By Phil Acton, UK Country Manager at Adform
The Connected TV (CTV) train shows no sign of slowing down. A huge 68% of UK households today now enjoy Subscription-based Viewing on Demand services (SVOD), which is Just one of a whole range of available CTV channels. Ad-supported Viewing on Demand (AVOD) and Free Ad-supported Streaming TV services (FAST) are also growing in popularity, meaning the UK’s love affair with CTV is in full swing.
Of course, advertisers have followed the eyeballs, as CTV now represents a serious competitor to traditional formats like Display, Online Video and Linear TV for share of ad spend. In fact, the IAB Compass report predicts that by 2028 UK advertisers will nearly double their investment in CTV, reaching an impressive £2.94 billion.
So, what makes CTV such a powerful player? It offers something that many other channels simply cannot: the ability to capture the attention of high-value audiences with quality campaigns in a premium environment. Whether viewers are streaming films or binge-watching their favourite series, brands have ample opportunity to deliver immersive, impactful ads that leave a lasting impression with their target audience.
Yet, while advertisers are eager to capitalise on this channel, CTV comes with significant challenges and learning curves. Most notably, this is not ‘TV’. CTV requires a shift in mindset to what old-school media planners may be used to on Linear. This is where specialist ‘Heads of TV’ can help bring this unity of thinking, including implementing consistent standards, utilising rich data for omnichannel targeting, and rolling out advanced solutions.
However, some pretty significant hurdles need addressing. Identity, for one, has historically lacked on CTV. Measurement challenges like instances of co-viewing, and placement transparency, including whether the ads are served when TVs are turned off are also giving marketers a headache.
The solution? Technology. By addressing these limitations in transparency and control through innovative tools, brands can harness CTV’s data for sophisticated media planning across channels, turning it into the centerpiece of a game-changing omnichannel strategy.
The Identity Puzzle: Why Advertisers Can’t Afford to Ignore It
Advertisers today need to know more than just who is watching – they need to understand where they’re watching, how often, their reactions and more. This is essential to not only to measure the effectiveness of campaigns but to ensure seamless and scalable ad experiences across platforms. This is where CTV holds the advantage over TV because it’s clickable.
But, while it’s easy to get excited about the possibilities of CTV, its fragmented nature makes cross-device identification difficult. When ads are delivered in Linear and CTV environments, understanding where the audiences overlap is a tricky puzzle to solve. Without clarity, advertisers risk inconsistent messaging, a lack of control over ad frequency, and uncertainty on attribution.
This can become a problem. Consumers expect consistent marketing experiences, no matter the touchpoint. Meanwhile, marketers need to confidently drive customers down the full funnel and tie spend to discernible outcomes. If CTV can’t offer transparency of engagements – like how ad interactions stack up compared to the other channels – they can’t optimise spend and justify further investments.
Thankfully, advances in adtech are helping to connect the dots. New emerging solutions can expertly harvest CTV data and use that to map user behaviour, meaning advertisers can retarget audiences with greater precision. By integrating key metrics such as geo, IP, and device ID, advertisers can gain a clearer picture of who is viewing their ads for smarter omnichannel strategies.
Think about serving up a scannable QR code within a CTV ad or combining it with digital-out-of-home campaigns (DOOH) deployed in specific postcodes. Advanced tools are helping advertisers accurately target households to extend their incremental reach and improve campaign effectiveness.
Looking Ahead: CTV as Part of a Unified Strategy
CTV isn’t going away. It’s ability to deliver high-quality campaigns with engaged audiences is unmatched. But it is in the data available on the platform where the real potential lies to differentiate itself from its Linear counterpart.
Its future success will depend on the ability to integrate seamlessly with other advertising channels. Brands that are willing to change their mindset beyond ‘TV’, embrace advanced solutions, work with the right partners, and focus on the full customer journey will be the ones that benefit the most from this exciting, game-changing channel.