For the last year or so I have been intrigued by the CTV market. Actually my interest dates way back to when Google had a short lived TV ad offering many years ago. Back then I remember thinking this would change the game for networks, advertisers, and agencies. I thought as a Digital Agency we would be well positioned to begin buying “TV” ads for clients. My thinking then, is the same as it is now. People buying digital ads are more accustomed to the methods now available in buying ads on TVs. No longer are the conversations just about dayparts, stations, and programs. No longer are advertisers restricted to what a third party says the audience of a program is.
The world has changed and so have the ways people consume media and the way advertisers buy media. As far as the strategies and tactics I feel will lead to success in this new environment, I will save that for a future post.
However, what I am thinking about today is the increasing number of platforms/services/call them whatever you want, that are offering CTV. This feels very much like the early rise of DSPs. Back then I thought “Why does the world need so many?. What will make any of them standout? How many will survive?”.
Now with many CTV campaigns under our belts, I am thinking history may be repeating itself. Yes, each CTV buying option may have a few unique bells and whistles. But features are often easily incorporated into other platforms if they are deemed of real value.
And like each CTV buying option may have some positive differentiators for a moment, they likely also have unique pitfalls too. Most of those are only uncovered through testing, dissecting, and at times absorbing pain to uncover them.
So what do I think will be the greatest determination of an advertiser’s success in CTV? If we set proper expectation setting aside, I think it will come down to real strategy. Simply relying on a platform you are paying money to for the best direction is often a fool’s errand.
So whether you have the right people internally or are working with an agency, I strongly suggest you spend more time developing an in-depth strategy than you do worrying about which platforms/services/call them whatever you want, you choose. The conduits to CTV will be fewer after they become greater. And the need for a comprehensive strategy will always be here.