In July 2023, we unveiled our groundbreaking feature, 

 (APO) for CTV, marking a significant leap forward in the realm of 

. APO addressed several critical challenges that advertisers faced in their campaigns. Firstly, traders were spending an overwhelming 65% of their time reallocating budgets manually—a process that was not only laborious but also prone to inefficiencies. Secondly, individual brands lacked the resources to continuously measure performance and adjust budgets accordingly, leading to suboptimal outcomes. Additionally, while CTV was increasingly recognized as a full-funnel performance channel, existing digital offerings fell short in identifying TV performance drivers. Manual optimization relied heavily on guesswork rather than statistical analysis, resulting in wasted spend and higher CPx. APO emerged as the hero solution for brands aiming to drive outcomes via CTV while seeking to lower CPx.

In the pre-APO era, manual optimization was inefficient and not scalable. Traders engaged in extensive trial and error, adjusting parameters based on manual schedules rather than data-driven insights. This approach led to negative business consequences such as wasted spend and higher CPx. However, with the introduction of APO, CTV optimization became driven by machine learning, enabling thousands of iterations to be tested to find optimal values. APO automatically adjusts parameters based on data in real time, resulting in more revenue driven by efficient outcomes. Automated Performance Optimization, powered by cutting-edge ML technology, dynamically allocated budget across hundreds of combinations of apps, dayparts, and creatives to propel growth. Notably, APO offers unprecedented transparency in the industry. Unlike other DSPs that employ black-box optimization methods, TV+ provides a full audit trail of optimization decisions, facilitating continuous learning and improvement. Benchmarks demonstrate an average 32% improvement in KPIs, showcasing the superiority of TV+ Performance Optimization in driving efficient outcomes for CTV advertisers.

Distinguishing TV+’ Unique Approach to Performance Campaign Optimization and Transparent Insights

While most DSP auto-optimization is tailored for the supply-heavy, open exchange-dominated realm of banners—characterized by a race to the bottom in CPM pricing due to the abundance of supply and intense competition—our focus with APO diverges significantly. APO is specifically designed for Premium PMP content, which features pricing with floors, low competition, and limited supply, resulting in a healthy win rate. Therefore, our priority lies in optimizing what to buy rather than how much to bid, ensuring maximum efficiency and effectiveness for our advertisers.

Our CTV strategy sets us apart by offering clarity around our optimization processes. Unlike most DSPs, which rely on dynamic bid adjustment primarily geared for open marketplaces in the supply-rich banner world, our approach extends beyond. Leveraging our extensive relationships with publishers' linear businesses, we've strategically established Private Marketplace (PMP) deals with premium publishers, securing optimal placements within publisher waterfalls. This strategic setup empowers our Client Success Team to easily calibrate bids, ensuring prime placements and effective pacing. Additionally, our AI-driven dynamic budget allocation optimizes resource allocation to publishers and dayparts, yielding optimal outcomes—a critical capability for PMPs in the supply-constrained world of CTV.

The annotated image below showcases our Optimization Engine’s approach to decisioning transparency. This visualization offers a clear understanding of optimization decisions, facilitating ongoing refinement.

Metrics like cost-per-event (i.e., visit) or cost-per-unique-event and response rate are shown for each optimization dimension. This allows you to see the metrics APO uses to calibrate its dynamic budget allocation decisioning at each individual dimension – per audience, creative, publisher, and daypart.

The sparklines show the decisioning audit trail that shows daily allocation adjustments. Hover over to see APO’s daily allocation decisions for each individual dimension. This level of transparency ensures you learn what works alongside the optimization engine.

Achieve Full-Funnel Success with Multi-Objective Optimization

Multi-objective Optimization revolutionizes campaign strategies by enabling optimization across multiple stages of the marketing funnel. This approach allows our Client Success Team to balance mid-funnel metrics, such as website visits, with lower-funnel metrics, such as shopping cart transactions, ensuring a holistic approach to campaign performance.

Marketers often face the dilemma of focusing solely on bottom-of-the-funnel conversion events, potentially neglecting crucial upper and mid-funnel activities. By optimizing against multiple weighted metrics, such as website visits and enrollment form submissions, marketers can nurture their marketing funnels effectively. This holistic approach ensures a healthier full-funnel optimization strategy, driving both short-term conversions and long-term brand growth.

Here is an annotated image illustrating our Multi-objective Optimization feature in action. This visualization provides a clear overview of how our Client Success Team can configure and monitor multiple optimization metrics to achieve our clients’ campaign objectives effectively.

Toggle between viewing metrics by cost-per-event or cost-per-unique-event. Both optimization metrics are shown side-by-side.

Equal or varying weights can be assigned to each optimization metric, and your Client Success Manager works with you to decide on the initial setting. Let’s say you want to launch a CTV campaign for an online job marketplace and assign a 50-50 split on Site Visits and Apply Starts (when a job searcher starts an application). Even though your cost-per-conversion (Apply Starts) is healthy, our Client Success Team may notice that the number of Application Starts dropped – this might be because the number of visitors to the website’s job pages driven by CTV is dropping. In that case, our Client Success team flags this issue with you, the client, and may recommend recalibrating the weight to emphasize Job Seeker Pageviews and decrease Apply Starts. Once a decision is made, the Client Success team adjusts the weights to get performance back on track.

As with many of the reports on TV+, you can hover over the Optimization KPI Graphs to see details around any given day.

Optimize Your CTV Programmatic Campaigns with TV+: Where Transparency Meets Performance Excellence

Elevate your campaign performance with TV+’s Optimization Engine – now offering unprecedented transparency and flexibility. From transparent decisioning audit trails to Multi-Goal Optimization, Automated Performance Optimization empowers advertisers and agencies to achieve full-funnel CTV success while driving efficient outcomes. Ready to unlock the potential of programmatic CTV advertising? Contact us at 

Explore how our unique programmatic campaign optimization tool enhances CTV advertising efficiency. Discover transparent, data-driven strategies that lower costs and improve performance, setting a new standard in programmatic optimization. Dive into our blog for actionable insights and real-world applications.

