Attribution data is essential for managing digital media campaigns because it offers insights into customer interactions across touchpoints, enabling marketers to gauge the impact of each campaign component. Armed with this data, you can make more informed decisions, optimize budget allocation, and improve personalized targeting to drive better campaign performance and return on investment.
While most marketers understand the value of data, they aren’t always able to access and leverage it effectively. This is especially true of newer digital marketing platforms like connected TV ads.
What Are Connected TV Ads?
Connected TV (CTV) ads are video marketing content delivered to viewers while they stream their favorite movies and TV shows on internet-connected devices such as smart TVs, streaming devices, and set-top boxes. They have become increasingly popular as more and more people abandon traditional cable TV in favor of streaming services.
Various types of CTV ads exist, including pre-roll ads displayed before the streaming content starts, mid-roll ads shown during the streaming content, post-roll ads appearing after the streaming content ends, overlay ads that are displayed over the video without interrupting it, and interactive ads that allow viewers to interact by clicking buttons or answering questions.
Managing CTV Campaigns
As the popularity of streaming continues to surge, CTV advertising has become an increasingly vital component of the marketing mix. One of the challenges facing these ads, however, relates to the question of measurability. While CTV ads offer much better data than traditional TV ads, it’s still hard to attribute conversions to them because audiences aren’t clicking on the ad itself.
Many digital marketing strategies use data from CTV ads to inform retargeting campaigns. If the marketer knows that an ad was served to a certain device, they can then target that user with follow up banner ads. But if someone happens to see a CTV ad and then decides to go online and make a purchase based on that ad, there’s no data trail to suggest the connection between the two, which means the CTV ad won’t get credit for the conversion.
Better Attribution Data = Better CTV Results
At Roger West, we don’t like ambiguity. That’s why we invest heavily in digital marketing tools that provide unparalleled visibility into the connections between marketing campaigns and conversion metrics. For CTV ads, we leverage technology that uses IP address data to better understand the relationship between digital devices and digital ads.
Let’s say a CTV ad is served to a household over a streaming service. Since most people multitask while they’re watching television, odds are good that someone watching that ad has a phone, tablet, or laptop handy. After seeing the ad, imagine that they pick up their phone and do a quick Google search to purchase something from the brand associated with the ad.
Under most circumstances, this kind of conversion would be lost in the ether because it’s not directly associated with an ad. The client is excited because they made a sale, but the marketer is stuck without a way to tie that conversion to their campaign ROI.
Unless, of course, the marketer is Roger West. That’s because our tools are able to link those devices to IP addresses where CTV ads were served. If we can show that a conversion happened over a smartphone moments after one of our streaming ads was delivered to that IP address, odds are pretty good that the ad was directly responsible for that conversion. The same holds true if that device converts on a display ad after the CTV ad was run.
All this increased visibility into campaigns doesn’t just make us look good (although we like that part too). Our tools provide access to data that allows us to give our clients a more accurate and complex assessment of ROI for their CTV campaigns. When we establish the link between CTV spending and conversions elsewhere, our clients are empowered to make better decisions about where to invest their digital marketing budget to make the biggest impact.
We Prioritize Continuous Improvement
We love delivering impactful results for our clients across all digital channels, especially when it comes to new platforms like connected TV. Continuous improvement is a core element of our digital media strategy. If we’re not constantly seeking out ways to improve our reporting and attribution data, we risk lagging behind the competition.
And we don’t like to be behind anyone. Ever.
Want to learn more about how our digital marketing tools can provide better visibility into your campaign spending and improve your digital media ROI? Let’s Talk.
Roger West Creative & Code is a full-service digital marketing agency that helps companies build brands, generate leads, and keep customers inspired and engaged. The agency provides a dynamic environment for marketing pros to innovate and team up with clients to drive traffic to vibrant places and send messages that pack a punch.