CTV: The Right Way vs. The Wrong Way

Marketers are at a crossroads. There’s a right way and a wrong way to approach CTV campaigns, and unfortunately, the industry often gravitates towards practices that may seem beneficial but ultimately fall short. This mirrors issues seen in other programmatic channels, where incorrect buying practices have become the norm.

 

The Wrong Approach: Quantity Over Quality

 

Many buyers in the CTV space are making a critical mistake: they’re prioritizing reach and low CPMs over strategic targeting and quality inventory. Their approach typically involves:

 

1. Loading third-party segments indiscriminately
2. Blasting ads across all available CTV content
3. Neglecting inventory quality and platform alignment
4. Focusing solely on cross-device attribution
5. Driving CPMs as low as possible

 

While this method may seem cost-effective on paper, it often results in wasted ad spend and suboptimal campaign performance.

 

The Right Approach: Strategic Allocation and Targeting

 

The correct way to run CTV campaigns requires a more nuanced and strategic approach:

 

1. Identify High-Performing Publishers: Analyze which publishers deliver the best performance for your specific campaign goals.
2. Allocate Separate Budgets: Assign distinct budgets to each top-performing publisher to prevent budget cannibalization.
3. Tailor Your Audience Solution: Develop targeted audience strategies for each publisher, moving away from generic run-of-publisher approaches.
4. Focus on Quality Inventory: Prioritize paid subscription apps with a mix of live and on-demand content, which often yield better results.
5. Look Beyond Platform Metrics: Don’t be fooled by surface-level metrics or low CPMs. Dig deeper to understand true campaign performance.

The Power of Optimization

 

After analyzing hundreds of programmatic setups and running Media Mix Models (MMMs) for clients, we can confidently say that optimizing for performance using the right approach consistently outperforms the wrong one. It’s not just about reaching a large audience; it’s about reaching the right audience in the right context.

 

CTV vs. Linear TV: Understanding the Shift

 

To fully appreciate the importance of getting CTV right, it’s crucial to understand how it differs from traditional linear TV:

 

• Linear TV (One-to-Many): In the past, buying a TV spot meant reaching millions of viewers simultaneously. It was a powerful, easily accessible tactic to get in front of consumers.
• CTV (One-to-One): Most CTV impressions are served individually—one ad, one viewer. This shift raises new questions about viewership and engagement that were unthinkable in the linear TV era.

 

While linear TV is declining, the lesson of its effectiveness shouldn’t be forgotten. The challenge now is to harness the targeting capabilities of CTV to serve a highly impactful TV ads rather than the broad approach of linear.

 

Embracing the Future of TV Advertising

 

As we navigate the transition from linear TV to CTV, it’s crucial to adapt our strategies accordingly. Don’t throw out one-to-many tactics just because they’re harder to attribute. Instead, focus on developing a nuanced CTV strategy that leverages the precise targeting of CTV for maximum impact.

 

By avoiding the common pitfalls of CTV advertising and embracing a more strategic approach, marketers can unlock the true potential of this powerful medium. Remember, in the world of CTV, quality trumps quantity every time.