Transparent Programmatic Campaign Optimization

Let's talk television advertising – that ever-shifting terrain where connecting with millennials is an art and a science. It's been a hot minute since our last dive into the millennial TV viewership stats, and, you guessed it, things have shifted. Brace yourself as we lay out the latest stats and strategies, giving you the insider scoop for your advertising ventures in 2024.

Social and Economic Trends Impacting Millennials

Understanding millennials is like deciphering a complex code. According to 

31% of millennials are currently reveling in a satisfying work/life balance, a notable increase from 18% in 2019.

 The cost of living has taken center stage for 42% of millennials in 2023, compared to 36% in 2022.

 A significant 52% of millennials find themselves living paycheck to paycheck, highlighting the financial strains many face.

The hustle is real, with 37% of millennials taking on side jobs for that extra financial cushion.

Remote work has become ingrained in millennial life, with a staggering 75% considering a job change if forced back into a full-time office setting.

With this backdrop in mind, let's delve into the TV habits of millennials, exploring how these dynamics intersect with their viewing preferences.

How Millennials Engage with Connected TV (CTV) and Linear TV

, a formidable 61.5 million millennials have embraced the world of Connected TV (CTV). These digital natives are not just users; they're shaping the landscape, representing approximately half of all CTV viewers.

Millennials also constitute 27.2% share of all connected TV users in 2023, Millennials also boast the 2nd largest CTV user growth rates, with Millennials having increased by 3.3% in 2022, also according to 

Despite the digital revolution, linear TV maintains its enduring appeal. As revealed by 

, 34% of millennials are loyal daily viewers of linear TV. The twist? A staggering 78% of daily TV consumers are juggling at least one video streaming subscription, showcasing the evolving TV consumption patterns.

Now, let's unveil Simulmedia's TV+ platform, a TV analytics powerhouse. At its core is the TV+ Viewership Graph, seamlessly integrating billions of signals from linear, streaming, and future walled gardens. Processing over 2B daily events across 100M+ households, TV+ boasts one of the industry's largest datasets. With integrations with the top OEM and data partners, it provides a comprehensive understanding of viewership behavior. Privacy is paramount, with pseudonymized data and meticulous calibration. Armed with insights from the TV+ Viewership Graph, let's uncover where millennials are tuning in.

With regards to TV households, 21.4 million millennials still find value in linear TV, dedicating a considerable portion of their viewing time to traditional broadcasts. Simultaneously, 26.8 million have embraced the allure of Connected TV, signaling a shift towards digital platforms. It's important to note that these numbers aren't mutually exclusive; many millennial households seamlessly integrate both linear and Connected TV into their viewing habits.

The distribution of cross-channel households among millennials paints a diverse picture of their viewing habits. While 14% of millennial households exclusively adhere to linear TV, cherishing the traditional viewing experience, a significant 31% have fully embraced the digital realm of Connected TV. The majority, a substantial 55%, represent the versatile viewership of millennials, seamlessly integrating both linear and Connected TV into their entertainment repertoire. This intricate blend underscores the importance of a comprehensive advertising strategy that caters to the varied preferences within the millennial demographic landscape.

Millennials spend an average of 3 hours and 38 minutes on ad-supported TV daily. The lion's share, approximately 78% (or 170 minutes), is dedicated to linear TV, while the remaining 22% (about 48 minutes) ventures into ad-supported streaming realms. This may seem counterintuitive considering how much time people are spending on connected TV, but remember that most connected TV consumption still occurs in ad-free environments. The stats above isolate the share of ad-supported connected TV viewing.

Budget Strategies for Effective TV Advertising

Let's craft strategies to powerfully engage millennials on both linear TV and CTV, leveraging insights from our TV+ platform. In a hypothetical $1 million budget scenario (note: allocations may vary based on budget size), the message is clear: a 'Cross-Channel Charm' approach, with 35% in linear TV and 65% in CTV, steals the spotlight.

The winning strategy! Allocating 35% to linear TV and 65% to CTV ensures a potent reach of 16.1 million millennials.

Exclusive focus on linear TV (100%) taps into 9.21 million millennials, falling short of the broader impact.

Putting the entire budget into CTV alone captures 12.1 million millennials, but the magic lies in the balanced blend.

The takeaway is crystal clear: Cross-Channel stands as the superior approach for optimal reach and impact across the diverse TV landscape

Reaching More Millennials Requires Technology

Simulmedia’s platform is the key to unlocking a more nuanced approach to millennial targeting. Unlike basic demographic targeting, which tends to be overly broad, our platform encourages advertisers to delve deep into defining their strategic audience. This means going beyond age and gender, exploring factors such as income, household size, education level, affinities, hobbies, interests, ownership, lifestyle, purchase behavior, brand propensities, habits, and life events.

In the complex landscape of millennial viewing behavior, relying on age/gender demos is outdated. Simply put, not all Millennials are created equal, and treating them as such is a missed opportunity. By targeting individual behaviors and preferences, marketers not only reach more of their intended audience but also tap into the seemingly elusive age group powering the nation's economic engine.

Simulmedia’s platform empowers advertisers to navigate this intricate landscape efficiently. It's not just about driving the lowest CPMs; it's about steering towards the lowest cost-per-reach for true efficiency. If your goal is to reach the one group with the most collective spending power in the United States, then defining and targeting your strategic audience with precision is the way forward.

Contrary to popular belief, Millennials are avid TV consumers, but reaching them effectively demands a shift in media buying strategy. Our platform provides a solution by marrying multiple 3rd party data sets or leveraging your brand’s proprietary 1st party data to match customer attributes with viewing data from millions of households. This process enables our platform to understand the viewing behaviors of your target audience and employ a patented predictive algorithm to forecast their preferences throughout a campaign.

