How to Advertise on CTV

Connected television, or "smart TV," refers to televisions that are internet-enabled, allowing users to access streaming services, social media, and other online content. Advertising on connected television is a way for businesses to reach a large audience with targeted, interactive, and measurable campaigns. Here are some strategies and best practices for advertising on connected television:

Understand your target audience: Before launching a connected TV campaign, it's important to understand who you're trying to reach. This includes demographics such as age, gender, income, and location, as well as psychographics like interests, habits, and values. This information will help you choose the right platforms and channels to advertise on, and create ad content that resonates with your target audience.

Choose the right platforms: There are several platforms and services that offer connected TV advertising, including major streaming services like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime Video, as well as streaming devices like Roku and Amazon Fire TV. Each platform has its own unique audience and features, so it's important to choose the one that best aligns with your target audience and campaign goals.

Use interactive and personalized ad formats: One of the benefits of connected TV advertising is the ability to use interactive and personalized ad formats, such as pre-roll, mid-roll, and post-roll video ads, as well as interactive overlays and companion banners. These ad formats allow viewers to engage with the ad in a way that feels more natural and less disruptive, increasing the chances that they will take the desired action.

Leverage data to optimize your campaign: Connected TV advertising allows you to use data to optimize your campaign in real-time, by analyzing metrics such as viewer engagement, demographics, and device information. This information can be used to adjust targeting, ad placement, and creative elements, ensuring that your campaign reaches the right audience and delivers the desired results.

Measure and analyze performance: After your connected TV campaign has launched, it's important to measure and analyze its performance, using metrics such as reach, engagement, conversion rates, and return on investment. This information will help you identify what's working well and what needs to be improved, allowing you to make data-driven decisions that help optimize your campaign.

Use cross-device advertising: One key benefit to connected TV advertising is the potential to combine it with mobile, web and even out-of-home advertising. This multi-channel approach can significantly increase the reach and impact of your advertising efforts.

Consider remarketing: After a user has viewed your ad on connected TV, you can remarket to them through other channels such as email, mobile or web. This approach can increase conversions and help build brand loyalty.

Invest in Creative Ads: it is important to invest in high-quality and creative ad content, as it's the key factor in engaging viewers and encouraging them to take the desired action. You can consider different formats of creative ad such as video, interstitial, and overlay ads, to grab the user attention.

Overall, advertising on connected television can be a powerful way to reach a large, engaged audience with targeted and interactive campaigns. By understanding your target audience, choosing the right platforms, using interactive and personalized ad formats, leveraging data to optimize your campaign, measuring and analyzing performance, and using cross-device advertising, you can create a connected TV campaign that delivers results for your business.

The ad-buying and selling process in the connected TV (CTV) landscape typically involves several steps, including:

Planning and strategy: The first step in the ad-buying process is to determine your campaign goals and target audience. This includes identifying the platforms, channels, and ad formats that align with your target audience and campaign goals.

Inventory and access: The next step is to access the inventory of ad space available on the CTV platforms and channels of your choice. This can typically be done through a demand-side platform (DSP), which connects advertisers with multiple CTV inventory sources and enables them to buy ad space programmatically. DSPs allow advertisers to access a vast amount of inventory across multiple platforms, giving them the flexibility to target their audience on specific channels and at specific times of the day.

Ad creation: Once you've secured ad inventory, the next step is to create your ad creative. This includes creating the ad content, such as video, images, and text, as well as determining the ad format and targeting options.

Campaign launch: After the ad creative has been created and the targeting options have been selected, the campaign can be launched. Advertisers will work with the CTV platform to schedule the ads and ensure that they will be delivered to the right audience at the right time.

Performance monitoring and optimization: The final step is to monitor the performance of the campaign, using metrics such as reach, engagement, conversion rates, and return on investment. The data and insights collected will be used to optimize the campaign and make data-driven decisions to improve the overall performance of the campaign.

On the seller side, the process begins with determining how much ad space is available to sell and what format it will be in — also known as inventory management. Then, the seller will use different tools to monetize their inventory, such as a supply-side platform (SSP) which connect the inventory with multiple potential buyers and enable them to sell their inventory programmatically.

Additionally, some publishers have direct relationships with brands and agencies, which allows them to sell their inventory through private marketplaces (PMP) or programmatic guaranteed (PG) deals. In this case, the inventory is only available to a select group of buyers, but it guarantees the inventory will be sold, and it often results in a higher CPM.

Overall, the ad-buying and selling process in the CTV landscape is highly dynamic and flexible, with the ability to access a wide range of inventory across multiple platforms and channels, and the ability to target, optimize, and measure the performance of campaigns in real-time. This means that it's a more efficient and effective way for businesses to reach their target audience and achieve their advertising goals.

Find out how Simulmedia’s unique TV+® platform for TV and streaming advertising provides unified access to premium linear and CTV inventory across all networks and publishers. Request a demo or email us at advertise@simulmedia.com.