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Funnel Fuel: CTV Proves a Successful Performance Marketing Channel
5 Min Read Tim Edmundson, Director of Content & Research at MNTN, recently sat down with eMarketer to discuss insights gathered from MNTN Research’s analysis of 10M+ hours of Connected TV (CTV) advertising data. Edmundson dug into the top CTV ad trends of the last year, how advertisers are utilizing CTV as a performance marketing channel, the results of some successful ad campaigns, and how CTV supported brands during the last period of economic uncertainty. The Results Are in: Advertisers are Leveraging CTV as a Performance Marketing Channel MNTN has collected a ton of performance data from our advertisers, and as Edmundson told viewers, the scope and scale of this data is massive. Over the past year (June ‘21 to June ‘22), CTV advertising via the MNTN platform has yielded the following results: +914% increase in conversion events+854% increase in website visits (Verified Visits)+783% increase in impressions served115+ different verticals launched a campaign—these verticals range from healthcare to fine art and real estate Edmundson stressed two key findings from these numbers: CTV is being widely adopted and is thriving as a performance channel that provides advertisers with fully measurable, real-time results.CTV is effective and impactful for a variety of different industries, many of which are new to TV advertising. In fact, 62% of MNTN customers have never advertised on TV before. Brands See Success With Both Prospecting and Retargeting Campaigns Edmundson next covered the ways in which advertisers are leaning hard into CTV’s digital backbone—namely by utilizing full-funnel campaign approaches. “We’ve found that many brands are leveraging CTV as a full funnel solution. Not only are they using CTV as an awareness channel to create demand, they’re also creating lower funnel campaigns (like retargeting).” – Tim Edmundson, Director of Content & Research at MNTN Prospecting Campaigns on CTV Many MNTN advertisers use CTV for prospecting campaigns which are great for reaching new audiences. By leveraging third-party audience data sources, brands can consistently reach viewers who align with their message. And when an ad resonates with or is specifically catered to a viewer, they are more likely to convert. Our analysis found that fashion and apparel advertisers who ran prospecting campaigns over the past year experienced a return on ad spend (ROAS) of 2.95X while generating ~1.5M Verified Visits. Edmundson also provided these prospecting campaign best practices: Keep audiences large, but remain focused on the core demographic/ideal customer profile (ICP)Remain mindful of audience performanceUtilize performance ad creative best practices Retargeting Campaigns on CTV MNTN advertisers utilize retargeting to continue hitting website visitors with messaging that will move consumers down the funnel and drive conversions. Edmundson stressed that retargeting can be a vital tool for performance marketers to drive results. This data from MNTN’s ecommerce vertical shows how impactful retargeting can be: Retargeting saw a 262% higher ROAS vs. ProspectingRetargeting saw a 52% lower CPA vs. Prospecting So how can advertisers be successful in their retargeting approach? Edmundson told viewers that the most important piece to a retargeting campaign is targeting high-intent users who have exhibited behaviors like visiting multiple product pages, adding items to carts, etc. Prospecting + Retargeting on CTV While prospecting and retargeting campaigns each offer their own benefits, Edmundson said that combining these types of campaigns can yield strong results. MNTN users who used both types of campaigns experienced 57% longer uptime for prospecting campaigns. In addition, brands saw a 34% increase in ROAS when retargeting was added to prospecting. CTV is an Effective Channel for Seasonal and Evergreen Marketing Seasonal Edmundson went on to speak about how CTV can be successfully used for seasonal and evergreen advertising campaigns. He first covered some key learnings from Father’s Day 2022. While revenue returns were strong leading into the holiday, revenue trended even higher into the summer season, suggesting that brands should keep their Father’s Day campaigns running and then transition to summer messaging. Evergreen Our data confirmed that CTV advertising is useful for advertisers who have a natural tie-in to these holidays, but it also showed that unrelated industries saw success during these time periods as well. These were the top five non-seasonal verticals: Top 5 ROAS for Summer (Evergreen) FurnitureConsumer GoodsInternetSoftwareLuxury Goods Top 5 ROAS for Father’s Day (Evergreen) FurniturePhones & WirelessConsumer GoodsJewelryCosmetics CTV Has Weathered Economic Uncertainty in the Past A potential economic downturn is on a lot of people’s minds. Knowing this, Edmundson reviewed data from the last time this fear gripped advertisers: the outbreak of COVID-19: Meaning, advertisers who continued running their CTV campaigns throughout the early months of the pandemic benefitted from doing so. When asked why brands might choose CTV over other advertising channels during a recession, Edmundson had this to say: “Brands should definitely stick with what’s working for them in regards to paid search and social. That said, I think adding Connected TV to the mix is a strong move. You don’t want to remove a channel that’s working for you. Instead, you want to add a channel that will produce similar, if not better results—CTV is this channel. With CTV, not only are you improving performance metrics, but you’re also getting the prestige that comes with advertising on TV.” Watch the Whole Webinar for More Insights Edmundson had much more to discuss with eMarketer, including answering multiple high-impact topic questions from the audience. To watch a full recording of the webinar free of charge, click here.