Unlike traditional media buying, which often relies on age/gender demos and fails to comprehend the composition of delivered GRPs, our platform crafts a media plan tailored to individual preferences. It's not about delivering thousands of linear TV spots across networks; it's about striking deals with 100+ streaming apps, ensuring your strategic audience is reached efficiently and with maximum impact.

In a world where targeted CPMs may be higher, the value lies in reaching a more responsive audience and reducing wasteful impressions. Simulmedia’s platform revolutionizes advertising by recognizing that true efficiency in today's diverse media landscape is achieved by targeting strategic audiences effectively. 

 to explore how we can elevate your reach to the ever-powerful millennial demographic while minimizing media waste and maximizing impact.

Reaching Millennials on TV: Navigating Trends and Strategies for 2024

An integrated omnichannel strategy serves as the foundation for success in the modern marketing world. This guide takes a deep dive into the complexities of crafting an effective 

, showcasing its pivotal role within the overarching omnichannel approach. Understanding the essential nature of an omnichannel strategy, tailored to ensure a consistent brand experience across diverse channels, is crucial for engaging today's multifaceted consumer.

 underscores, the proliferation of smart TVs has reached an impressive 61.9% in H1 2023, indicating a 5 percentage point YoY increase and a substantial surge from 43.1% in 2019. These numbers underscore the ubiquity of smart TVs, now a dominant force in households across income levels.

Furthermore, the data illuminates the significant surge in average US time spent consuming online TV and streaming, reaching 1:50 in H1 2023. This noteworthy statistic positions the US as the second-highest among tracked countries, trailing only Saudi Arabia. The upward trajectory in time spent with online TV and streaming, soaring by 34.1% since 2019, highlights the growing influence and appeal of CTV.

The eMarketer insights also reveal the pervasive nature of on-demand and streaming service viewership across demographics, transcending age, income, and household locations. Notably, Gen Zers lead the charge with an impressive penetration rate of 97.4% for ages 16 to 24. Even age cohorts traditionally considered below the tech adoption curve, such as ages 55 to 64, boast a robust 87% penetration. As we delve into how to integrate CTV strategy into your omnichannel strategy, these statistics underscore the profound reach and impact this channel brings to the forefront. Now, let's explore the practical steps to harness the potential of CTV in your comprehensive marketing strategy.

Let’s start with the basics – de-siloing the two major TV platforms. Understanding the synergies between Connected TV (CTV) and traditional linear TV is a smart onramp to crafting an integrated marketing campaign. Rather than being adversaries, these channels can be powerful partners, each bringing its unique strengths to the table. Linear TV, with its expansive reach, continues to be a juggernaut, capturing the attention of diverse audiences. In contrast, CTV offers a more personalized viewing experience, allowing advertisers to tailor content to specific audience segments.

Our TV+ advertising platform sheds light on the current landscape, revealing that the total time spent by P2+ on Linear TV and ad-supported Connected TV is 3 hours and 54 minutes. Notably, 79% of this time is dedicated to Linear TV, highlighting its enduring significance. However, the remaining 21% on ad-supported Connected TV signifies a substantial and growing share, underscoring the increasing relevance of CTV in the media landscape.

Further insights from our platform emphasize the nuanced viewing habits of households. Approximately 27% of households are exclusively reachable through ad-supported CTV, indicating a trend of cord-cutters or cord-nevers. On the flip side, 57% of households are reachable by both Linear and Connected TV, illustrating the hybrid nature of many households' TV setups. Notably, CTV proves to be a more efficient avenue for reaching a significant portion of this audience.


Crucially, consumers perceive it all as TV, and this perspective necessitates a holistic approach for marketers. Achieving a comprehensive view of their entire TV campaign becomes imperative, incorporating de-duplicated cross-channel reach and frequency metrics. This approach enables marketers to measure performance across the entire spectrum of TV, ensuring a nuanced understanding of their campaign's impact and efficiency. As we delve into the integration of CTV into the broader marketing strategy, these insights illuminate the evolving dynamics of the TV landscape.

Integration with Overall Marketing Strategy

To harness CTV's full potential, it's imperative to seamlessly integrate it into your broader marketing strategy. As your messaging unfolds across the immersive CTV landscape, aligning with your brand's storytelling ethos, it simultaneously harmonizes with strategies on other owned, earned, and paid channels. This cohesive messaging approach ensures a consistent brand narrative that resonates across channels.

The precision applied to audience targeting in social media campaigns can enhance your approach by refining audience segmentation for CTV. When you use precise targeting on social media to reach specific demographics or interests, you can apply these refined audience segments (when available from 3rd party audience providers) to your CTV targeting strategy. This alignment not only improves audience engagement but also streamlines the execution of marketing initiatives. It ensures that your CTV campaigns are more focused and resonant, reaching the right viewers with greater efficiency.

Moreover, overarching campaign objectives should be a shared beacon guiding each channel, whether it's fostering brand awareness, driving sales, or highlighting a specific product. This comprehensive alignment isn't just about uniformity—it's about crafting a holistic customer journey. Understanding CTV's role in the broader narrative allows strategically placed touchpoints to seamlessly integrate with other channels, crafting an interconnected experience that resonates throughout every customer interaction.

Creative Synergies and Cross-Channel Impact

Unlock the full potential of your creative assets by seamlessly integrating them across channels. Repurpose engaging CTV creatives in other platforms such as social media or display advertising to amplify your message. This not only ensures a consistent brand narrative but also maximizes brand visibility across diverse touchpoints.

Moreover, it's not just a one-way street. Consider leveraging user-generated videos from your influencer channels as valuable raw materials for your CTV creative. This bidirectional approach allows you to tap into the authenticity of user-generated content while maintaining a cohesive brand story.

