Expert: The opportunity CTV is bringing to digital advertisers
Kristina: How is TV/streaming video so different from the rest of the online ad space?
Tal Chalozin, CTO & Co-Founder, Innovid: In the digital landscape, the Google-Facebook duopoly has long ruled over the entire space. The reaction to Google’s announcement showcases its dominance in the space but, in CTV, things are different. You’ll never have just a handful of players way ahead of everyone else – you need all of them, as they all bring different things to the table. Although Roku’s big acquisition of Nielsen’s addressable tech put them at an advantage, CTV will not be a winner-take-all market.
Another differentiator that makes CTV stand out is its persistent growth. Even during the pandemic when advertisers and consumers were thinking twice about investments, the average U.S. consumer ended up paying for four different services, up from three pre-pandemic, according to Deloitte. Furthermore, global CTV ad impressions were up 76% in the second half of 2020 according to our iQ dashboard. Even once the world returns to a form of normalcy (hopefully soon), we don’t anticipate people switching back. Many of the reasons why consumers shifted to streaming, such as a lack of live sports at the start of the pandemic, will be accounted for on streaming channels via new content deals. For example, Amazon and the NFL are currently negotiating a deal that would result in exclusive streaming rights to NFL Thursday night games. While the games would still be televised live in local markets, Amazon users would be able to view the games worldwide, highlighting the large role streaming will play in the future of sports.
Kristina: How does this create opportunity for brands and marketers?
Tal: No winner means the space is largely fragmented, which is generally thought of as a negative. However, it also presents some significant opportunities for marketers. Fragmentation means competition, and competition means lower prices. Although we expect that over time that price of CTV will rise due to consolidation, right now marketers have a unique opportunity to scale fast for cheap. Competition doesn’t only drive prices down, it also inspires innovation. A critical way that CTV providers compete for advertisers’ attention is with new technologies, tools, and solutions to sweeten their core offering. Right now, marketers have an unprecedented opportunity to reach consumers at a lower cost and with more control than they could ever expect from traditional broadcast TV. Despites the challenges that fragmentation presents, marketers have an enormous opportunity to reach engaged audiences as CTV continues to grow.
Kristina: What do marketers need to understand about the TV/Streaming video space?
Tal: Marketers should note that CTV is not subjected to the impact of the loss of third-party cookies since they don’t exist in the channel. If you as a marketer are concerned about the loss of third-party cookies and Google’s dominance, you should consider looking into CTV. CTV advertising has the potential to be more effective and lucrative for marketers now that Google is putting its foot down in traditional digital.
