Connected TV (CTV) is revolutionizing the holiday advertising landscape. In fact, last year, marketers ranked CTV as the top-performing holiday advertising channel — outpacing even social media. As consumers’ viewing habits shift, marketers need to leverage the power of CTV to drive full-funnel impact throughout the 2024 holiday season.
Here’s what performance marketers need to know to make the most of CTV this season.
As more people cut the cord, traditional TV is losing ground. Recent data from Statista revealed that a whopping 90% of US consumers now view content via streaming, with some subscribing to both streaming and traditional TV. Even more compelling, a growing 27% of those viewers have gone fully digital, watching content exclusively via streaming platforms.
During the holidays, CTV’s impact becomes even more powerful. People typically have more time on their hands to binge-watch their favorite holiday shows and movies, increasing viewership and creating more opportunities for your ads to reach a captivated audience.
Beyond just getting more eyeballs on your ads, CTV excels in putting your ads in front of the right people at the right time. Marketers can use data to reach specific audiences with precision, ensuring your ads are shown to the most relevant audiences.
Most importantly, CTV is one of the few advertising channels that truly drives full-funnel impact for businesses. In fact, our recent survey revealed that 65% of marketers leverage CTV to drive both brand and performance objectives during the holidays, making it a key part of any comprehensive holiday campaign.
Before diving into your holiday CTV campaign, define your campaign goals. While it’s tempting to concentrate solely on maximizing sales, especially given the holiday spending surge, this approach can come with trade-offs. Instead, marketers should take a balanced approach that combines both brand awareness and performance — this is the key to long-term success.
This approach also produces more impactful results. In fact, 70% of marketers agree that both brand awareness and increased sales are important goals for their holiday campaigns. Check out this blog to learn how to build a holistic holiday marketing strategy.
Producing the right CTV creative is essential to capturing audience attention. Take a look at your past campaigns this year and see what worked. Was it the humor in your ads? Or perhaps it was the interactive features and shoppable QR codes. Whatever it may be, apply these learnings to create the most compelling holiday-themed ads.
Here are some creative best practices:
As mentioned in our previous section, one of CTV’s most powerful features is its ability to deliver precise targeting. Use programmatic platforms like tvScientific to ensure your ads reach the right audience across various channels and platforms. On tvScientific, you also gain access to over 15,000 unique behavioral targeting segments to ensure you reach your ideal customers on demand.
This is the best way to maximize your reach without wasting ad spend on irrelevant viewers.
For maximum impact, integrate your CTV ads with other digital channels, such as social media, email, and display ads, to create a seamless experience for your audience. You can also leverage CTV’s advanced data capabilities to effectively retarget holiday shoppers across various channels and devices.
This multi-channel approach not only enhances brand recall, but also boosts performance. In fact, 72% of marketers say they use CTV in their holiday campaigns because — when used alongside channels like social and display advertising — it can significantly drive incremental lift.
Once your holiday campaign is live, the work doesn’t stop. You need to continually monitor performance and make adjustments to optimize results. CTV provides a wealth of insights, from second-screen traffic to conversion tracking.
At tvScientific, we offer a range of in-house solutions designed to give you a clear, detailed view of how your campaign has enhanced your business. We can help you measure key metrics such as:
By tracking these KPIs, you can gain a deeper understanding of how your CTV campaign has contributed to your overall holiday marketing efforts and optimize future campaigns for even greater success.
Your Roadmap to Holiday CTV Success
For performance marketers, CTV will be crucial to holiday marketing success. By following the steps outlined above, you’ll position your holiday campaigns for success. Need more holiday advertising insights? Visit our holiday resources hub to gain access to our data-backed report, campaign buying guide, and more.
If you’re ready to kick off your holiday CTV campaign, get in touch with us.