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How CTV Advertising Differs from Linear Advertising

How CTV Advertising Differs from Linear Advertising

Sonal Agarwal
Aug 26, 2024
How CTV Advertising Differs from Linear Advertising

Television has long been a dominant medium for advertisers to reach large audiences. With the advent of new technologies and digital transformation, TV advertising has changed to a large extent from what it used to be. In addition to linear TV taking up a huge share in the television and advertising industry, connected TV advertising, or CTV advertising is becoming increasingly popular, thanks to the rise of streaming services delivering video content through connected television devices. Connected TV and television advertisement strategies both cater to different viewing habits and audience segments and offer several unique benefits for advertisers.

What Is Linear TV?

Linear TV refers to the traditional method of broadcasting television content, where viewers watch scheduled programs on cable or through satellite channels. This format has been the mainstay of television for decades. In linear TV, video content is consumed as it is broadcasted, and viewers have little to no control over what is shown and when it is shown. Linear TV advertising is a tried and tested method and has an effective formula for advertising, where ads are delivered to the audience during commercial breaks between scheduled programming. These ad slots are often bought by advertisers based on the likelihood of their target audience watching TV at a particular time. The price of a TV advert will depend on the time slot and the channel chosen, as most advertisers aim to target specific demographics, based on the known audience of a particular show or network at a particular time.

Benefits of Linear TV Advertising 

Although it is an older format of advertising, linear TV still offers several benefits for advertisers. Some of these include:

  • Less Disruptive Ad Experiences

One of the top advantages of linear TV advertising is that it allows advertisers to deliver less disruptive ad experiences. This is because of the simple reason that on linear TV, commercial breaks have always been a part of the viewing experience and over time, consumers have been conditioned to expect ads.

  • Reaching an Older Demographic

Linear TV advertising is particularly effective in reaching older demographics who are more likely to consume content through traditional cable or satellite services. This makes linear TV a valuable channel for brands that want to target older age groups.

  • Segment Ads by Airtime and Channel

Advertisers can choose specific airtimes and channels to ensure that their ads are seen by their intended audience. Advertising during prime-time slots and across popular channels can significantly enhance the visibility and effectiveness of linear TV advertising campaigns.

What Is CTV?

Connected television (CTV) refers to any TV or device that is connected to the internet and can be used to stream video content. CTVs include smart TVs, as well as TVs that are connected to devices, like the Amazon Fire Stick, and gaming consoles. CTV is similar to OTT in one aspect as it also allows viewers to consume video content on-demand, giving them greater control over what they watch and when they watch it. CTV advertising involves delivering ads that appear within streaming content. This form of advertising is best for ensuring that your ad campaigns have a positive impact, as they can be highly targeted based on viewer data, allowing for more personalized and relevant television advertisement strategies.

Benefits of CTV Advertising 

Due to the rise in demand for streaming services, CTV and OTT advertising have become highly beneficial digital marketing avenues for advertisers. Some of the key benefits of CTV advertising include:

  • Massive Reach

Connected television has seen significant growth in recent years, with more and more households cutting the cord and shifting to online streaming services. This allows advertisers to reach a massive audience base with their advertising campaigns. 

  • Precision Targeting

Personalized ads that resonate with the audience make for the best CTV advertising campaigns. Through CTV advertising, advertisers can target their audiences with precision, unlike the mass marketing of linear television ads. CTV advertising makes it easy for advertisers to create personalized ad variations for different audience segments.

  • Metrics Analysis and Reporting

The best advertising platforms offer robust tracking and reporting capabilities. Advertisers can monitor the performance of their ads in real time by tracking key performance metrics to gain insights into viewership, engagement, and conversion rates. This data-driven approach allows for monitoring and optimization of advertising campaigns in real time as well.

  • Contextual and Cross-Device Targeting

CTV advertising allows for contextual targeting, where ads are served to viewers based on the relevance of the content being streamed. Advertisers can serve their ads to users who are streaming content about some particular topic.

  • Perfect for the Cookie-less Future

As the advertising industry moves towards a cookie-less future, CTV offers a viable alternative for targeted advertising. CTV ads rely on first-party data from streaming platforms, making them less dependent on third-party cookies.

Blending Linear and CTV Advertising Strategies 

Blending linear television ads CTV advertising strategies leverage the strengths of both advertising approaches allowing advertisers to maximize the returns on their digital marketing efforts.

  • Repurposing Linear TV Ads for CTV 

Advertisers can repurpose linear TV ads for serving across CTV platforms. This involves adapting traditional television advertisements into new, innovative formats like rich media ads to take them to the digital landscape. By doing so, brands can extend the reach of their existing ad content to a brand-new audience base. 

  • Budget Reallocation for Expanding Campaign Reach

The price of a TV advert for CTV advertising and for linear TV advertising will be different, so it is a good idea to plan a modified budget that covers both avenues in a strategic manner, based on ad performance. This will allow advertisers to reach their audience more effectively.

  • Bridging the Gap with Retargeting 

Retargeting is another effective strategy for blending linear television advertising and CTV advertising efforts. Brands can use data from CTV campaigns to retarget viewers with additional ads on linear TV, or vice versa. This approach reinforces the brand’s advertising message and increases the likelihood of conversion by maintaining brand visibility across different platforms. 

As viewership habits continue to change, a broad approach to digital marketing efforts must integrate linear TV advertising as well as CTV advertising for marketers to achieve success. By blending linear and CTV advertising strategies, brands can create more effective TV advertising campaigns, and ensure better results in an increasingly fragmented digital environment.

Expand Your Reach the Right Way
The last few years stood witness to the boom in Connected TVs and Over-the-Top platforms, which established themselves as the primary source of video content for a majority of the world’s population. As more people shifted to these platforms as compared to linear TVs, for brands and advertising companies, CTV and OTTs represented new opportunities to reach a new, diverse, and growing audience base. Whether it is brands or advertising companies, integrating connected TV into their digital campaigns can significantly improve the impact of their cross-channel marketing strategies.
Communicate Your Message Loud and Clear with ADCTV
Despite the significant growth OTTs and CTVs have showcased, the platform still has a lot of untapped potential that is just being discovered by brands and advertising companies. OTT and CTV brand experiences can help maximize returns on your dollar spends as your connected TV advertising campaign takes your communication to a variety of channels and platforms across the CTV landscape.Whether you are a brand or advertising companies, OTT and CTV advertising with ADCTV offer top features and capabilities to help you create immersive, interactive, and engaging connected TV advertising experiences. Companies can use turnkey templates, or build their own templates, to build engaging rich media ads for their campaigns, which are created with universally accepted ad tags. Additionally, ADCTV also offers transparent real-time reports that allow you to measure and analyze campaign performance and optimize ROIs.