What Is Connected TV?
Connected TV is has changed the way businesses advertise on television. But what exactly is it, how does it work, and why does it matter for brands of all sizes?
The world of television has changed enormously over the past decade. Gone are the days when watching TV simply meant sitting down in front of a scheduled programme on one of a handful of channels.
Today, viewers can choose what they watch, when they watch it and, increasingly, which platform they watch it on.
For advertisers, this shift has created some exciting opportunities. Television advertising is no longer exclusively about reaching millions of people at once. It can also be about reaching a much smaller, carefully selected audience with a message that's particularly relevant to them.
And that's where Connected TV (CTV) comes in.
First Things First. What Is Connected TV?
Put simply, Connected TV refers to any television that's connected to the internet.
That might be a Smart TV with built-in streaming apps including the big hitters such as Netflix and Prime alongside built in platforms such as Roku and Freeview Play, or a traditional television connected to the internet through a device such as an Amazon Fire TV Stick, Apple TV or similar streaming device.
It's worth making an important distinction here. Connected TV describes the technology, not a particular broadcaster, streaming service or type of advertising.
And while the terminology might be relatively new to some businesses, the concept certainly isn't. If you've watched something on ITVX, Netflix, Disney+ or Prime Video through your television, you've already experienced Connected TV.
Of course, not everything watched on a Connected TV includes advertising. But an increasing number of streaming services offer advertising-supported content, creating new opportunities for brands to reach viewers.
So, What Makes Connected TV Advertising Different?
Traditionally, television advertising has largely been planned around programmes, channels, regions and the audiences likely to be watching them.
That approach remains incredibly valuable, particularly for businesses looking to build widespread brand awareness.
But Connected TV introduces another layer of opportunity.
Because viewing takes place through internet-connected platforms, advertisers can often use audience data to make more informed decisions about who sees their adverts.
Depending on the platform, this might include targeting based on:
Location: Reaching audiences in particular regions, towns or postcode areas.
Demographics: Selecting audiences by factors such as age or household composition.
Interests and lifestyles: Reaching people whose interests are relevant to a particular product or service.
Purchasing behaviour: Using available audience data to identify consumers more likely to be interested in particular products or categories.
In simple terms, rather than paying to reach everyone and hoping the right people are watching, businesses can concentrate more of their advertising budget on the audiences that matter.
And that can make a significant difference to how efficiently a campaign spends its budget.
The Best of Television and Digital Advertising.
One of the most compelling aspects of Connected TV advertising is that it brings together some of the strengths of two very different advertising environments.
Television has long been recognised for its ability to build brands, establish credibility and deliver memorable advertising through sight, sound and movement.
Digital advertising, meanwhile, has introduced increasingly sophisticated ways to identify audiences, manage campaigns and measure performance.
Connected TV combines elements of both.
Your advert can appear on the biggest screen in the home, alongside professionally produced entertainment, while benefiting from the audience targeting and campaign reporting associated with digital advertising.
It's an attractive combination, particularly for businesses that want the impact of television without necessarily committing to a traditional, mass-reach national campaign.
Where Can Businesses Advertise on Connected TV?
There's a growing range of advertising opportunities across streaming and on-demand television.
These include familiar UK broadcaster platforms such as ITVX, Channel 4 and Sky, international streaming services including Amazon Prime Video, Netflix and Disney+, alongside ad supported platforms like Roku and Pluto.
However, it's important to understand that advertising availability, targeting options, minimum spend requirements and advertising formats vary between platforms.
Not every service offers the same opportunities, and not every platform will be appropriate for every advertiser.
Which brings us to something we feel particularly strongly about at TVADSWORK.
Just because you can advertise somewhere doesn't necessarily mean you should.
Choosing a platform because it's popular, fashionable or attracting headlines is no substitute for understanding whether it reaches your customers effectively and represents good value for your business.
Does Connected TV Make Television Advertising More Affordable?
Potentially, yes. And this is particularly interesting for smaller and growing businesses.
There's a persistent misconception that television advertising is only accessible to household-name brands with enormous marketing budgets.
That simply isn't the case.
Connected TV has helped open up opportunities for businesses that might previously have ruled television out altogether.