Integrating CTV with your social media strategy means combining the strengths of both channels to create a more powerful and cohesive brand presence. By aligning your CTV campaigns with your social media efforts, you ensure that the messages and stories you tell on each platform work together harmoniously. This coordination fosters a stronger connection with your audience, making your brand more memorable and impactful. In essence, it's about using the unique advantages of CTV and social media in tandem to provide viewers with a complete and unified brand experience.

But it doesn't stop there. CTV creative isn't confined to the TV screen; it can be a catalyst for actions on other devices. Drive viewers to your website or a landing page specific to a TV promotion, building retargeting pools for other channels. Incorporating QR codes in CTV creatives further minimizes friction across devices, creating a seamless user journey and amplifying cross-channel impact.

Attribution and Media Mix Modeling Across Channels

Understanding the impact of Connected TV (CTV) within your broader marketing mix is crucial for effective attribution and media mix modeling. Attribution in CTV involves assessing how specific touchpoints contribute to the customer's journey and identifying the role CTV plays in driving actions. Media mix modeling, on the other hand, evaluates the overall effectiveness of different channels in influencing audience behavior. In an integrated marketing campaign, various channels work synergistically, contributing touchpoints that collectively persuade the audience to take desired actions.

In the context of CTV attribution, it's essential to embrace multi-touch attribution models. These models go beyond simplistic, single-channel measurements, recognizing that customer journeys are complex and involve interactions with multiple channels. By examining touchpoints across different channels, including CTV, marketers gain a more nuanced understanding of how each contributes to the conversion process. Multi-touch attribution provides insights into the interplay between CTV and other channels, helping marketers identify patterns and refine strategies.

Media mix modeling takes a holistic approach, considering the cumulative impact of touchpoints across diverse channels. Evaluating the combined influence of CTV, display advertising, paid search, and other channels provides a comprehensive view of the marketing ecosystem. Marketers can then make informed decisions about budget distribution and optimize campaigns based on the collective impact of these touchpoints. This integrated approach ensures that CTV attribution is part of a broader strategy, recognizing the interconnected nature of touchpoints in the customer journey and maximizing the impact of every channel in the marketing mix.

Embrace the Versatility of Connected TV in Modern Marketing

Connected TV is a versatile and indispensable tool in modern marketing, seamlessly integrating into your broader strategy. By understanding its complementarity with linear TV, cross-device engagement capabilities, and potential for creative synergies, you can unlock the full potential of CTV. As the marketing landscape evolves, CTV stands as a practical and indispensable asset for brands aiming to connect with their audience across multiple touchpoints.

Ready to make CTV play a shining role in your integrated marketing campaigns? 

Reach out to one of our experts to get started

An integrated omnichannel strategy serves as the foundation for success in the modern marketing world. This guide takes a deep dive into the complexities of crafting an effective Connected TV (CTV) strategy, showcasing its pivotal role within the overarching omnichannel approach. Understanding the essential nature of an omnichannel strategy, tailored to ensure a consistent brand experience across diverse channels, is crucial for engaging today's multifaceted consumer.

Strategic Integration: CTV Marketing Strategy in the Omnichannel Landscape

With the growing complexity of digital advertising, crafting an effective streaming strategy is more crucial than ever. A well-defined 

 not only propels your brand into the spotlight but also ensures that every investment, message, and campaign aligns seamlessly with overarching goals. It helps you focus on what’s important. In this comprehensive guide, we'll delve into the core components of building a streaming strategy that not only captures attention but drives meaningful results. From defining goals to outmaneuvering competitors, we'll unravel the secrets to a robust streaming strategy.

What is Strategy, and Why Does it Matter?

At its core, a strategy is the blueprint that guides your efforts, aligning every move with your business objectives. Precision is paramount in streaming advertising, so a well-crafted streaming strategy ensures that your campaigns resonate cohesively with your audience, maximizing impact and ROI.

The Building Blocks of a Streaming Strategy

1. Why (Goals): What is the Ultimate Goal of My Streaming Campaign?

At the heart of any streaming strategy lies a clear understanding of your goals. Are you aiming for brand awareness, increased traffic, boosted sales, or perhaps app installations? Defining these goals provides a roadmap for your entire campaign. Your goals act as the guiding star, shaping every decision and tactic in your streaming strategy.

When it comes to measuring success in streaming, key performance indicators (KPIs) such as site visits, revenue generated from users exposed to CTV ads, and return on ad spend (ROAS) become essential benchmarks. For instance, if your primary goal is brand awareness, you might track metrics like unique reach and frequency to ensure your message is resonating with a broad audience. On the other hand, if your focus is on driving sales, KPIs such as conversion rates and attributed revenue can gauge the impact of your streaming efforts on the bottom line.

In essence, the ultimate goal of your streaming campaign sets the tone for the entire journey. It dictates not only the metrics you measure but also the strategies you employ to achieve success. Whether you're in pursuit of broader brand recognition or aiming for tangible business outcomes, clarifying your goals is the first step towards building a streaming strategy that delivers meaningful results.

2. Who (Target Audience): Who Exactly Am I Trying to Reach?

Understanding your strategic audience goes beyond basic demographics. Fully defined buyer personas are crafted based on a deep understanding of your viewers, incorporating industry best practices. Employ a mix of qualitative and quantitative research to gather demographic information such as age, gender, location, and income. However, the essence of best practices lies in delving into psychographics—attitudes, values, interests, and lifestyles. Utilize surveys, interviews, and social media analysis to gather this data effectively.

Creating impactful B2C buyer personas involves crafting detailed narratives for each persona, incorporating their challenges, aspirations, and pain points. This process humanizes your audience, allowing you to connect with them on a deeper level. For a streaming strategy, align your campaign messaging with the interests and preferences of your buyer personas.

