Connected TV (CTV) Advertising
A smart TV which is also called a hybrid TV or more appropriately referred to as a connected TV is a television set with internet that is integrated and has interactive features that can be described as of the “Web 2.0” standard. The Connected TV can be viewed as the technology where the flat screen television,-set-top boxes and computers merge in a technological sense to provide what the modern consumers want.
These devices which have the ordinary television functions like broadcasting traditional content also have the added capacity of Internet TV. They can offer OTT content, On-demand streaming of content, online media that is interactive. They also come with home network capabilities.
Various types of advertising can be supported which includes advanced capabilities to benefit the marketers and their various ad campaigns. Many referred to the possibilities that connected television offer as “t-commerce”. The television sets offer the possibility of bidirectional flow of information which allows for observation of the viewers.
The generic television commercials have always depended on some general ideas of what the customer would view and then slotted commercials in what would appeal to the assumed viewer. This was done in some instances totally missing the target market for whom the commercial was intended for. The television industry realized that there must be a new type of advertising that can be tracked, measured and that targets the correct segment of the market.
The television industry has changed and it is estimated that conventional television like cable will decrease and that more households will opt for smart TV’s in their homes. This is to satisfy the needs of viewers to be able to pick what they want to watch. This is being done by subscriptions to services like Netflix which they watch on smart TV’s. Viewers are not limited by what is on air, they watch anything that they want when it suits them by streaming it from services that are internet based. Marketers have no choice but to adapt to the new technology. The internet service providers are making more money by constantly improving on quality and speed to enable a better download or streaming experience which leads to more technological advances and improvement in the functions that connected TV can offer.
What can connected TV advertising offer to a business that they can’t achieve with the conventional 30-second commercials that worked so well? As indicated above, the consumer was a bit of a captive audience and had to sit through commercials while watching cable television with a set program schedule. All that has changed now, the new consumer is in perfect control of their viewing. They ignore online ads that pop-up and banish emails to the spam folder, they are definitely not an audience that is captured.
The properties of connected TV’s are assisting businesses to become more aware of what interests their customers and how they behave. The connected TV’s and the streaming services allow data to be harvested which allows for ads that will be relevant to the group that it is intended for. The results of the advertising campaigns can be accurately measured and instead of guestimates, there can be more accurate viewing results. Many already make use of this data, like for instance when you order a program that you want to stream you will see ads that will promote other programs that might interest you based on your choices.
There are also services that are free which offer opportunities for ads to be delivered to your target audience. The ads support the streaming service and enable it to be offered free of charge. Another benefit is that it is not limited to televisions but can be watched on any device that the content is streamed on, this creates multiple streams of advertising.
The new buzzword is Connected TV (CTV) advertising, be part of it and reach your potential customers on any device where they are streaming content on. We can assist you to really meet your customers anywhere, don’t hesitate. Be a leader and not a follower, set the standard for connected television advertising.
