Why the Future of CTV Depends on Embracing the Total TV Experience

By Tony Marlow, CMO at LG Ad Solutions

For those curious about the pulse of today’s digital advertising landscape, just look at smart TV – it’s a space where consumer expectations are continually expanding and evolving. While linear TV still captures two-thirds of U.S. ad spend, CTV’s growth is accelerating, fueled by nearly 80% of U.S. households now owning a smart TV and more than half preferring streaming over traditional TV.

In partnership with MediaScience, we recently conducted a biometric study amongst smart TV viewers that revealed just how enormously profound this shift is. Through correlating eye-tracking with analysis of over 100 brand lift and foot traffic attribution studies, this thought leadership research found that today’s CTV viewers bounce between an average of seven content sources, often with no fixed plan. Brands that leverage a holistic, multi-screen strategy to mirror this behavior are the ones that truly stand out. In fact, advertisers integrating CTV video, native ads, and mobile video into a cohesive campaign saw significantly improved outcomes. Here’s why:

Mirroring the Full Consumer Experience

People aren’t confined to one screen anymore; they’re consuming across multiple platforms simultaneously. Our research found that 93% of viewers use another device while watching CTV, with 71% keeping their phones close by. This behavior, driven by trends like “TikTok brain” and the need for instant gratification, shows that people are naturally multitasking.

Brands that continue to focus on a single environment are missing the broader context of consumers’ lives. Today, cutting through the noise means embracing a total experience approach that spans every environment a consumer encounters.

Our study showed that campaigns embracing this full consumer experience – through CTV video, native ads, and mobile video – saw striking gains: brand awareness increased nearly 5x, ad recall jumped 8x, and brand consideration surged over 11x, while cost per visit dropped 23%. Brand recall alone saw a more than 60 percentage point lift.

Embracing the “First Screen” Advantage

The Smart TV home screen, where viewers start their entertainment journey, is a game-changer. This prime real estate offers a “first impression” opportunity every time a viewer enters discovery mode, whether it’s to stream, game, or browse. It’s a unique, daily chance for brands to create an impactful presence across all CTV environments. Our data shows users spend an average of 33 seconds on their smart TV home screens, typically returning multiple times a day.

The home screen, with its unique position as a portal to diverse experiences, is more than an entry point – it’s an experience hub, offering unparalleled reach for brands to connect across every aspect of the viewer’s journey.

Building a Total Experience Strategy

What’s the formula for an effective total experience strategy? Our findings pinpoint three essential elements: CTV video, native ads, and mobile video.

The data highlights their power: native ads with video saw viewing times increase by 132%, while campaigns with QR codes saw a 46% boost in engagement. Ads that feature CTV or mobile video are perceived as less intrusive, making them a win for viewers and brands alike. And native ads on the smart TV home screen reach viewers the moment they start their CTV experience.

Integrating mobile into this mix strengthens the strategy, as it allows brands to use second screens to drive conversions. But the real magic happens when brands blend these elements seamlessly.

Our study’s results were clear: brands adopting this full-spectrum approach saw lifts of almost 5x in brand awareness, 8x in ad recall, and over 11x in consideration. And they lowered cost per visit by 23%.

Creating a One-Stop Immersive Experience

With CTV audiences growing, smart TV ads offer a uniquely positive viewing experience, aided by innovations like frequency caps and shorter, more relevant ad breaks.

The future of CTV advertising lies in unifying CTV, native, and mobile formats into one cohesive approach. Our research with MediaScience showed that even brands already using CTV video could boost brand recognition and ad recall by over 10 and 13 percentage points, respectively, simply by adding native and mobile video integrations.

The next chapter of CTV isn’t about isolated ad placements – it’s about delivering a holistic, seamless experience that meets viewers wherever they are. Brands that embrace this multifaceted approach will find their messages resonating deeply with today’s multitasking, always-on consumers.

For more information on LG Ad Solutions and to download the full study, visit https://lgads.tv/resource/the-connect-effect.