These buyer personas should also guide your campaign targeting strategy, identifying the platforms, genres, and specific content that resonate with your audience. This not only maximizes the impact of your streaming efforts but also influences how you measure your reach metrics. An integration of buyer personas, targeting strategy, and industry best practices ensures a cohesive approach, enhancing the precision and impact of your streaming campaigns.

3. What (Message in Creative Strategy): What Value Does My Message Deliver?

The heart of your streaming campaign lies in your creative strategy's message. It's not just about what you say; it's about the value you deliver to your audience. Center your message around addressing the jobs-to-be-done for your viewers—the fundamental problems or tasks they're seeking solutions for. This business-oriented concept ensures that your creative strategy speaks directly to their needs, positioning your brand as the answer they've been looking for.

Craft a compelling message by understanding the brand attributes most appealing to your audience. Identify what makes your product or service unique and desirable, differentiating you from the competition. Your streaming campaign should be more than information; it should tell a story that resonates with your audience's values and aspirations.

Promotions play a crucial role in delivering value. Go beyond standard advertising and create promotions that resonate personally with your audience. Utilize limited-time offers, exclusive deals, or tailored promotions that align with your audience's preferences. These promotions become an integral part of the value your message delivers, creating urgency and excitement. Ensure your core message is memorable, succinct, and aligned with your brand identity, leaving a lasting impression that associates key values with your brand.

4. When (Timing, How Long, How Often): When Should My Campaign Run, and How Frequently?

Timing is a critical element to define in your streaming strategy. Consider your product's nature and determine the most opportune moments to showcase it. Some products benefit from a continuous, always-on campaign, providing a steady presence in consumers' minds. Others find success with seasonal bursts, strategically aligning with periods of heightened interest.

The temporal considerations extend to the duration of your campaign. Decide how long it should run for optimal results—whether a continuous, ever-present approach or a seasonal, intermittent schedule aligns with your goals. Additionally, carefully choose the frequency of your campaign to strike the right balance, ensuring your message remains impactful without overwhelming your audience. The 'when' factor involves a practical balancing act between timing, campaign duration, and frequency goals, ultimately shaping an effective streaming strategy.

5. Where (Media Buying Avenues): Where Can I Find My Strategic Audience on TV?

Determining where your strategic audience can be found in the vast landscape of Connected TV (CTV) is a pivotal aspect of your streaming strategy. Simulmedia, as a trusted partner, can assist in pinpointing the ideal places to connect with your audience on TV. The CTV supply chain is dynamic, so it's essential to comprehend the diverse avenues available for media buying.

Understanding the distinction between publishers and sellers is crucial to navigating the CTV ecosystem well. Publishers create and produce content but also sell ad inventory, while sellers distribute the content through their apps and sell some percentage of the ad inventory within that content (depending on their licensing agreement with the content producer). Marketers must decide whether to engage directly with content producers for a more tailored association or explore different distributors, including Ad-Supported Video on Demand (

) apps, Virtual Multichannel Video Programming Distributors (

However, navigating multiple points in the supply chain comes with its challenges. Marketers should be mindful of potential over-frequency issues that may arise when working with various sellers, as one seller may not have visibility into where another places your ads. Striking a balance between targeted association and avoiding over-frequencing becomes a crucial consideration in optimizing media buying strategies within the intricate CTV landscape.

6. How (Campaign Strategy): How Can I Optimize Campaign Strategy Across the Funnel?

A successful CTV campaign strategy requires a nuanced understanding of your target audience and product. Upper-funnel campaigns serve as the launchpad, strategically casting a broad net for brand awareness. Addressing key questions about your audience and product lays the foundation for impactful campaigns. This approach involves considering geographic priorities, leveraging 

 for precision, and recognizing the intricate landscape of demographic targeting.

In the realm of demographics, a tailored strategy is essential. While a broad approach may suit mass appeal, certain products benefit from a more nuanced demographic targeting approach. Understanding the multifaceted nature of your audience's behavioral characteristics is also crucial. This insight allows for finely-tuned outreach strategies that create a profound connection with diverse consumer segments.

 through content genres becomes vital. With the challenges posed by the demise of third-party cookies, genres act as effective proxies for audience profiles. Aligning your brand with specific content genres that resonate with your target audience ensures contextual relevance. Additionally, identifying viewer behavior and leveraging this insight for lookalike modeling can be a powerful strategy – and Simulmedia 

In essence, optimizing your campaign strategy involves answering crucial questions, tailoring your approach at each stage of the customer journey, and ensuring a cohesive and effective streaming strategy. From casting a broad net for brand awareness to delving into nuanced demographic and behavioral targeting, a comprehensive strategy is the key to streaming success.

7. How Much (Investment, Cost per Reach Targets): How Much Should I Invest, and What Are My Reach Targets?

Strategic investment planning for the streaming channel requires a comprehensive understanding not only in comparison to linear TV but also concerning other advertising channels. The high-impact nature of TV advertising, which often radiates a halo effect on other channels, emphasizes the need for a thoughtful allocation of resources.

In this context, utilizing planning tools and media mix models becomes instrumental in determining the optimal budget for each channel, including the Connected TV (CTV) channel. Simulmedia, serving as a strategic partner, 

 into the distribution of the audience between linear TV and ad-supported CTV. This collaborative effort ensures that the investment is tailored to the audience's media consumption patterns, maximizing the impact of the streaming strategy across diverse channels.

To further refine this strategic investment, it's imperative to formulate clear 

 goals. Understanding the desired reach and impact of your CTV campaign allows for precise calculations that guide the allocation of resources. By establishing these goals, marketers can measure the effectiveness of their streaming strategy and fine-tune their approach for optimal outcomes.

8. Against What (Competitor Analysis): What Are My Competitors Doing, and How Can I Disrupt?

A thorough analysis of competitors' CTV efforts is imperative to formulate a disruptive and impactful CTV strategy. Understanding the reach and success of competitors in the CTV landscape sets the stage for strategic maneuvers that can elevate your brand's share of voice and market presence.

