Contextual CTV allows advertisers to meet viewers where they’re at

By Trent Wheeler, Chief Product Officer

There is no discounting the power of marketing and the ways in which brands integrate their stories and narratives into the lives of engaged audiences.

But what if we’ve become too narrow in how we engage with people, especially when it comes to digital media?

Think about it. Digital channels have given marketers immense power to gather as much information as they can about consumers, which they then use to interject themselves into people’s lives.

When it’s done well, it’s a seamless and enjoyable experience. When it’s not done well, it feels just like it sounds: targeting.

No one likes to be chased​​. Think about that piece of furniture you looked at once that now haunts every page you load. Meanwhile, unsolicited emails end up in the trash, the pre-roll ad ahead of the YouTube video you’re trying to watch gets skipped and the telemarketer who calls during dinner gets blocked.

So what if we flipped the equation from push to pull? Make the exchange one that people actually want to experience. Sounds great, right? We, as consumers ourselves, would relish the opportunity to engage with something enjoyable instead of being propositioned for a product we’ll never use.

Let’s meet audiences where they are

As a starting point, let’s focus on TV—the biggest media draw among audiences. From here, let’s drill down into the content that audiences get from an internet connection. In addition to representing the primary growth driver in the TV space, connected TV (CTV¹) continues to take viewing time away from traditional broadcast and cable options.

In first-quarter 2024, adult viewers spent 45% of their total TV time with CTV², which correlates almost perfectly with the content that viewers are watching. In July 2024, streaming accounted for just over 41% of viewers’ total time with TV³.

Now, let’s reframe how brands think about engaging with audiences. Instead of focusing on the people, let’s focus on the content. Why? Here are two considerations:

• Digital content includes detailed information about the content that can help brands understand what they’re investing in.
• Understanding content attributes can help brands reach audiences that watch content with those attributes.

I realize the pivot sounds odd, but bear with me for a minute. First, data-driven marketing provides brands with ample information about who is watching specific programming. Second, engaging with consumers directly has become increasingly complex—a dynamic that may not allow brands to achieve the on-target results they’re striving for.

In traditional web-based environments, for example, digital on-target rates in the U.S. are mediocre at best⁴—and tech companies and marketers have more than 20 years of experience here. CTV combines digital efficiency with the reach of TV, but we know that many marketers aren’t yet seeing the value of their CTV spending. According to Nielsen’s 2024 Upfront/Newfront survey, for example, CTV ranked well behind online video and display for delivering on marketers’ key KPIs.

Putting contextual advertising into context

Given the increasing density of our modern media environment, coupled with the challenges associated with it, marketers have an opportunity to improve their prospects of resonating with audiences by focusing their attention on the content that viewers watch instead of the viewers themselves. When advertising is paired with complementary content, audience attention leads to higher resonance, favorability, recall and loyalty.

Now, I’m not suggesting we abandon traditional digital marketing tactics. But I am suggesting that in an age where consumers have come to expect relevant, personalized experiences—and are embracing ads across CTV—the information about program attributes is an untapped wealth of context for marketers to lean into.

Let’s pressure check this. Amazon Prime’s Fallout, for example, charged into Nielsen’s Top 10 rankings as soon as it debuted, racking up 2.9 million minutes of viewing in its first four days of availability. Any marketer would love that type of exposure, but information about this program, such as the parental rating, suggests that some brands, products and services might be a better fit than others—at least with respect to what the audience has tuned in to watch.

Not only does the metadata associated with Fallout provide marketers with an array of suggestions for creative treatments, it can help brands determine if the program is a good advertising fit. Knowing that most audiences have some idea about the show’s premise—and possibly its video game roots—brands in the gaming, adventure, financial services, real estate and travel industries could easily tap into the program’s rich metadata to develop advertising that provides audiences with more of what they’ve sat down to experience.

Would a diaper or carpeting ad miss the mark? Certainly not just because of the category or audience. But would something that aligns with the show’s premise, theme and general vibe capture audiences’ attention? Absolutely.

This article originally appeared on streamingmedia.com.

Notes

1. CTV refers to any television that is connected to the internet. The most common use case is to stream video content.
2. TV viewers spent 14:20 of their 31:15 hours of TV time each week with CTV; Nielsen National TV Panel, Q1 2024.
3. Nielsen’s The Gauge.
4. Nielsen’s 2023 Nielsen ONE Ads Benchmark Report reports that the average on-target rate across computers and mobile is 64%.