“[Consumers] are going to get to that point where they’re rolling their eyes when your commercial comes on, because they’ve seen it over and over many times, and it was enough to evoke that negative response. That’s a problem,” Tim Edmundson, senior director of content and research at MNTN, said on our “What This Year’s Stats Tell Us About 2024’s Trends” webinar.
To maximize impact in a crowded connected TV (CTV) ad market, Edmundson suggests four ways advertisers can rethink their video creative.
1. A creative workaround
Diversify your ad creative. “You want to engage your audience, and that’s what TV is fantastic for. So lean into the creative leeway you have with TV,” Edmundson said about taking advantage of a viewer who’s likely to be on a big screen with the sound turned on, as opposed to one on a mobile phone.
Creative variations don’t have to be costly or daunting. Scaling your video ad development can be as easy as making slight tweaks, Edmundson said, including:
- Editing the order of footage
- Changing the focus of certain scenes
- Adjusting the call to action, voiceover, or other language
- Incorporating clips from a video marketplace
2. Consider who’s watching
“Think about [your ad] through the lens of what you offer and who your audiences are,” Edmundson said.
Capitalize on CTV’s unique targeting capabilities and tailor different creatives to speak to Gen Zers and millennials, for example.
3. Take a holistic approach
Look broadly at your CTV ad goals and rework your creative accordingly. An advertiser that has an “evergreen presence” will need more ad variations and needs to strike the right balance between delivering consistent, memorable messaging while devising innovative ways to stay fresh, even throughout a yearlong campaign.
Use seasonal campaigns to be timely, aligning with tentpole moments. “Adjust that message to be tied to a sale or event, or something that you want to draw attention to, such as a different value proposition for that specific time,” Edmundson said.
4. Experiment with different formats
Effective CTV ad creatives and variations don’t have to involve expensive video shoots and high production values.
Edmundson cited Coinbase’s 2022 Super Bowl commercial, which featured a QR code bouncing on-screen for a full minute. The QR code, which linked to a limited promotion, was so highly scanned that it temporarily crashed the Coinbase app.
In 2024, Edmundson expects more iterations of these shoppable CTV ads. “Publishers or tech solutions [will find] novel ways of breaking down that transition from seeing the ad [on-screen] to the user taking action.”
It will take time, though. “A lot of marketers have long sales cycles, so don’t get too discouraged if your ad doesn’t immediately generate a visit or a conversion. This can be a long-paced game,” Edmundson said.
Why does it matter: As more ad-supported streaming services enter the CTV ecosystem, inventory will increase. Visibility into the CTV ad supply chain, however, may remain murky, making frequency capping difficult.
- In 2024, free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) viewers will reach 104.4 million, while ad-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) viewers will hit 180.2 million, per our forecasts.
- 40% of US adults have increased their viewing time on FASTs in the past year, according to Aluma Insights.
- The concurrent growth of viewership and ad loads on FAST and AVOD services may accelerate ad fatigue even further.
Watch the full webinar.
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