Gauging a competitor's advertising reach within the shared target audience may present challenges, but 

 unlocks valuable insights. With a clearer picture of competitors' strategies, the next step involves the implementation of conquesting campaigns. This strategic approach entails targeting the same audience reached by competitors, not only disrupting their established share of voice but also amplifying your visibility among potential customers. The choice between a red ocean strategy, amplifying spend in DMAs where competitors dominate, and a blue ocean strategy, focusing on less-contested territories, provides a tactical framework to strategically position your brand and outmaneuver competitors in the competitive CTV landscape.

Conclusion: Navigating the Streaming Waters with Precision

The streaming world continues to evolve at a hectic pace, and so precision and strategy are the keys to success. Crafting a streaming strategy that aligns with goals, resonates with your audience, and outmaneuvers competitors ensures your brand stays ahead. As you embark on your streaming journey, let these questions provide direction to thinking about your streaming strategy and propel your brand to new heights of visibility and engagement.

Ready to elevate your streaming strategy with hard-to-get viewership and competitive data? 

A well-defined strategy not only propels your brand into the spotlight but also ensures that every investment, message, and campaign aligns seamlessly with overarching goals. It helps you focus on what’s important. In this comprehensive guide, we'll delve into the core components of building a streaming strategy that not only captures attention but drives meaningful results. From defining goals to outmaneuvering competitors, we'll unravel the secrets to a robust streaming strategy.


Building a Solid Streaming Strategy: A Quick Guide

For advertisers who work in Connected TV (CTV), crafting a successful campaign involves understanding the nuances of the customer journey and tailoring a 

 accordingly. Let's embark on a journey through the layers of CTV campaigns, exploring how marketers strategically navigate the upper and lower funnels to achieve optimal results.

Casting a Broad Net: Strategies for Upper-Funnel Campaigns

Upper-funnel campaigns act as the dynamic launch pad for building brand awareness and engagement. Here, marketers strategically cast a broad net to captivate attention and forge an extensive audience base. An effective approach to crafting upper-funnel campaign strategies involves thoughtful consideration of the target audience and the promoted product or service. By answering key questions about these elements, you lay the foundation for a well-rounded and impactful campaign.

As you navigate these questions and their respective answers, consider their amalgamation. This process might yield diverse strategies for multiple upper-funnel campaigns, each tailored to resonate with specific aspects of your audience and product or service.

What are the geographic priorities and constraints of the campaign?

Determining your campaign's geographic priorities and constraints is a pivotal step, whether you're making a grand entrance with a brick-and-mortar store in the Chicago metropolitan area or strategically concentrating advertising efforts in Northeastern major metropolitan areas where your restaurants flourish.

Geographic targeting, often called geotargeting, ensures your message resonates within specific markets or city centers. This approach is particularly beneficial for brands with a regional focus, allowing them to concentrate their efforts where it matters most. For CTV advertisers, understanding 

 and how it can elevate your campaigns becomes pivotal to crafting targeted and impactful strategies.

With geotargeting, precision is the key. Different geotargeting strategies allow marketers to fine-tune their approach based on specific geographical parameters. Marketers can narrow their audience down to designated market areas (DMAs), cities, regions, zip codes, and more. This granular level of targeting becomes crucial when a product or service is only available in specific parts of the country. Geotargeting, in essence, ensures that advertising efforts are not squandered in areas where the product or service cannot be serviced effectively.

Example: Consider a local restaurant chain utilizing geographic targeting to reach potential customers within a 10-mile radius. By promoting daily specials and exclusive offers, the restaurant maximizes the impact of its CTV advertising, resonating specifically with the local audience.

How would you demographically describe your target audience(s)?

In defining your target audience demographically, moving beyond conventional boundaries is crucial. While age and gender are common considerations, the spectrum of demographic data is vast, encompassing marital status, household size, ethnicity, income level, education, professions, and more. Many products, in fact, cater to multiple target audiences, each with unique demographic characteristics and distinct values tied to your product. The level of specificity or broadness in your approach hinges on the nature of your product and the nuances of each audience segment.

For some products, a broader approach may prove advantageous, especially when aiming for mass appeal. Targeting broad demographic groups, like adults 18+ or parents with kids, becomes a strategic move to maximize reach and establish a foundation for widespread brand recognition. Conversely, when a product is designed to resonate with distinct and diverse consumer groups, fine-tuning your demographic targeting becomes paramount.

Example: Imagine a skincare brand with a product line tailored for both young adults battling acne and mature individuals combating signs of aging. In this scenario, a nuanced demographic targeting strategy involves tailoring ads to reach both age groups distinctly. By doing so, the brand speaks directly to the unique concerns of each demographic, fostering a deeper connection and resonating more effectively with its diverse consumer base.

What behavioral characteristics does your target audience(s) exhibit?

When delving into your target audience, it's essential to transcend conventional demographic constraints. Your customers are intricate beings, reflecting a kaleidoscope of behavioral characteristics—personal intricacies like affinities, hobbies, and interests; behavioral nuances encompassing lifestyle, habits, and propensities; diverse consumption habits like ownership, purchase behavior, and brand preferences; and even experiential stages that encompass past behavior, life moments, and micro-events. Let's encapsulate this rich mosaic of human subtleties under the term "behavioral characteristics."

Deciphering and harnessing these diverse behavioral characteristics unlocks the potential for finely-tuned outreach strategies, forging a profound connection with your audience. It's not merely about demographic labels; it's about unveiling the triggers that spark their consideration of your product.

Example: A travel agency collaborates with a third-party audience provider. By tapping into the provider's insights, the agency targets individuals immersed in extensive research about various European destinations. This strategic alignment with behavioral characteristics ensures that the CTV campaign resonates with aspiring European vacationers, effortlessly promoting the agency's enticing and affordable packaged trips to diverse European destinations.

