrade Your CTV Campaign With Retargeting

Advertisers are taking to the big screen to hone in on audiences already interested in their brand’s product or offering. The possibilities are endless when it comes to retargeting — so long as you have the right buying platform and data partner.

With our TV+® platform for linear, CTV, and cross-channel TV planning and buying, Simulmedia takes a holistic, 360-degree approach when retargeting customers. Our cross-channel ad platform and methodology consider every variable: from creative to TV network placement to program placement across linear TV and CTV.

By working with Simulmedia over time, historical data on campaign performance and audience engagement builds a portfolio of data that can make your next retargeting campaign even better.

Ready to get started? Speak to one of our experts by scheduling a demo.