More than ever, the way we consume media is multivariate and expansive. Reaching consumers in 2024 means being present across all platforms (no matter how your customer is watching), understanding viewing habits, and prioritizing multi-device consumers. As the media landscape shifts, so must our marketing strategies. Tried and true methods may not be as effective as they once were, and it's easy to fall behind. Marketers must analyze and reformulate their marketing strategies in order to stay relevant, stay active, and stay on top.
Connected TV reached new heights in 2023, and it's expected to go even further in 2024. In a 2023 Digiday poll, three significant statistics were discovered:
By 2024, 24% of brands expect CTV to represent 60-80% of their revenue — a year ago, that was just 7%.
66% of advertisers have reallocated social media funds to CTV, with other performance marketing channels not far behind
A combined 76% of marketers said that CTV was a moderately significant to very significant component of their advertising programs.
Cord Cutting Isn't Losing Momentum
2023 marked the first year that U.S. cord-cutting households overtook pay TV households. For the first time ever, broadcast and cable fell below 50%--and marketers are taking notice. CTV spending is forecasted to rise through 2027 until it accounts for almost half of all US TV ad spending.
Why is CTV revenue and influence through the roof?
CTV represents an optimal way to diversify revenue since CTV ads often yield higher ad recall and engagement rates. CTV ads cannot be skipped, forcing the audience to finish the ad from start to finish before continuing with their program. Since many ads are integrated within the video, the ads will usually range from a minute to a couple of minutes — short enough to keep your attention and not long enough to leave your seat. CTV ads are also professionally produced, which makes the ads engaging, fun to watch, and relevant to the times.
Digital Advertising's Third Wave: Video
Including OTT services in your TV media mix is a phenomenal way to complete your advertising set, ensuring high visibility for audiences everywhere. We are currently in the third wave of digital advertising — video. The first wave started in the noughties with search engines, led by Google, and the second wave was social media, led by Facebook.
Now, the third age is upon us. Following in the footsteps of its predecessors is video. Video is wide-ranging, varied, and diverse. Some examples include streaming, YouTube, social videos (short form, like on Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram), news, and others. With more and more people preferring video as their primary form of content consumption, the necessity of CTV advertising is becoming a vital component in your TV media mix.
CTV Playing a Bigger Role in Advertising Programs
CTV's revenue reached nearly $26 billion in 2023 and is expected to continue to rise to $42 million in 2028. With CTV's ability to deliver targeted, immersive content to viewers on their connected devices, CTV advertising has gained significant momentum. Overall, there was a 10.9% growth in 2023 and a 13.8% growth expected in 2024, and CTV is where all the ad revenue growth is coming from. Because of this, advertising programs have begun to pivot, focusing on filling the gaps of their OTA media mix with CTV spending. Experts predict that combined spending on CTV and traditional TV will grow each year, closing in on $100 billion by 2027.
CTV's Cross-Channel and Targeted Advertisements
CTV continues to play a central role in cross-channel advertising strategies. One of CTV's best attributes is its seamless and foolproof integration with already established cross-channel advertising strategies. CTV provides advertisers with a powerful tool to reach audiences across the TV spectrum, from streaming services to YouTube, and this allows advertisers to gauge ad campaign effectiveness more thoroughly.
CTV's broad targeting capabilities are a core feature of its effectiveness. With CTV, advertisers can customize their ads, using precise audience engagement analytics to reach their target audiences effectively. Traditional TV ads typically reach a broad, non-specific audience, utilizing a one-size-fits-all methodology. But with CTV's enhanced targeting, distinct audience demographics can be targeted with particular advertisements that fit their lifestyle and viewing habits. Think of it this way: CTV isn't a replacement for traditional TV-it completes traditional TV.
The real-time data-driven insights from CTV allow advertisers to analyze viewership habits, trends, behaviors, and specific ad performance. This enables advertisers to optimize their ad campaigns and make smarter decisions on what's working and what's not, elevating engagement and boosting conversion rates.
CTV Democratizing the TV Advertising Landscape
CTV's open ad marketplace enables new types of advertisers to play on the big screen, leveling the playing field for brands of all sizes. Advertising on television has traditionally come with a high price tag, which has edged out small, local, and social brands from being able to participate. Scaled streamers and big broadcasters also typically have deep-rooted relationships with advertisers with huge advertising and sales teams. But with CTV's new ad structure, the democratization of ad space has been blown wide open.
The new digital, social, and local advertisers understand their data and utilize their tech to their full ability to find their audience and optimize their advertisements. These new advertisers are technologically savvy and are willing and able to leverage the open marketplace of CTV to make real-time decisions with their advertising campaigns and optimizations, with performance marketing as their primary focus.
CTV Outcomes with Performance Marketing
Television advertising has two focuses: Brand awareness and performance marketing. Traditionally, brand awareness has been the main focus of many advertisers, but recently, performance marketing has begun to gain significant traction, mainly because of CTV advertising. Performance marketing is a strategy that delivers clear, direct, measurable outcomes and is a central tenet of CTV. Performance marketing goals include boosting website traffic, elevating conversions, increasing revenue, and aligning these performances with your advertising strategies. Other goals of performance marketing include:
Targeted audience advertisements
Tailored advertising campaigns
Creative freedom and flexibility
Instant reporting on campaign effectiveness
Ad length selections (15 or 30 seconds)
An Optimistic Outlook for 2024
The momentum in CTV advertising and viewership shows no signs of slowing down. With CTV's user base spanning a wide range of generations, young and old, advertisers must recognize the potential and growth of CTV. Data from TVision reveals that time spent on ad-supported CTV has surged by an impressive 55%, now claiming a 48% share.
Most American households with televisions have internet-connecting devices like smart TVs, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, video game systems, and Blu-ray players. CTV-equipped households will soon surpass traditional linear TV, more than doubling in number.
CMG's complete "over the air (OTA) strategy" is necessary for advertisers wanting to amplify their marketing in the new year. The video-everywhere approach is the best way to reach consumers because no matter what screen someone may be on, video is always front and center. CMG can access over 500 thousand screens and create over 66 billion impressions in a 210+ market.
Magna's optimistic outlook for next year includes a stable economy, lower inflation rates, and the strength of digital. 2024 will also be a US election year, and many national and international sporting events are forecasted, like the Paris Olympic Games and the UEFA European Football Championship. Magna predicts that these broadcasts will elevate ad spending exponentially.
Better Together: Add CTV to Your TV Media Mix for Maximize Reach
Capture your consumers who are already leaned in and persuade them to take the final step and pull the trigger. As the world becomes increasingly connected, reaching internet users is of the utmost importance, and with CMG, we can reach 96% of all US internet users.
No matter what your ideal customer is watching or what device they're using, CMG's exclusive partnerships enable them to put your message right in front of ready-to-buy consumers. As more streaming services and viewers begin to embrace ads, CTV should be one of the focal points of your marketing strategy. With hyper-personalized targeting, robust analytics, and elements like non-skippable ads, your OTT video content can elicit the responses you want from consumers regardless of the devices they're using to stream.
Don't fall behind — Prepare your 2024 advertising campaign with CMG today.
