Top Questions to Ask a Connected TV Partner
With the rapid increase in streaming TV viewing, more advertisers are looking for the best ways to leverage this important ad channel and turning to premium partners to address their key questions.
These are the top questions we hear from clients looking to maximize their CTV investment.
What is Connected TV or CTV advertising?
Connected TV (CTV) ads are digital video commercials that run on streaming apps through internet-connected TVs, versus traditional cable or network television services. CTV is a subset of Over-the-Top (OTT) or Advanced TV, which includes streaming TV content on any device, including tablets, computers and gaming systems. While the terms are often used interchangeably, many advertisers find the best performance when campaigns are delivered across streaming TV solutions, reaching more of their target audience, regardless of the device they are using. Depending on the campaign objective, your digital media partner will often make recommendations on the percentage of streaming TV ad dollars that go toward CTV versus OTT to achieve the best results.
Who are your key partners for CTV inventory?
Transparency into the quality and scale of CTV channels ensures you are reaching as many of your customers as possible, within content that best fits your brand. CTV advertising partners should have information on their inventory relationships, including their private marketplace deals that offer better access to premium channels, often at a more efficient rate, to maximize your media investment.
What are your targeting capabilities?
Targeting is where CTV advertising shines, with enhanced audience and geotargeting capabilities that ensure your ads reach the customers most relevant to your business. Information on the variety of data partners they use, as well as how they apply and manage targeting, are important for more accurate and precise ad delivery. They should also provide guidance on leveraging first-party data like website visitors, mailing lists, etc. to reach your most engaged consumers.
How do you ensure brand safety and prevent ad fraud?
While there are numerous 3rd party solutions to minimize ad fraud, recognized leaders like HUMAN, DoubleVerify and IAS are best to address challenges specific to Connected TV. In addition to 3rd party relationships, your CTV partner should be able to share the key tactics they implement to ensure brand safety during setup and throughout the entire life of the campaign.
Will my existing video creative work for CTV?
Using existing creative is more efficient and ensures a universal presence, but only if you have access to high-resolution assets, that are :15 or :30 seconds, which are the only commercial lengths available for CTV. Also, because a viewer cannot directly click on a CTV ad, we recommend using a strong visual or audio call-to-action, as well as a logo or URL, to let viewers know who your brand is and where to go to learn more. Getting detailed creative specs early to help guide or modify ad designs is an efficient way to keep your brand looking best on the big screen.
What are some of ways that your team works to optimize CTV campaigns?
Many programmatic platforms offer automated features for optimizing campaigns, but leading ad technology is much more powerful with strong people expertise. How a CTV partner approaches setup, pacing management, frequency capping, advanced trafficking, inventory curation and other tactics are often key differentiators that enhance partner relationships and help maximize campaign performance.
How do you measure results?
You’ve done a lot of work to create the perfect CTV campaign, targeting the right audience on the right channels with the best creative messaging. Now all you need is the right information to gauge results. Most CTV providers offer a wide variety of standard ad metrics including views, completion rate and cross device conversions to help evaluate campaign performance against your KPIs. In addition, any ability to offer customized reporting deliverables including tag management, data system integration, white-labeling, formatting options and more, are areas where premium media partners can create valuable efficiencies for advertisers.
Want to learn more about how Gigawatt Media can drive better results for CTV and your entire media plan? Contact us at connect@gigawatt.media.