What types of content genres make sense with your product or service?

With the demise of third-party cookies, achieving accurate behavioral targeting is becoming increasingly challenging. Fortunately, genres can serve as effective proxies for audience profiles, offering a workaround in this evolving landscape. For instance, individuals passionate about home decor might find themselves engrossed in home makeover shows, while those eyeing new kitchen aids might gravitate toward cooking shows.

 becomes a beacon for marketers seeking precision. Aligning your brand with specific content genres that resonate with your target audience provides a contextual relevance that transcends traditional cookie-based approaches. This strategic immersion places your brand seamlessly within the consumer's chosen narrative.

Example: Consider a fitness brand utilizing CTV contextual buys by sponsoring health and wellness content. They can do so by working within publishers’ genre-specific private marketplaces. By intertwining its message with content that already captivates viewers focused on well-being, the brand not only ensures contextual relevance but also establishes a genuine connection within a shared narrative. This strategic alignment enhances the impact of the brand's message, fostering a deeper resonance with the audience.

What viewing behavior do your best customers exhibit, and can we find more like them?

Answering this question may seem daunting, but fear not—collaborating with a trusted partner like Simulmedia can illuminate the way. Just 

Take a moment to ponder your digital footprint, from your main website to microsites and apps. At a fundamental level, placing a pixel on your site or leveraging your Mobile Measurement Partner to profile app users opens a window into the TV consumption habits of your audience.

For more precision, especially if your site boasts significant traffic, we can delve deeper. Imagine understanding the TV viewership behavior of individuals who have added items to their shopping cart—a level of specificity that transforms targeting strategies. Additionally, your CRM holds a treasure trove of data, allowing us to profile the TV viewership behavior of customers in your database.

Once armed with the profile of an anonymized pool of your visitors or customers, we can employ the power of lookalike modeling. This strategic approach involves identifying new prospects exhibiting similar behavioral patterns, effectively expanding your reach with precision.

Example: Picture an online fashion retailer utilizing CTV lookalike modeling. By targeting audiences mirroring the TV consumption patterns of their most loyal customers, this retailer not only expands its customer base but does so with surgical precision, ensuring the outreach aligns seamlessly with the preferences of their existing audience.

Are There External Factors, Such as Seasonality or Weather, That Make Your Product More Appealing?

Understanding the impact of external factors like seasonality and weather is crucial for an effective CTV advertising strategy. Seasonal and weather targeting provides a powerful way to stay relevant by aligning your CTV campaign with consumer needs influenced by seasons or weather conditions. It enhances personalization and focuses your CTV advertising efforts by allowing you to tailor your CTV buys based on the regions or times where your product is most relevant. Additionally, it enables adaptability by allowing you to respond to changing consumer behavior in real time.

Example: A travel agency might use CTV advertising to promote sunny destinations during especially cold days during the winter months, or a streaming service could highlight cozy content on rainy days. By leveraging external factors in CTV advertising, marketers can tailor campaigns with precision, ensuring maximum impact and relevance.

Who Are Your Competitors Currently Reaching with Their Advertising, and Does It Make Sense to Target Them as Well to Increase Your Share-of-Voice?

Understanding your competitors' reach in advertising is crucial for devising a strategic campaign that enhances your share of voice. While it might be challenging to gauge a competitor's reach in their shared target audience, 

Once you have your hands on these insights, conquesting campaigns come into play. By strategically targeting the audience your competitors are reaching, you not only disrupt their share of voice but also increase your own visibility among potential customers. You can tailor your approach based on market conditions — a red ocean strategy involves dialing up spend in specific DMAs where competitors dominate the share-of-voice, intensifying the competition. On the other hand, a blue ocean strategy focuses on DMAs where both you and your competitors have a low share of voice, presenting an opportunity to capture market share in less contested territories.

Example: Consider a scenario where a new streaming service aims to challenge an established competitor. By employing a conquesting campaign, the newcomer strategically increases its CTV advertising spend in DMAs where the competitor holds sway. This red ocean approach not only disrupts the competitor's dominance but also elevates the newcomer's share of voice, making waves in the competitive landscape.

Creative and Media Strategies: Crafting the Message

Diversifying creatives for different audience segments, paired with optimizing media plans, enhances the effectiveness of upper-funnel campaigns, by ensuring a dynamic and resonant message that captivates diverse viewer preferences.

Example: A car manufacturer tailors its creatives differently for families, adventure seekers, and tech enthusiasts, optimizing media placement for maximum impact.

Metrics in this phase focus on reach and frequency, aiming to keep the brand top-of-mind and capture early interest in the sales funnel. They often can extend to mid-funnel metrics, such as site visitation or app installs.

Precision Targeting: Strategies for Lower-Funnel Success

In the lower funnel, where the goal is to transition prospects into valued customers, precision targeting takes center stage. This phase hinges on refined strategies, directing efforts towards high-intent audiences and actions that propel conversions. A powerful tool in this arsenal is CTV retargeting, a strategic approach that capitalizes on the familiarity already established with potential customers.

 operates on the principle that targeting those who have visited your site or app yet haven't completed a purchase and those who have encountered your CTV ad but haven't taken action yet can significantly amplify conversion efforts. The effectiveness of retargeting lies in capturing the attention of individuals who have already shown interest, ensuring your brand remains top-of-mind during their decision-making process.

Example: Consider an e-commerce platform leveraging CTV retargeting. For those who visited their site without making a purchase, a strategic retargeting campaign nudges them towards making a transaction, gently reminding them of the brand and encouraging them to return. Simultaneously, for those who have seen their CTV ad but have yet to take action, a well-timed retargeting effort keeps the brand in their consideration set. It's a delicate balance, avoiding over-frequency while strategically using retargeting to remain present in the consumer's mind at the critical moment of purchase intent.

