Connected TV advertising explained

Streaming TV (STV) is the digital distribution of video content across devices with an Internet connection, rather than a cable signal. The digital content that’s distributed includes both live and pre-recorded content, such as TV shows, movies, news programming, sports, and more.

The audience for STV includes cord-cutters and traditional TV users, and it continues to grow. As streaming content becomes more popular with viewers, advertisers have the opportunity to reach this growing audience through video advertising on smart TVs, computers, mobile devices, gaming consoles, and other streaming devices (such as a Fire TV Stick).

STV is also called over-the-top (OTT) TV and includes content such as TV shows or livestreams watched over the Internet. The difference between OTT and CTV is that the former refers to how the content is distributed over the Internet, meaning video content that is streamed without traditional satellite or cable providers. The latter is the device used to view that content, like a gaming console or smart TV, for example.

Audiences are streaming their favorite shows across a variety of devices and services, so brands should consider how to connect with these consumers where they’re watching. CTV advertising and Amazon Streaming TV advertising can help them get started.

CTV advertising is a form of digital advertising that appears within streaming content. For example, it includes ads shown alongside TV shows or livestreams viewed on streaming devices. Another example is interactive ads, which are shown to a specific audience and include actions for viewers to take. Other categories of video ads include in-stream ads or online video (OLV) ads, which run within video content on websites.

CTV advertising can help brands reach audiences where they are already consuming content. It’s a form of digital advertising that can expand brand reach beyond shoppers in physical or online stores to audiences who are viewing content in a variety of places on websites and within videos. By considering these viewers, advertisers and vendors could further expand their brand reach.

CTV video advertising can help advertisers expand their reach beyond linear TV to the cord-cutters and cord-nevers who are streaming their entertainment instead. There are a variety of places where the ad could be shown, in content such as premium TV shows, apps that stream news videos, or Twitch livestreams via the Internet.

To get started, brands, sellers, and agencies work with content distributors, like Amazon Ads, to place their ads within streaming content. Currently, Amazon Streaming TV ads are purchased programmatically, meaning that the ads are bought and sold digitally by an automated system.

CTV uses an automated system to provide advertisers with optimized ad prices and placements. One example of a pricing process for CTV programmatic advertising is based on marketing metrics such as video completion rate (VCR) and cost per completed view (CPCV). CPCV measures the price of each completed ad. The VCR of CTV ads tend to be very high, since many streaming services do not allow ads to be skipped.

Other measurements of CTV include brand reach, the scope of the audience, and brand lift, which looks at a brand’s perception and favorability. CTV ads can help improve both brand reach and brand lift by reaching the wide audience of cord-cutters and digital content consumers.

Additionally, brands that also sell products in Amazon’s store should be aware of metrics for new-to-brand customers, which measure the shopping activities of audiences after they see a CTV ad. STV ads can help increase the online visits (measured in detail page views and detail page view rate) to a brand’s product pages. By doing so, brands can help expand their reach and encourage audiences to take the next step in their shopping journeys.

The benefits of CTV advertising include reaching a broader audience, proactively providing customers with the necessary information to take the next step in their shopping journeys rather than waiting for them to make the next move. STV video ads can include a call to action (CTA) that provides customers with information on shopping for products featured within the ads. This integrated shopping experience can help customers find what they need without disrupting their entertainment experience.

Amazon Ads can help brands and vendors place their ads in CTV content in places such as Amazon Freevee, Twitch, and network and broadcaster apps across Fire TV. Advertisers interested can get started by connecting with Amazon Ads account executives. Alternatively, Amazon DSP users have the ability to manage their own video campaigns. Amazon DSP users also have access to the Video Creative Builder, which can help brands that don’t have existing videos to use for their ads.