The WARC Guide An enticing video opportunity for brands
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The WARC Guide
An enticing video opportunity
for brands
© Copyright WARC 2022. All rights reserved.
The WARC Guide
This report explores the
opportunities of connected TV
(CTV) as viewers flock to an
In this report 2
increasingly on-demand video
Glossary 3
experience, and brands look to
Takeaways 5
leverage targeting capabilities
What this means for 6
that are far more granular than
linear TV.
Chapter 1: Making sense of the CTV ecosystem 7
The Guide begins with a glossary
of CTV terminology, and then
Chapter 2: Consumer viewing habits in CTV 13
details how the ecosystem fits
together. It also looks at use
Chapter 3: The advantages of CTV for brands 21
cases for brands, and the role of
streaming services, smart TVs
Chapter 4: Media owners, suppliers,
and streaming devices in how
streaming services and OEMs 30
CTV advertising works.
Chapter 5: Getting CTV advertising right 42
© Copyright WARC 2022. All
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reserved.
2
The WARC Guide
To understand the CTV ecosystem, learning the terminology comes first
Technology that TV advertising targeted based on data Streaming video
can capture and identify viewing and segmentation, rather than large services funded by advertising, these
behavior at a device level. ACR allows demographic buckets. Mostly used to can range from streaming platforms
internet-connected devices such as describe ads served via set-top box to such as Paramount+ to YouTube. Some
smart TVs to create personalized linear TV, it also encompasses CTV services have a hybrid AVOD/SVOD
viewing and advertising experiences. advertising. (subscription video on demand) tier.
The
A close sibling of convergence of linear and streaming A subset of OTT (Over-The-Top TV),
AVOD, BVOD is content coming from TV, this is an important concept for CTV is streaming video viewed on a
traditional TV companies that is made brands as they look to buy and measure smart TV or a TV connected to the
available both online and through across the entire TV ecosystem, which internet, via a streaming device.
more traditional means like cable or includes platforms, publishers, devices, Anything viewed on TV and streamed
fiber optic. data and technology partners. via the internet is CTV.
Sources: Adelphic, FUSE Create, IAB, MNTN, The Trade Desk, TVSquared by Innovid
© Copyright WARC 2022. All rights reserved.
3
The WARC Guide
Traditional TV, OTT is
Also known as watched as it is scheduled, including the umbrella term for devices and
Flexible, FAST is the name for streaming broadcast, cable and satellite. Though services that enable TV to be delivered
services which offer ad-supported most of its ad inventory isn’t over the internet as opposed to on
linear and on-demand programming . addressable, there is some advanced broadcast or cable. Its differentiator
These include Pluto, Samsung TV Plus, targeting through linear. from CTV is that it includes viewing on
and The Roku Channel, among others. non-TV devices such as tablets.
Connected directly to MVPDs, short for
the internet, Smart TVs allow viewers to These “Multichannel Video Programming
use it both for streaming and linear. are streaming services that have Distributors” are, familiarly, cable or
Smart TVs and other streaming devices, a monthly subscription fee, such as satellite services such as Comcast,
such as Chromecast, have ACR Netflix or Amazon Prime Video. DirecTV or Sky. A vMVPD is simply
systems, allowing them to personalize Some services have a hybrid when content from that same service is
both the viewing and ad experience. AVOD/SVOD tier. streamed. Some use the term dMVPD.
Sources: Adelphic, FUSE Create, IAB, MNTN, The Trade Desk, TVSquared by Innovid
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4
The WARC Guide
1. Connected TV advertising is a 4. In addition to ad inventory 7. Many brands use CTV for
highly complicated ecosystem, coming from media owners, incremental reach, as
but the vast majority of ad- smart TV manufacturers and consumers view less linear TV.
supported streaming happens cable and satellite providers
on a handful of platforms. also sell addressable ads. 8. Attention in CTV advertising
is different than in linear TV –
2. There has been a marked 5. CTV targeting runs on first- viewers may be less attentive to
viewing shift toward AVOD party data, making it a CTV advertising.
platforms as consumer promising channel for brands
“subscription fatigue” grows. buffeted by privacy concerns. 9. Ad fraud has found CTV, so
brands need to be educated
3. If Netflix launches an ad- 6. Because it lets advertisers buy and aware of how to protect
supported tier, it will be a CTV smaller audiences, CTV is their CTV dollars.
advertising game-changer. In attractive for scale-up and
the US alone, it has a 64% challenger brands, which can 10. There is an increasing
household reach. invest in TV at a lower price. interest in transactional CTV
ad units.
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5
The WARC Guide
• As linear viewership • Agencies, and particularly • As with brands, media
declines across the media agencies, will play a owners need to follow the
globe, CTV is essential foundational role in guiding eyeballs; that means
for driving reach. brands through a complicated building their own
• The medium’s granular marketplace. streaming services.
data-driven nature means • CTV also allows for creative • They also need to deal
brands can have the experimentation, as new ad with new competition, in
targeting of digital with formats – tied to better the form of Smart TV and
the big-screen measurement – are likely to device makers who are
experience of TV. proliferate. selling ad inventory and
• CTV is in the early stages • The medium’s full-funnel have first-party data for
of becoming a full-funnel capabilities mean that targeting.
experience, allowing agencies may soon be able to • The more granular
brands not only to have better connect their work to targeting of CTV can help
deeper measurement but bottom-funnel KPIs. media owners build closer
also to transact. bonds with brands, as
marketers can more
closely align media spend
with results.