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Why Strategy Needs To Be at the Center of Your CTV Campaigns
4 Min Read Connected TV has forever changed the advertising landscape, giving marketers the unprecedented ability to combine TV’s brand awareness strengths with digital marketing’s performance. But to make the most of the platform’s targeting, measurability, and creative impact, your strategy must be more than an afterthought—it needs to be purpose-built to do more for you. Oliver Embry, Director of Product Innovation at MNTN, recently chatted with Ad Age’s Natalie Zfat about how brands can build a results-oriented strategy, innovative solutions that drive better performance, and insights from MNTN’s newly launched innovation program. If you missed it, a recording of the webinar can be found here—or you can keep reading for a high-level view of some of the insights shared. The Four Cs of CTV The conversation started with Ad Age acknowledging that CTV ads have drastically changed how quickly a brand can get a TV spot live. Whereas it used to take six to nine months to get an ad live, Connected TV makes it possible in less than 24 hours—a pipe dream for advertisers just five years ago. Ad Age asked Embry, “How has CTV advertising helped large brands—who historically have moved slowly—to have an ‘always-on’ mentality?” Embry discussed how he thinks the “always-on” mentality has arisen from what he calls the “four C’s of CTV:” customer, channels, creative, and cost. “Previously with linear television advertising, you had to cast a wide net in terms of who you were looking to engage and where you were engaging them across networks. Our MNTN Performance TV platform is audience-first, where we’re engaging customers based on whether they’ve opted into the audiences our clients have segmented out. We’re also not advertising directly on channels—we target our customers’ customers wherever they are watching. Next, the creative process has absolutely changed how ads are made in terms of time to market and how brands can react to micro or macro trends both inside the industry and out. And finally, the cost has gone way down. It’s more cost-effective in terms of ad production and running campaigns.” Building ‘Purpose-Built Campaigns’ Ad Age’s Zfat noted that the last time she spoke with Embry, he commented that CTV allows brands to create more “purpose-built” campaigns. “Is that simply a function of the malleability of the platform?” Zfat asked. “That nimbleness enables an advertiser to be more thoughtful?” Embry explained by bringing it back to the Four Cs of CTV. “I think it’s about being able to strategically plan and identify the ways you’re looking to engage your customers, potentially outline a budget, and determine what creative might look like,” Embry replied. “If your campaign starts to evolve, if certain geo-segments you’re targeting start to perform better, if certain creative elements are seeing an engagement boost, we can nimbly read and react in a meaningful way. I think it’s as important as ever to have strategic plans and develop a Four Cs of CTV plan because it allows you to quickly react to the moments that matter to you to drive better campaign performance.” The Launch of MNTN Labs Ad Age asked about MNTN Labs, a new initiative from MNTN that provides industry-leading innovation and knowledge-sharing programs, and what audiences can expect. “We want to be closer to our customers so they can be closer to theirs,” Embry said. “MNTN Labs stands around three pillars: product innovation, which is about building meaningful products and having empathy [for our clients and their needs]; MNTN Research, which uses our subject matter experts within the CTV community and uses data-backed insights to help customers across the industry; and MNTN University, which helps educate our current partners on current trends and get hands-on with our education.” Embry hinted at more to come as he continued, “Over the next twelve to eighteen months we’re looking at rolling out some ‘Ph.D. programs,’ as I like to call them, that will let our partners get even more hands-on to solve pain points they have both across their company and industry.” Embry ended by noting that he’s very excited about how MNTN Labs will continue innovating and enabling advertisers to unlock new opportunities with their customers. Watch the Full Webinar for More Embry had a lot more to cover with Ad Age, including how CTV advertising helps small businesses, why the platform is no longer an upper-funnel medium but a lower-funnel exercise as well, and a case study of a brand that was able to act upon CTV’s nimbleness. To watch the full recording click here.