When is the time for DRTV Marketers to Embrace CTV?

Despite the years of headlines screaming about the demise of television, TV is not dead, yet.
Instead how and where TV is watched has evolved with the rise of connected TV (CTV), which
can help breathe new life into TV and empower viewers to take advantage of offers from DRTV
marketers at home or on the go.
With this new breath of life comes a highly effective means of directly engaging existing and
potential customers for direct-to-consumer brands (DTC). However, at this time, it comes at a
high price. And is not always immediately accountable the way terrestrial TV has been.
Connected TV advertising was among the fastest growing for any significant sector of the US
digital ad spending market with advertisers spending over $13 billion on CTV ads in 2021, a
nearly 50% increase from the previous year according to Conviva’s research. It is expected to
grow to $19 billion in 2022. But, were most of those ads for brand advertisers just looking for
reach and frequency?
Because of shorter formats on CTV and the higher cost, many direct response TV (DRTV)
marketers overlook CTV advertising as a viable advertising medium. These marketers may be
missing a significant opportunity to run ads that are highly targeted, unskippable, trackable, and
brand-safe. The CTV spend in combination with terrestrial television can deliver a one-two
punch in ways either can not do alone. It just may require experimentation and ability to look at
the complete picture rather than individual silos.

So why should DRTV marketers embrace CTV advertising?
1) Advertising Reach: 87% of US homes have at least one connected TV, including a
smart TV, phone, video game system or standalone streaming device, such as Apple TV
or an Amazon fire stick and at least 40% of them watch content daily.
2) Measure success with real-time reporting:, CTV advertising provides real-time
metrics such as impressions, completed view rate and reach enabling advertisers to
adjust campaigns in real-time.
3) Higher completion rates: Unlike traditional TV where viewers can change the channel
to avoid a commercial, CTV ads are unskippable, meaning the viewer needs to watch
the entire ad in order to continue viewing their show.
4) More precise targeting at a lower cost: Programmatic advertising uses automated
bids software to buy and sell ad inventory in real-time, instead of traditional manual
negotiations. This allows advertisers to spend their ad budgets more efficiently based on
data and insights specific to their brand resulting in delivering the right ad to the right
audience at the right time.
With the explosion of CTV it is inevitable that DRTV marketers will need to shift some of their
advertising to CTV advertising as consumers shift their focus to on-demand programs. So it is
not a question of it, but more a question of when.