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6
Chapter 1
The WARC Guide to connected TV
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7
The WARC Guide
As viewers move toward streaming content, the vast majority of traditional TV
advertisers – at least in the US, which is CTV’s most mature market – are shifting
dollars into the platform. The keys are finding the appropriate balance between
channels, and understanding the CTV ecosystem, so as to deliver on the platform’s
compelling promise: to bring together the sound, sight and motion that has
historically made TV advertising so effective with the targeting that has been the
hallmark of digital advertising’s success.
The CTV ecosystem has a lot of players – including brands, media owners, streaming
services, device makers, programmatic buying services, and measurement
companies. Though complicated, it might best be viewed as a mash-up of the linear
and digital worlds.
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8
The WARC Guide
The fog of acronyms – AVOD, newest Ford truck or for Domino’s
OTT, ACR – that try to explain Pizza, for example.
the connected TV ecosystem
are perhaps best at But, in CTV, your neighbor who
complicating what is essentially was recently searching car sites
a simple concept. might be served the Ford ad, while
your household – where ordering
That’s why it’s important to first pizza is a weekly habit – might be
take a step back. For brands, CTV served the Domino’s ad. Same
makes it possible to target programming, different ads.
audiences in much more refined
ways than the big bucket To that extent, yes, it’s much like
demographics that typify linear TV digital advertising, but in a
advertising. premium video environment. CTV
can get complex, so the purpose
Until only a few years ago, if you of this Guide is to make the
and your next-door neighbor were complexity actionable so brands
watching the same program, you – can not only reach audiences
of course! – were served the exact who’ve flocked to CTV, but fulfill
same advertising, an ad for the its granular targeting promise.
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9
The WARC Guide
New mediums are full of hype and misconceptions; here are a few myths worth busting
Expectations won’t Targeting and scale are CTV works well against
meet reality not mutually exclusive long-term objectives
Yes, CTV combines the best of TV and Of course, it’s possible to segment along Even as CTV can deliver on lower-funnel
digital, but in the early offing, there will be very narrow lines in CTV, but scale metrics, it can be a driver of sustainable,
significant gaps between expectations doesn’t have to be sacrificed for long-term impact. For instance, Kroger
and reality. As has been the case with targeting. Yes, CTV promises better has seen huge amounts of new
earlier platforms, particularly in digital, targeting and measurement, but scalable household lifetime value through its
marketers need to be comfortable with data is also key. CTV’s popularity as relationship with Roku.
this, realizing that CTV can accomplish an incremental reach play is one sign of
some really important and powerful this reality.
things, but is a work in progress.
Sources: Simulmedia, The first steps toward making connected TV advertising smart, simple and accountable, Kroger Precision marketing, How the Kroger/Roku partnership brings long- and short-term
value to CPG brands via precision targeting
© Copyright WARC 2022. All rights reserved.
10The WARC Guide
Streaming platforms – from AVOD Technologies such as dynamic ad
“CTV advertising” tends to be Original Equipment Manufacturers
services such as Peacock and insertion are bringing data-driven TV
used as the blanket term for TV’s (OEMs), which make Smart TVs
Pluto to YouTube – make up a to linear, with players like Roku, for
new granular targeting, but it’s a and streaming devices, have their
majority of CTV inventory, instance, working with major cable
bit of a misnomer. As the glossary own inventory. Their main networks to make this a bigger
noted, the true umbrella term for differentiator is that they have
In cases where the platform has opportunity.
these new, more data-driven ACR systems, which can track all
a major linear sister brand (think
targeting channels is viewing behavior on that TV (or in
Hulu and ABC) it’s possible Benefits: Bringing addressable
“addressable advertising.” Thus, it the case of a streaming device, the
to make this part of a broader advertising to linear TV makes it
should be noted that some of the TV it is connected to). This gives
TV buy. more targeted and less wasteful,
opportunity in so-called CTV is them the ability to track both linear and it can be powerful when
actually in addressable linear TV, and CTV viewing.
Benefits: The major streaming combined with CTV.
which – right now – is a small part
services can go a long way
of the overall pie. Benefits: ACR can provide a
towards driving reach, and, in the Drawbacks: Though growing,
case of services from holistic look at viewing behavior. inventory is limited.
There are no real surprises in how
entertainment giants, combine
Inventory can be bought. Some Drawbacks: These are a different
linear and CTV,
ads are bought and sold through type of walled garden, based
demand-side platforms (DSPs) on the footprint of the device
Drawbacks: Each is its own walled
using real-time bidding (RTB), but manufacturer. Also, sharing
garden, so It is difficult to avoid
some is bought through direct ACR data is opt-in, also limiting
ad repetition.
relationships. data scope.
