Over the years, there has been a demand for television technology to adapt to creations like the internet. Such a strong desire is what led to the creation of special chips, consoles, smart TVs and now, Connected TVs (CTV). As its popularity grows, more opportunities for marketers, under the field of media and advertisement, emerge. In order to truly comprehend the effect CTVs can have on various industries, we need to have a deeper understanding of what it really is.

What is a Connected TV?

A CTV is exactly what it sounds like; it’s a television that is connected to your broadband internet connection to aid the provision of content like videos, movies, ads and many more. What makes it’s nature so expansive is the fact that things like Smart TV, Apple TV, Hulu, PlayStations and such are already included in the CTV. Provided you have the corresponding devices, you will have easy access to these facilities.

It is this massive outreach that makes CTV so appealing for the advertisement industry, particularly, because it is one avenue through which they can have access to a greater market size. In the last decade, according to eMarketer, as much as 65 percent of internet users worldwide consume video as their main content –including things like online streaming via Netflix, YouTube and the like. Thus, a subsequent drop in TV subscriptions was observed which forced advertisement companies to invest more in digital video marketing, through CTVs especially.

How would advertisement through Connected TVs work?

Ads administered through CTVs are done in a similar manner to regular TVs, the only difference being through the internet rather than a TV station. In order to continue watching content, that seems to be cheaper and is convenient to access, people are willing to sit through the advertisements. So much so that the mid-roll advertisements (ads that appear during the middle of the video content) have become one of the most sought after spots by companies. Additionally, increased levels of interconnectedness makes it an efficient, often cost-effective, way for corporations to promote themselves.

What are the reasons for CTVs growing popularity, especially in regards to advertisement?

  • It has great outreach

This is perhaps one of the most attractive factors about CTVs, their reach. Due to the exclusivity of some shows and movies, more and more people are making use of platforms like Amazon Prime, Hulu, Apple TV and Netflix. This is reflected in the fact that around 60 and 75 percent of homes in the US and UK, respectively, have CTVs in order to gain access to exclusive media content. This only means that the accessible market size keeps increasing by the year.

  • You can carry out precise marketing

Unlike traditional TV advertising, CTV advertising can give you a more precise approach. Instead of paying hefty amounts to TV stations to run ads that may not even be watched by your target market, opting for CTV is a more efficient and effective approach. Through data provided by apps like Netflix, Hulu and such, you will be able to run ads selectively and will ensure that you have direct access to your target market.

  • It gives a higher return on investment

The fact that you have access to more people, you can selectively run your ads by determining your target market through the data provided by apps and the increased likeliness of people watching the entire ad is enough to make this a high return on investment. Most people will not mind having to sit through an ad campaign to watch cheaply acquired media content. It’s a small price for enormous benefits.

  • It ensures efficacy

The factor that truly benefits corporations and advertisement companies is that almost all of the ads run on the CTV can’t be skipped. Unless users are paying to premium accounts that offer ad-free access to media content, ads must be seen before users can go back to watching their video. Thus, you can be assured that your ad will be viewed –something you could never be sure off when dealing with traditional TVs since users could simple change the channel. Additionally, people are more likely to watch your 1 minute add because there is nothing else to do at that moment. They will be full of anticipation and will have high levels of engagement thus ensuring that their focus is on the screen throughout. It is this exact phenomenon that will make ads around 65 percent more effective overall.