CTV measurement and attribution follow a 1:1 model that shows advertisers exactly where their efforts have the greatest impact on audiences.
A one-to-one model of measurement and attribution shows performance advertisers exactly where to spend their ad budgets.
As the popularity of connected TV continues to grow, CTV measurement is becoming increasingly important for advertisers. TV viewership data shows skyrocketing CTV adoption rates; in the US today, 56% of viewers watch video content through connected TV apps. By 2023, that number is expected to reach 82%. Here’s what advertisers need to know about CTV measurement, CTV attribution, and brand lift analysis.
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What Is CTV Measurement and Attribution?
How Does CTV Measurement Work?
What Does CTV Measurement Mean For Brand Lift?
What Is CTV Measurement and Attribution?
CTV measurement is the ability to track and analyze the success of performance TV advertising campaigns. CTV attribution is the ability to identify where consumers are coming from when they take an intended action, whether that’s a specific channel or an individual ad campaign. Assessing effectiveness in CTV advertising usually means tracking metrics like cost per completed view (CPCV), cost per acquisition (CPA), average order value (AOV), etc.
The untrackable nature of linear TV advertising means it isn’t a particularly useful channel for brands that aren’t major corporations with huge budgets and the resources to sustain brand awareness investment. CTV, on the other hand, drives short-term sales with the added benefit of attribution — the ability to know where performance campaign success comes from.
If a consumer sees an ad on linear TV that inspires them to buy, they might search for the brand or product name on Google and navigate to the company’s website from the search results. That website click will be attributed to the search engine instead of to the ad spot itself. But in the CTV realm, the click of the consumer who navigates their attention away from TV glass to visit the brand’s website on their mobile device, for example, will be attributed to the CTV ad.
Depending on the channel you use to reach your audience, your strategy will need to adjust. Our latest guide, The CTV Advertising Playbook, can help you find the right path. Read it for free now:
How Does CTV Measurement Work?
The ability to measure and attribute CTV ad performance is incredibly powerful, but the process is distinct from similar concepts applied on other popular channels like digital advertising and linear TV. Here’s how CTV measurement and CTV attribution work, from start to finish:
- First, an ad is delivered to the CTV advertising platform being viewed in a specific household. The platform identifies and stores the household’s IP address in an exposure file.
- A device graph maps out any other devices that are connected to the same IP address within that household. If there are multiple people in the household using mobile phones, laptops, etc, those devices are also added to the exposure file.
- When someone in the household uses one of those connected devices to complete the action the ad intended, like visiting a website or making a purchase, data about that event is recorded via a pixel and stored in an outcome file.
- By comparing the data stored in exposure files and outcome files, it’s possible to identify matching IP addresses. Those IP matches are attributed and recorded, indicating that someone in that household completed the intended action specifically as a result of viewing the CTV ad.
In that sense, CTV measurement and attribution follow a one-to-one model. That’s an important tool for performance advertisers adding TV to their playbook, especially in contrast to the way linear TV ads require complex panels, indexes, and samples in order to measure results.
What Does CTV Measurement Mean for Brand Lift Analysis?
Linear TV advertisers typically conduct brand lift studies and consumer surveys in order to understand how each ad campaign resonates with their audience. That’s because on linear TV, like on most advertising channels, accurately tracking and analyzing brand lift is very difficult; consumers are likely to interact with countless touchpoints before taking an intended action. The one-to-one nature of measurement and attribution on CTV solves that problem by allowing advertisers to attribute and analyze brand lift with a high degree of precision. Instead of wondering about why performance metrics are on the rise, tying actions directly to ads allows advertisers to see exactly why consumers are showing interest.
Successful CTV measurement, attribution, and brand lift analysis allow advertisers to make better decisions toward investing their ad budgets in the right place and at the right time. That’s why advertisers work with an experienced partner like tvScientific; our advanced CTV measurement and attribution tools give advertisers full control over their campaigns. Interested in partnering with the first CTV advertising platform to combine the power of television with the performance of digital marketing? Get in touch today to learn more.