Because campaigns can often be targeted more precisely, advertisers don't necessarily need to buy large national audiences to reach the people they're interested in.
A regional business, for example, might focus its advertising on households within its trading area, rather than paying for coverage across the whole country.
Similarly, a specialist product or service might benefit from reaching a more defined audience rather than attempting to appeal to everyone.
But there's an important caveat.
The important consideration isn't simply how cheaply advertising can be bought. Audience, objectives and campaign duration and whether the streaming platform/s have a minimum spend requirement all have to be considered when planning a campaign that will deliver meaningful results.
After all, buying media is easy. Buying the right media isn't, remember!
Can You Measure Connected TV Advertising?
Yes. And this is another area where Connected TV offers some interesting advantages.
Depending on the platform and campaign, advertisers can measure a range of indicators, including:
Impressions: How many times an advert has been delivered.
Reach: How many different viewers or households have been reached.
Frequency: How often those viewers or households have been exposed to the advert.
Completion rates: The proportion of adverts watched through to the end, where this information is available.
Website visits and interactions: Some platforms can provide data on actions taken after someone has seen an advert, such as visiting the advertiser's website, enquiries and other actions associated with advertising exposure.
However, as with any advertising campaign, it's important not to confuse delivery statistics with business success.
An advert might generate thousands of impressions, but what really matters is whether it's helping to achieve the advertiser's objectives.
That might mean increasing brand awareness, driving website traffic, generating enquiries, encouraging purchases or supporting other marketing activity.
At TVADSWORK, we believe measurement should always begin with a simple question:
What are we trying to achieve, and how will we know whether we've achieved it?
Does Connected TV Replace Traditional Television Advertising?
Absolutely not.
Despite the growth in streaming, traditional broadcast television continues to play an important role in reaching large audiences and building brands.
Connected TV doesn't make traditional television obsolete. It gives advertisers more choice.
For some businesses, a targeted streaming campaign might be the most appropriate approach. For others, traditional linear television may offer better value or the broader reach needed to achieve their objectives. And for many brands, combining the two can deliver the best of both worlds.
This is why we advocate a Total TV approach to planning.
Rather than treating linear television, streaming, on-demand and addressable advertising as entirely separate worlds, we look at the audience first and consider which combination of platforms is most likely to deliver the desired results.
It's not about choosing between old television and new television.
It's about making television work harder.
Connected TV Is an Opportunity, Not a Strategy
Perhaps the most important thing for businesses to understand is that Connected TV is another way of reaching an audience. It isn't, in itself, an advertising strategy.
A successful campaign still needs the right foundations.
Who are you trying to reach? What do you want them to do? What's the right message? How much should you spend? How long should your campaign run? And how will you measure its success?
These questions are just as important for Connected TV as they are for any other form of advertising.
And, of course, the quality of the creative matters too.
Being able to reach a precisely targeted audience is of little value if the advert itself fails to communicate effectively or make an impression.
Keeping Connected TV Simple
At TVADSWORK, we're passionate about making television advertising more accessible to businesses of all sizes.
We also believe the industry has a habit of making things unnecessarily complicated with an ever-growing collection of acronyms and technical terminology.
Connected TV, BVOD, SVOD, AVOD, FAST, addressable TV... it's hardly surprising that businesses can find the landscape confusing. (Visit our extensive list of FAQs to see what all these acronyms stand for)
But behind all the terminology, the principle is relatively straightforward.
Find the right audience. Deliver the right message. Choose the right platforms. Spend the budget wisely.
Connected TV has given advertisers more ways to do exactly that.
And when it's planned properly, it can be a powerful addition to a business's wider marketing strategy.
Want to Find Out Whether Connected TV Could Work for Your Business?
At TVADSWORK, we plan, book and deliver advertising campaigns across traditional television, streaming and on-demand platforms, as well as producing broadcaster-compliant creative.
We'll help you understand the options, identify the audiences that matter and decide whether Connected TV is the right fit for your objectives and budget.
And if we don't think it's right for your business, we'll tell you.
Because keeping media simple means giving straightforward advice, not simply selling advertising.
Get in touch with TVADSWORK to explore your options.
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