Going Beyond Brand Awareness with CTV

In the ever-distracting world of electronics, it can feel impossible to capture users’ attention. Often, we’re competing against multiple screens and outside influences, which makes capturing a user's attention with CTV and getting them interested in a brand they might not have heard of before that much more difficult. 

But the outlook isn’t all bad for brand awareness marketing. In fact, we have more opportunities than ever to reach the people who would benefit from our services and products. With the right audience insights, data collection, keen storytelling and cross-screen targeting, we can turn the tables on our distracted culture and use it to our advantage.

Tell a Story

Tell your viewer a story about your company or product by starting with sequential messaging that takes users through the full funnel. Kick off messaging with a 30- to 60-second video that gives the full rundown of the brand and what you have to offer. Now that the viewer is aware of your brand, you can then follow up with a 15- to 30-second video that spends less time explaining your services or product. Once the user is in the bottom of the funnel in the consideration phase, you can shorten your videos to six to 15 seconds and highlight your CTA. 

Hit the Right Audience 

Capabilities have come a long way since traditional TV media buys, when our best bet for targeting was purchasing ad space by network and show, and hoping the right audience was tuned in. Now, we’re able to highly target users based on their interest outside of what they prefer to watch while eating dinner after work. Tapping into first- and third-party audiences helps ensure your ad dollars are going to verified, interested users rather than pushing video ads onto viewers who aren’t your ideal target. Unlike traditional TV, you are able to utilize demographics and online user behavior, as well as target users who are interested in certain genres.

Retarget Users by Leveraging CTV 

If you often catch yourself scrolling through your tablet or phone while simultaneously watching an episode of your favorite show on Hulu, you’re not alone. Seventy percent of adults report using a second screen while watching television. This is a major opportunity to reach users on their digital devices as well as their televisions in order to be heard. 

Connected TV needs to be seen as a piece of your plan, not as a stand-alone option. We are now able to integrate full audiences and retargeting capabilities. Utilizing cross-device targeting, we can identify a household who saw an ad and target them again across display, serving them a banner, in-stream video, or native unit. Reaching consumers on their second screen after they have viewed a CTV ad helps us report back and analyze the value of connected TV. We are finally reaching a point where we can tangibly prove the value by matching it back to online sales, as opposed to untrackable ads on traditional TV. 

Kick off your campaigns with brand-awareness CTV ads that are non-skippable and 100% viewable to the user. Then, follow up with a display ad that is targeted to drive optimal conversions. This strategy will allow you to reach the user at every part of the funnel. Combining your digital efforts with your CTV/OTT campaign will help drive measurable results and give you deeper audience insights.

Cross-screen devices are able to work with each other like never before, helping marketers raise brand awareness and drive actionable results and insights. Now advertisers can optimize bids towards certain networks, channels, and ad units in order to hit primary KPIs, whether that be site visits or ROI. These insights can help us optimize our campaigns and put those television budgets to their best use. 

Get Creative

As new technologies, creative formats, and opportunities arise, Over the Top video (OTT)OTT will start to have more direct response messaging, and less blanketed awareness. Don’t be afraid to test these new formats to see what works best and resonates the most with your target audience. Direct relationships with streaming leaders like Hulu can grant you an opportunity to test their latest QR code enabled product units, encouraging users to quickly open their phone’s camera and be taken to a landing page where a conversion can happen. Or if you still want to drive awareness, but also take your reporting a step further than Video Ad Completion Rate (VCR), you could test out a fun, totally customizable, interactive unit that Undertone offers and report back on engagement metrics. No matter your goal, vendors and partners are stepping up to offer advertisers premium ways to showcase your video ads while still connecting with your core demo. The hardest part is choosing which video format to test first.