CTV’s evolution brings new possibilities for app marketers

In the U.S. alone, Connected TV (CTV) ad spending is projected to reach US$6.41 billion this year, representing year-over-year growth of 34.6%. The CTV ad market is booming as advertisers uncover the channel’s wide and unique reach. Last month at App Growth Summit London and That Big TV Conference, Adjust's Director of Connected TV & New Channels, Gijsbert Pols, had thought-provoking sessions in which he explored the new frontiers of CTV advertising and measurement. Check out our recap of his most riveting points or watch the video from the App Growth Summit session for full insights.

As we look across the globe, we discover that the CTV ecosystem has grown in both the amount of users and ad spend. Here are a few statistics of the industry at a glance:

• 87.8% of all UK digital video consumers use CTV, and almost 66% of the U.K. population uses CTV daily.
• Ad spend on CTV in the U.S. went up by 59.9% last year.
• Hulu ad revenue reached US$2.7 billion in 2021.
• In 2021, Germany had 49.8 million CTV users.
• French advertisers expect to see a 21.2% growth in CTV ad budgets in 2022.

At Adjust, we’ve been covering the development of CTV for over two years, but let’s take a quick look at how it works and why you should be paying attention to it as a mobile marketer. CTV is a device category covering dongles, smart TV streaming sticks, and set top boxes. All of these serve to deliver TV content via the internet, thus replacing linear TV. The unique ways in which CTV functions and is consumed demands different considerations.

While mobile app marketing predominantly takes place over two device types/operating systems—Android and iOS, CTV currently operates across seven major platforms, including Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Visio, and Apple TV. This makes advertising on CTV slightly more complex, particularly in light of the fact that you can buy ad inventory directly from these CTV platforms, or streaming services, demand-side platforms, and more.

Shifting focus to the user, it’s important to understand how CTV ads are consumed in comparison to mobile ads. Consider the following:

CTV is social

Here Gijsbert quips, “Remember ‘Netflix and chill’”? People are gathering behind their CTV screens with others much more than with traditional TV to watch CTV together. With this in mind, marketers should consider that CTV ads target households and not individuals.

Screen size is impactful

Imagine your ad on a mobile screen and then on a much larger smart TV screen. Which impression seems more powerful? Users are likely more impacted when viewing an ad on a 48.5-inch screen versus a 5.5-inch screen due to the ad’s larger size.

Consumers prefer CTV ads to mobile ads

CTV consumers are more open to your ads on CTV than those that pop up on their mobile phones. Historically, people grew up watching commercials on linear TV. They expect it in their viewing experience and are, therefore, more receptive to CTV ads compared to mobile ads.

Initially, CTV was difficult to measure and only utilized by name brands like Coca-Cola for brand awareness purposes. However, with the evolution of the space, CTV has come into its own as a powerful performance channel.

Gijsbert provides four reasons advertisers can consider CTV a performance channel:

1. Engaged users: Compared to linear TV where viewers had no control over what was played and when, CTV users have total control over what they watch and when, and are, therefore, more engaged.
2. Dual screening: Most CTV platforms allow users to utilize their smartphone as a remote control. With their smartphones, users can comment on what they see, look things up, or engage with an interactive ad on the screen.
3. Interactive ad formats: As mentioned above, CTV enables advertisers to use ad formats that drive performance. Now we’re seeing advertisers come out with more interactive ad formats. In the earlier days of CTV, advertisers mainly relied on QR codes, but have now moved further into shoppable ads, gamified ads, and more.
4. Measurability: The impact of CTV ads on product adoption and sales can be measured directly. We’ll dive deeper into how to measure your CTV ad campaigns below.

In Q1 2022, Adjust helped a client measure a two-week CTV ad campaign, run by two different vendors: tvScientific and Roku OneView. The campaign ran across multiple networks, including Hulu, Roku, Pluto TV, and Tubi, with an attribution window of 72 hours.

The results of the campaign:

• 13 million impressions
• 33.2K users generated directly via CTV
• 0.25% conversion rate on impressions
• 2.4% incremental uplift

The client’s CTV ads significantly impacted the campaign’s results and drove conversions and incremental uplift, thereby proving that CTV is a performance channel with teeth.

To properly measure CTV, marketers must go beyond last-touch attribution to look at what we’ve coined as “the assisting touchpoints”. These are the CTV ads that are served before users convert via other channels.

For instance, a viewer sees a CTV ad for a hyper-casual game. They then research the gaming app on their mobile device, perhaps to see what other people are saying about the game on social media channels, and ultimately convert from social. As many companies only measure the last touch for attribution, the impact of the CTV ad is rendered invisible.

Adjust data has uncovered:

• 120K installs assisted by CTV
• 8.8% installs overall assisted by CTV
• 9.4% installs on iOS assisted by CTV
• 24.9% installs of top-performing channels for iOS were assisted by CTV

Connected TV helps other channels grow. Marketers not accurately measuring CTV’s assisting value will miss out on an increased CTV ad budget, and in turn, miss out on more conversions. Analyzing the assisting value is paramount in capturing the value of CTV as a performance channel.

In conclusion, Gijsbert provided marketers with three insights to better kick-start their CTV campaigns.

1. Pick partners wisely: Find partners that connect you to your specific audiences on CTV.
2. Adapt creatives: Consider the social nature of CTV, its larger screen size and how you can implement interactive ads for your CTV campaigns.
3. Measure the assist: Partner with a mobile measurement provider or mobile analytics provider like Adjust who can deliver on CTV to Mobile measurement and show you its assisting value.

Ready to get started in CTV? Check out CTV AdVision, the first comprehensive CTV measurement solution to prove ROI for your CTV campaigns.