How to harness incrementality measurement for CTV success
Micah Motta, Senior Content Writer, Adjust, Nov 09, 2023.
Today’s app marketing is expansive, covering multiple devices, platforms, and channels—from a display ad on desktop to in-stream video ads on a connected TV (CTV) device. As savvy marketers embrace cross-device marketing, most recognize that they need to incorporate, and even master, incrementality measurement to determine the impact of a specific factor in their marketing efforts.
One channel that particularly shows its benefit via incrementality measurement is CTV. However, many mobile app marketers are hesitant to tap into CTV in the first place, unfamiliar with how to tackle CTV advertising, let alone measure incremental reach on the channel. Below we’ll shed light on the power of combining the two together to maximize your app’s reach.
Refresher: What is incrementality?
As the term pertains to marketing, incrementality is the linking of a specific marketing effort, such as a particular tactic, campaign, or channel, to a direct impact on key performance indicators (KPIs).
Why incrementality should matter to app marketers
In the age of post-ID marketing, incrementality allows marketers to fine-tune their campaigns with accurate, detailed insights taken from aggregated data. This is no small feat in light of newer privacy frameworks coming into play, such as Apple’s SKAdNetwork and Google’s Privacy Sandbox on Android.
Incrementality lets marketers explore and test new markets, channels, and campaigns to understand which efforts—such as new campaigns or budget changes—are providing paid lift and which are cannibalizing their organic traffic.
When paired with next-generation measurement solutions like media mix modeling (MMM), incrementality testing also enables marketers to predict how each of the factors they’re testing will impact their long-term marketing strategy and then best plan their budgets accordingly.
Having the ability to isolate the individual impact of your campaign factors, particularly as the mobile marketing ecosystem continues to become more privacy-centric, is invaluable. Therefore, today’s marketers should future-proof their app’s sustainability by demystifying incrementality and incorporating it into their campaign strategies.
Jan Ahtiainen
Senior Product Manager, Adjust
Convinced? Explore incrementality measurement in CTV
Now that we’ve covered the power of incrementality for app marketing overall, let’s dive into applying it to CTV marketing. Expected to grow by 13,2% globally and hit US$25.9 billion by the end of 2023, CTV is not only one of the fastest-growing advertising channels, but it’s also a channel that is uniquely positioned to demonstrate its benefits to marketers via incrementality measurement. (To learn more about the current state of CTV and how it’s ripe with opportunities for mobile app marketers, check out our ebook with CTV insights for app marketers.)
Between 30-50% of the total reach on CTV is incremental and exclusive, meaning it’s a platform with proven incremental reach and a great channel to start experimenting with incrementality. Marketers are beginning to venture into CTV advertising expressly for its incrementality capabilities, as it allows them to engage with previously untapped audiences and account for lifts. In fact, 35% of advertisers who are increasing their CTV spend this year cite that they are doing so because the channel “Delivers incremental reach”.
How to measure CTV incrementality
As a mobile app marketer, you’re likely used to measuring clicks, installs, and other tangible proof of user interaction with your ads. However, most CTV devices do not currently offer clickable ad campaigns (although this is starting to change). So, to test the effectiveness of a CTV campaign, marketers can utilize incrementality testing.
At their core, all incrementality tests run similarly to a/b testing and split a target audience into a control group that doesn’t see the CTV ad at all and a test group that is exposed to the ad, comparing for effectiveness. If the ad’s performance is higher than the control group, then marketers will know the factor they are testing is providing positive incremental lift.
The three main methods to measure incrementality on CTV
Below we’ve listed the most popular CTV incrementality testing methods. Which methodology you apply depends on your marketing goals, type of measurement, and budget.
- Geo-testing
As the name suggests, the exposed group in this form of testing is based on a specific geographical region, with the rest of your marketing acting as the control group. Geo testing typically demands upfront investment and a good deal of planning.
- PSA testing
In Public Service Announcement (PSA) testing, marketers compare the performance of their CTV ad to that of an unrelated PSA ad that the control group watches. In short, they use the PSA ad as their benchmark. However, like geo testing, PSA testing also requires significant investment.
- Predictive modeling
Using a third-party measurement platform like Adjust, marketers can run campaigns as usual, and this platform will analyze campaign performance against industry benchmarks, which act as the control group. The model then predicts the outcome of the campaign if the marketer had not adjusted a test variable, such as a creative, channel, or budget.
One feature of predictive modeling is its use of synthetic control groups, which have matching variables to the test group, such as user behavior, demographics, and other factors. The synthetic control group is then to the test group that was exposed to the ad. While you’ll likely need to partner with an advanced measurement partner to create synthetic control groups, ensure that this partner can guarantee that the data they collect is done in a privacy-compliant manner.
The incrementality testing method of predictive modeling provides the most flexibility as marketers can carry on with their campaigns without investing large amounts of research and budgets to test the impact of a single marketing variable.
Pointers on starting incremental performance on CTV
As you tackle incremental measurement for your CTV ads, take into account the following tips to ensure your efforts are properly supported from the beginning.
Get unbiased measurement
Marketers should verify ad impressions from their CTV ad campaigns independently from programming and your multiple media partners. A robust mobile measurement partner (MMP) that’s equipped with a CTV solution will provide accurate and reliable attribution data across all of your cross-platform campaigns, plus incrementality reporting for CTV, so you can confidently make smarter decisions regarding all of your marketing endeavors.
Operate from a unified view
No campaign should be viewed in a silo, which is why it’s imperative to see all marketing efforts in an MMP like Adjust. The MMP will unify all of your user touchpoints and marketing data across platforms into a single dashboard. Its analytics and reporting will help you see how your campaigns interconnect—particularly relevant in observing how your CTV ads impact other channels. For example, you should be able to see if your CTV campaign is driving conversion or uplift on a mobile app campaign and optimize accordingly.
Did you know that Adjust has the most comprehensive CTV solution for app marketers on the market? Complete with early access incrementality measurement and the largest CTV partnership network, Adjust’s CTV AdVision lets marketers determine the exact impact of their CTV campaigns to prove ROI. Request your demo today!
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