How CTV Overshadows Traditional TV Advertising

Television advertising is an ever-changing and adaptable form of marketing that attempts to connect viewers with products they may or may not be interested in. Traditionally, advertisements play during scheduled ad breaks with little information on the people's preferences they are reaching. This means that these ads are incapable of targeting viewers and would instead have to rely on appealing to as many people as they can in the hopes of reaching someone who happens to be interested.

However, many gadgets now connect to the Internet easily, and marketing companies can utilize Internet activity to help their ads reach a targeted audience. Connected TV Advertising (CTV) is one form of marketing prevalent on devices that stream content through a television. CTV advertising companies can use data to present viewers with ads more relevant to their interests, theoretically increasing the chance to pair a product with a customer.

It should be noted that this is not the same as Over The Top (OTT) advertising. OTT is an umbrella term that includes all devices streaming content from the Internet. However, CTV advertising only connects and streams through a television set, such as a modern game console or Smart TV.

Internet Activity

The most obvious way CTV differs from traditional television advertising is that it relies on an Internet connection. This gives companies access to a wealth of information, such as Internet browsing history or online purchases, to personalize ads with.

On the other hand, traditional television ads can’t gather detailed data on their viewers through the Internet. The most they can detect is viewership and location during their scheduled ad breaks, but nothing of a viewer’s interests or preferences.

Location, Location, Location

Geographic location is one of the most important data parameters CTV marketers use to target their ads. Another important data parameter is geo targeting, which differs from the other data variables because it invites viewers to get out of the house. Local restaurants and stores may be promoted based on a user’s location while also considering their preferences. This can create mutually beneficial relationships between nearby businesses and viewers.

Location is something that traditional TV advertisers can track as well, but with nowhere near the same specificity as CTV companies since they are given nothing on an individual viewer’s preferences. These conventional marketers can only use an overall location as a metric by itself rather than its importance to the viewer’s interests, leading to a lower chance of pairing local shops with potential customers.

Optimization Over Time

As time goes on, CTV advertisers will only gather more data on their users to present them with ads that more accurately pertain to their interests. More purchases and more activity add up over time, which leads to relevant products gradually matching a viewer’s tastes with increasing precision.

Conventional TV ads can only follow more overarching trends, which CTV marketers follow and the personalization they implement on an individual level. But, once again, traditional TV advertisers are at a disadvantage since they cannot access this wealth of data CTV companies are privy.

The Bottom Line

All in all, traditional TV advertisements appear to be phasing out as technology progresses. Their targeting methods are far too broad, and the rates of subscribers to conventional satellite or cable television networks have been declining rapidly. CTV ads are markedly more relevant to a viewer’s interests, which is a win-win for both parties.