Metrics in this phase focus on lower-funnel metrics such as successful purchases and transactions or leads generated from form fills.

The Harmonious Symphony: Crafting a Holistic CTV Strategy

The key to CTV success lies in orchestrating a balanced approach across the entire customer journey. While optimizing for lower funnel conversions is vital, neglecting the upper funnel can stifle long-term growth. Crafting a holistic strategy sustains growth by continually feeding the marketing funnel with new prospects and awareness.

In conclusion, CTV campaigns are a multifaceted landscape, offering marketers a spectrum of strategies to capture and engage audiences across different stages of the customer journey. By tailoring campaigns to each phase, marketers can unlock the full potential of CTV advertising, creating a seamless and effective brand narrative.

For advertisers who work in Connected TV (CTV), crafting a successful campaign involves understanding the nuances of the customer journey and tailoring a CTV strategy accordingly. Let's embark on a journey through the layers of CTV campaigns, exploring how marketers strategically navigate the upper and lower funnels to achieve optimal results.

Unveiling the Spectrum: Navigating Through Different Types of CTV Campaigns

 is paramount for digital advertising success. This comprehensive guide delves into the intricacies of crafting a winning strategy for Connected TV (CTV) and Over-The-Top (OTT), shedding light on the importance of precision and adaptability in the ever-evolving landscape.

Grasping the Core of Strategy: Defining Strategy and Its Significance

Essentially, a strategy functions as the guiding framework for your actions, ensuring that each step is in harmony with your business goals. In the context of streaming advertising, precision is crucial. This segment will delve into the fundamental aspects of a streaming strategy, underscoring the importance of a meticulously designed plan that connects seamlessly with the audience, guaranteeing optimal influence and return on investment (ROI).

Marketers face a pivotal decision in choosing between CTV and OTT campaigns, as each comes with distinct characteristics. The primary consideration revolves around screen size and user experience. CTV campaigns are designed for the big screen, offering an immersive, lean-back experience. In contrast, OTT campaigns extend across various devices, accommodating on-the-go and interactive viewing experiences on smaller screens.

Marketers need to decide which platform aligns better with their campaign goals and audience preferences. Opting for CTV ensures a focus on the premium, larger screen experience, while OTT caters to the flexibility demanded by smaller screens and diverse devices.

Adding to the complexity, vendors often use the terms CTV and OTT interchangeably, leading to potential confusion for marketers. Understanding the distinction is crucial, especially since CTV advertising tends to be more expensive due to its exclusive focus on larger screens. Marketers must be clear about what they are paying for and choose the platform that best suits their campaign objectives and target audience.

This section takes a top-down approach, addressing the fundamental questions of why, what, when, where, and how of CTV strategy:

Why (Goals): Clarifying the ultimate goal of your streaming campaign.

Clarifying the ultimate goal of your streaming campaign is the foundational step. Defining the objectives of your streaming initiative, whether centered on brand awareness, increased traffic, enhanced sales, or app installations, establishes a clear roadmap for the entire campaign. Key performance indicators (KPIs) such as site visits, revenue generation, and return on ad spend (ROAS) become pivotal benchmarks for gauging success.

Who (Target Audience): Understanding the target audience through detailed buyer personas.

Gaining insight into your target audience involves developing detailed buyer personas through a blend of qualitative and quantitative research. This process goes beyond demographic information, delving into psychographics to foster a deeper connection with viewers. Aligning content with buyer personas not only shapes campaign targeting strategy but also ensures a cohesive and resonant approach.

What (Message in Creative Strategy): Crafting a compelling message that adds value and resonates with your audience.

The heart of a streaming campaign lies in the creative strategy's message. Craft a compelling message by addressing the fundamental problems or tasks your audience seeks solutions for. Promotions that resonate personally with your audience add value to your message, creating urgency and excitement.

When (Timing, How Long, How Often): Determining your campaign's optimal timing, duration, and frequency.

Timing, duration, and frequency are critical elements. Consider the nature of your product and determine the most opportune moments to showcase it. Whether adopting a continuous or seasonal approach, finding the right balance ensures your message remains impactful without overwhelming your audience.

Where (Media Buying Avenues): Identifying strategic places to connect with your audience in the CTV landscape.

Pinpointing the ideal places to connect with your audience in the CTV landscape is pivotal. Understanding the CTV supply chain, differentiating between publishers and sellers, and navigating potential challenges ensure effective media buying strategies.

How Much (Investment, Cost-per-reach Targets): Strategically planning the investment and setting cost-per-reach targets.

Strategic investment planning involves understanding audience distribution between linear TV and CTV. Utilizing planning tools and media mix models ensures optimal budget allocation. Clear cost-per-reach goals refine the investment strategy for optimal outcomes.

Against Whom (Competitor Analysis): Analyzing competitors to disrupt and increase brand visibility.

Thorough competitor analysis is imperative for a disruptive CTV strategy. Understanding competitors' reach and success sets the stage for strategic maneuvers, including conquesting campaigns that target the same audience, disrupting competitors' share of voice, and amplifying your brand's visibility.

How (Campaign Strategy): Optimizing campaign strategy across the entire funnel.

A nuanced understanding of the target audience and product is crucial for a successful CTV campaign strategy. Tailoring strategies at each stage of the customer journey, including geographic priorities, demographic targeting, and contextual relevance through content genres, ensures a comprehensive and effective streaming strategy. Let’s next dive into the specifics of designing CTV campaigns to support the strategy.

Developing a robust strategy for CTV advertising is paramount for digital advertising success.. This comprehensive guide delves into the intricacies of crafting a winning strategy for Connected TV (CTV), shedding light on the importance of precision and adaptability in the ever-evolving landscape.

CTV Ad Targeting 101: An Advertiser’s Guide to Getting Started

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