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Attribution and conversion tracking for E-commerce companies are what you make of it. You spend a considerable amount of money on ads only to find that the ad traffic is untraceable once it reaches your site. Wasted resources, lost revenue, and ultimately a decline in profitability. Traditional TV advertising was just as ambiguous. You could not know how many sales your ad drove, making it impossible to justify the high costs.
A combination of CTV/OTT and e-commerce is a perfect recipe for this dilemma. Here, we’ll explore how CTV/OTT advertising can benefit e-commerce companies and provide a comprehensive guide to running successful campaigns.
Traditional TV advertising has been the go-to for promoting products and driving sales for decades. For example, if you were a consumer goods brand, you had to advertise on TV. The logic behind this was simple: TV had the largest reach and could target a broad audience.
TV ads’ sound, sight, and motion made them incredibly persuasive. It was hard for consumers to resist the charming ads and their catchy jingles. As a result, TV advertising became the norm for many companies, including e-commerce brands.
Consumer habits have changed drastically, and traditional TV viewership has been declining. More people are cutting the cord and switching to streaming services like CTV/OTT. As a result, traditional TV ads have become less effective and more expensive. Yes, that’s right; TV advertising is costly. A 30-second spot during prime time can cost anywhere from $200,000 to $1000,000. For small and medium-sized e-commerce businesses, this is way out of reach.
Linear TV’s downfall for e-commerce companies is its inability to track and measure real-time conversion rates. This lack of measurability makes it challenging to justify the high costs of traditional TV ads. Upper-funnel advertisers may have the luxury of focusing on brand awareness, but for e-commerce businesses, every ad dollar needs to drive measurable results.
The sound, sight, and motion elements on a large screen make traditional TV advertising incredibly persuasive. With CTV/OTT, you can achieve the same persuasive power while enjoying IP delivery and rich data. This means you can effectively target and track your ads in real-time. Imagine being able to see how many people saw your ad, clicked on it, and made a purchase—all in one platform.
According to Bizrate Insights, 52% of US adults have used shoppable commerce or are interested in it. This is especially popular among younger adults, with 31% of those aged 18 to 34 using it. Shoppers behave like traditional shoppers. They see something they like and want to buy it immediately, so CTV/OTT ads with shoppable commerce capitalize on this behavior. The best part is that they don’t have to leave the video to complete the purchase.
The login data from a streaming device gives CTV/OTT advertisers reliable information. This data tells you who’s watching, what they’re watching, and when they’re watching it. Companies like Roku use data-driven advertising to provide e-commerce brands with highly targeted and effective ad placements.
To sign up for a Roku account, you need to enter an email address and your ZIP code. This level of granularity allows for highly targeted ad placements, so you can serve ads to people who are likely interested in your product or service.
Let’s see how e-commerce companies can use CTV advertising to drive conversions and increase sales.
Your first thought might be, “I’m already streaming shows; why would I do that in a CTV ad?” After all, watching TV is to relax and unwind, not to be bombarded with ads. The idea of CTV/OTT advertising is not to interrupt but to engage viewers meaningfully. You can do just that with interactive ads while providing a seamless viewing experience.
For example, your ad can incorporate elements like polls, quizzes, and product showcases. This keeps viewers engaged and allows them to interact with your brand and products. With interactive ads, you can collect valuable data about your viewers, such as their interests and preferences. You can then use this data for targeted ad placements and retargeting campaigns.
While CTV ads may not have the click-through capabilities of digital ads, it doesn’t mean they can’t be tracked and measured for success. The ads may not be clickable, but they are viewable. You can not skip them or have an ad blocker block them. That means you can track how many people viewed your ad and for how long.
The key is to find a reliable partner with advanced attribution software that can accurately track and measure post-view conversions from CTV ads. This way, you can see how many people saw your ad and eventually made a purchase or took another desired action.
One of the biggest advantages of CTV advertising for e-commerce companies is its potential to act as a direct sales channel.With traditional TV ads, viewers would have to remember your brand and product, go online or visit a store, and make a purchase. However, with CTV ads, viewers can purchase directly from the ad. This eliminates any potential friction or delay in the purchase process.
By making your ads shippable, you can capitalize on impulse purchases and drive immediate conversions while the product is fresh in the viewer’s mind. This can be especially effective during key shopping periods like holidays and sales events. The call-to-action in your ad can direct viewers to a landing page or microsite where they can make the purchase.
One of the major advantages of CTV advertising is its ability to hyper-target specific audiences. Using login data, streaming devices provide advertisers with reliable information about who is watching what and when.
E-commerce companies can fully exploit this data by targeting specific demographics and interests. For example, selling a fitness product can target viewers who have watched workout or health-related content on their streaming device. This allows for highly targeted and effective ad placements, increasing the chances of conversion.
Additionally, hyper-targeting also allows for more efficient use of ad budgets. Instead of casting a wide net and hoping for some returns, you can strategically place your ads to reach the right audience, maximizing your return on investment.
Another powerful aspect of CTV advertising is its ability to retarget viewers on other devices. By capturing viewer data from a CTV ad, you can retarget viewers with follow-up ads on their mobile devices or computers.
Viewers may see your CTV ad on their streaming device but may not purchase it immediately. However, by retargeting them with ads on their other devices, you can keep your brand and product at the top of your mind and potentially drive conversions later.
With more and more people using multiple devices to consume content, cross-device retargeting can be a highly effective strategy for e-commerce companies.
Despite the many advantages and potential for success, e-commerce companies may still face challenges regarding CTV advertising.
Some of these challenges include:
CTV advertising is a relatively new and growing market, meaning limited ad inventory is available. The higher demand for CTV ads can increase costs and competition for ad placements. A workaround for this challenge is to work with a trusted and experienced CTV advertising partner who can help secure ad inventory at competitive rates.
As with any digital advertising, ad fraud is a concern for CTV ads. Ad fraud in CTV refers to false or invalid impressions generated through fraud. The wasted ad spend on fraudulent impressions can add up quickly and impact the effectiveness of your CTV advertising campaigns. Working with reputable partners with advanced fraud detection measures is important to combat this challenge.
While advanced attribution methods are available for tracking CTV ad success, measuring your ads’ impact accurately can still be challenging. Limited data can make it difficult to determine if a CTV ad or other factors directly influenced a conversion. To overcome this challenge, setting clear goals and objectives for your CTV advertising campaigns and using multiple performance indicators to evaluate success is important.
As AI and ML continue to advance, the technology behind CTV advertising is also constantly evolving. E-commerce companies must stay updated and adapt to these changes to continue using CTV ads effectively. Working with a knowledgeable and innovative advertising partner can help you navigate these technological changes and ensure success in your CTV ad campaigns.
Despite the challenges, a programmatically-driven CTV advertising strategy can lead to significant success for e-commerce companies. To overcome the challenges discussed, partner with a trusted and experienced CTV advertising platform, utilize advanced targeting capabilities, closely monitor ad performance, and adapt to technological changes.
VenziMedia offers a comprehensive and advanced CTV advertising platform to help e-commerce companies reach their target audience, increase conversions, and achieve maximum return on investment. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help your business succeed.
