Performance CTV: Using CTV’s halo effect for cross-channel UA
Connected TVs (CTV) are in nearly 90% of US households and streaming accounts for nearly half of total viewing, but it’s still surprising how CTV has evolved into such an effective user acquisition (UA) channel. In fact, according to Comscore, 80% of marketers say CTV is the most effective channel for achieving brand objectives, although only 20% believe it’s fit for performance marketing goals such as driving direct sales.
For years, CTV was viewed as an upfront commitment channel, effective for top-of-funnel brand awareness but quite difficult for UA teams to measure or optimize. But things have changed due to three factors:
Measurement evolution: And then Mobile Measurement Partners (MMPs) realized they could measure CTV influence on app installs because the technology improved enough to make measurement as seamless as on mobile devices.
- Consumer shift: The CTV viewership explosion during COVID created a tremendous surge of ad-supported supply as consumer attention moved to streaming platforms.
- Programmatic access: This supply surge opened the door to programmatic buying, allowing advertisers to buy on an impression-for-impression basis rather than committing to a whole show or a whole day.
- Measurement evolution: And then Mobile Measurement Partners (MMPs) realized they could measure CTV influence on app installs because the technology improved enough to make measurement as seamless as on mobile devices.
CTV’s cross-channel influence
CTV influences performance on other channels, often creating a halo effect. For example, an app’s exposure on a CTV ad drives viewers to search for the app on Google or social media, lowering CPIs on paid social and SEM.
Julia Kan, Managing Director of Advertiser Solutions at Kochava, says:
“In our multi-touch attribution data, we often see that the CTV ad exposure precedes search 96% of the time and precedes social 94% of the time when all these channels are together in the same app conversion journey.”
The only caveat: a user’s journey from CTV exposure to app install is often longer than with typical mobile ads. User acquisition teams need to configure a longer view-through lookback window — Kan recommends an average of three to seven days, rather than the one to three day window that some measurement systems are limited to.
Programmatic optimization with limited signals
But what actually travels with a CTV impression? What signals are available today and how can these be used to optimize programmatic buys?
DSPs receive a limited number of signals in the bid request. These typically include: IP address, timestamps, user agent, app ID, and contextual content.
And while IP, timestamps, and app IDs all have their place in identifying useful information about the household and their devices, marketers massively rely on contextual signals such as genre, mood, content rating, and program length for brand safety and optimization.
Understanding what content comes alongside an ad, helps safeguard a brand from displaying it in the wrong context (e.g., a beauty app aired during a sports game) – something that 49% of consumers say discourages them from engaging with those ads.
Since the decision to install an app takes time, DSPs can’t optimize solely on real-time post-conversion data. Instead, they use predictive models to determine the likelihood of a high-value conversion (e.g., LTV) and bid accordingly, essentially optimizing toward a future likelihood of conversion.
One signal to watch out for however is video completion rate (VCR). With CTV, the video completion rate hovers near 100%. Imagine you’re watching a live stream and don’t want to miss a second of your show – of course you’re going to watch an ad completely! This makes VCR useful only as a top-of-funnel metric indicating a strong creative fit with both the viewers and the content environment.
Nikunj Sureka, Senior Director of Product at Verve, shares that VCR is:
“…A very good KPI to measure whether you’re showing your ad to the right user and to the right app. Because if you’re not seeing 90%+ completion rate, then there is a possibility of IVT (invalid traffic) or other factors that are influencing your buys. You want to make sure that you get 90% or higher viewability no matter what. But that is not the ultimate quality signal.”
Turning CTV into a UA powerhouse: best practices
At a recent eMarketer panel discussion, we asked experts to weigh in on what best practices they recommend for effective CTV advertising success. Here’s what they suggest:
A. Optimize creatives for the large screen
One of the most important keys to CTV ad success is the creative you use. The panel’s advice is to never reuse creatives from platforms like YouTube or social media without first repurposing them for CTV as the medium requires a high-quality output tailored to the living room experience. Repurposing can mean anything from adjusting the framing, bitrate, and frames per second to adding QR codes, pause ads, or shoppable overlays. Or it may mean creating a whole new ad from scratch.
Alexei Moltchan, VP of products at Dataseat (now a part of Verve), shares the most crucial detail of the CTV ad:
“It needs to tell a compelling story because this is 15 or 30 seconds of exposing your brand to the consumer; it needs to make a good impression.”
Ensure that the ad has clear storytelling and pacing as well as a strong call-to-action that points viewers to an action they can take on their mobile devices.
B. Budget for testing
CTV requires a significant budget to run proper tests and ascertain the correct frequency that drives results. Depending on your brand’s size, competition, and maturity, you will face challenges implementing it internally, particularly if CTV is a new performance medium. You’ll always face the question: “Where’s the budget for this testing going to come from?” Make sure you’re prepared with an answer.
C. Get integrations in place, especially for attribution
Integrations are where you activate your campaigns, they enable your tech stack to connect the various parts and form a single entity that works for your needs. But not every tool integrates right out of the box. Make sure your integrations work.
Julia Kan says:
“There is a spectrum of maturity when it comes to CTV platforms and integration with measurement tools. For example, if you plan to activate your campaign in LG, Vizio, Roku, and Dataseat, and you find that the measurement tool that you’re using only has integrations with Roku and Dataseat, then you’re going to be missing the data from the OEMs in a single system of records.”
One reason why you want all your integrations working is for proper attribution. We know that CTV ads at the top-of-funnel media mix are influencing the bottom of the funnel such as social and search. But you need attribution to prove it. Having something in place such as Kochava’s Device Link – their unique household graph – allows brands to perform real-time attribution and tie the performance of that device to a specific household.
D. Implement consistent event tagging
Finally, ensure there is consistent event tagging across the platforms where your apps are available. For example, have the same event structure names on both iOS and Android otherwise you’ll have challenges pulling together a cohesive cross-device performance analysis.
E. Lean on your partners
Work with your SSP/DSP partners to actually curate the inventory in the way you want, based on your KPI goals. Make use of their subject matter expertise: they understand the inventory and the publishers better, and we can give brands the right mixed inventory based on your goals.
Make CTV work for user acquisition
To make CTV’s halo effect work for your user acquisition efforts, you’ll need creatives that inspire conversion from the living room screen, a strategy supported by integrated measurement tools, and a focus on longer-term attribution. CTV has definitely moved from a simple brand-awareness tool into a scalable and measurable UA channel. It’s time to use programmatic CTV to reach audiences that are not available on traditional mobile channels.