Smarter contextual targeting is transforming CTV ads with deeper insights and data-driven strategy.
In the evolving landscape of Connected TV (CTV) advertising, traditional targeting methods are no longer sufficient. Carl Strum, Director of Video Futures at Interpublic Group’s Initiative, emphasizes the need for a more nuanced approach that incorporates platform understanding, app-level precision, and contextual signals.
Strum advises marketers to consider not just the device—such as a smart TV or streaming stick—but also the platform and application through which content is consumed. Audiences engage with streaming content across various devices, including mobile phones and desktops. Therefore, advertisers must understand where and how their target audiences are watching to effectively reach them.
Delving deeper, Strum highlights the significance of app-level targeting. By focusing on specific applications and their unique identifiers, advertisers can create allow lists that ensure their ads appear in trusted, brand-safe environments. However, the variability of app identifiers across platforms presents a technical challenge that the industry needs to address.
Content signals, or "content object signals," provide insights into the actual programs viewers are watching. While accessing this data can be complicated due to privacy laws like the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA), privacy-compliant methods such as data hashing and anonymization are enabling more publishers to share valuable content information. Standardizing metadata like genres and show titles remains a hurdle, but establishing industry-wide guidelines could facilitate safer and more effective use of content-level data.
Strum underscores the importance of third-party verification and data partners in enhancing CTV advertising strategies. These entities can serve as central hubs for disparate data, applying useful metadata or categorizations that individual platforms may not support independently. Combining insights from both buying platforms and third-party data partners can lead to more effective advertising outcomes.
As advertisers become more sophisticated in developing allow lists and gaining visibility into ad placements, the next step involves testing content-based variations to further optimize campaign performance.
Source: Beet.TV
Note: This article is a rewritten summary of the original piece from Beet.TV, tailored for publication on nmy.com. The original article can be found here.