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11The WARC Guide
Putting the CTV ecosystem into a upfronts – where media owners,
series of neat boxes defies easy brands, agencies and tech players
attempts to do so – the lines are showcase what’s to come over the
blurry. One of the best examples coming year, Roku made two
of this is Roku. It has 61 million announcements which show it is
active accounts globally – to say breaking out of the CTV box.
it sells a streaming device gets it
only about 20% right. The company now has signed
partners including AMC Networks
It also has a licensing program with and Paramount to a beta program
top Smart TV OEMs, a Roku OS, in which Roku will be able to
and operates The Roku Channel, replace linear TV ads with more
which also includes some original targeted ads in real time.
content; a biopic starring Daniel
Radcliffe in the role of “Weird” Al Roku is also expanding its
Yankovic launches soon. measurement options to include
media mix modeling across both
Its advertising plans are no less linear and OTT viewing.
complicated. Ahead of the US
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12Chapter 2
The WARC Guide to connected TV
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13The WARC Guide
As it did with many things, the pandemic accelerated the shift toward streaming, and
smart TV penetration, two foundational components that make connected TV such
an attractive marketing channel.
Though the revolution may be mostly over when it comes to viewing habits, the
evolution is continuing, and that’s a good thing for brands.
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14The WARC Guide
Across the board, US viewers cut the cord
While CTV has many benefits for themselves as “cord-nevers” – Under 18 18-34 35-54 55+
brands, the most foundational one those who never subscribed to
100%
is that it’s simply impossible to cable – are age 38 and under. 11%
achieve reach among most groups
anymore without shifting budget The trend toward streaming has 80% 37%
to some form of digital video, be it been going on for some time, and 49%
CTV or something else. Brands, it’s global. According to WARC’s 40%
once again, need to follow the February 2021 NextGen TV Report, 60%
eyeballs. steaming was more widespread
than watching linear TV across the 36%
10%
The chart at the right shows how US, UK, Germany, Denmark, 40% 26%
this is playing out in the US, where Sweden, Norway and Finland,
cable TV used to predominate. markets making up more than 40%
While older age groups might be of global TV spend, 20% 13% 11% 38%
more likely to watch linear TV, the
14% 14%
phenomenon of looking elsewhere And it looks to continue. Recent
0%
for video content cuts across age data from YouGov found that some
Current linear and Cord cutters Cord nevers
groups. Some 49% of those who 30% of US cable subscribers plan to streaming viewers
have cut the cord are age 55+, and cut the cord in the next six months,
48% of those who classify as do 19% of people in the UK. Source: TVision, US, December 2021
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15The WARC Guide
Heavy linear TV viewers, 20% of the total, receive far more ad impressions
Linear TV is becoming
increasingly consolidated, and the Light viewers Medium viewers Heavy viewers
knock-on affects for brands
who’ve relied on linear TV is
US 3% 30% 67%
alarming. The viewership
company Samba TV found that in
Q4 2021, about 95% of global
linear TV ad impressions were
UK 4% 34% 62%
served to just 55% of viewers!
On the opposite side, US light
viewers – in the bottom 45% of Australia 5% 34% 61%
consumption – received just 3%
of the impressions.
Germany 6% 35% 59%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Note: Light viewers are households in the bottom 45% of consumption, medium viewers are the middle 35% and heavy viewers are the top 20%.
Based on household-level TV viewing on opted-in smart TV devices, weighted to be geographically and demographically representative.
Source: Samba TV
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16The WARC Guide
Netflix still the clear leader
Despite some recent negative
70%
press, Netflix is far and away the 64.3%
biggest streaming platform in the
60%
world. The data, at the right which
is US-only, shows it even has a 49.9%
healthy lead in terms of 50% 47.1%
household reach compared with 40.6%
YouTube. 40%
36.1%
32.5%
Netflix also has no rival when it 30%
25.3%
comes to paid subscribers. As of 22.6%
year-end 2021, it had 222 million 20%
19.2%
subscribers globally. Disney+, by 14.8%
comparison, had 118 million.
10%
0%
SVOD AVOD AVOD SVOD SVOD SVOD AVOD AVOD SVOD AVOD
Source: TVision, US, Q1 2022
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17The WARC Guide
AVOD time increases by 9.3%, while SVOD time
declines by 8.6%
Even within the dominance of the US (57%), India (56%), France
streaming, there’s a major sub- (53%) and Italy (51%).
trend: a steady shift from people
spending time on SVOD platforms As new streaming platforms
to AVOD platforms. proliferate, one result has been
subscription fatigue. Netflix’s
Data from TVision showed that recent small decline in subscriber
time spent in the US on SVOD numbers, and the ignominious
platforms decreased by 8.6% demise of CNN+ – which lasted for
between Q1 and Q3 of 2021 and a month – are other indicators that
during the same period, AVOD consumers are tiring of shelling
viewing increased by 9.3%. out money for streaming
subscriptions.
This trend is certainly not limited to
the US. New research from Ultimately, for brands, this is good
Morning Consult found that across news, As streaming platforms
six countries, more than half of increase their AVOD services,
respondents preferred ad- brands have more opportunity to
supported streaming services: engage with consumers where
South Korea (64%), Russia (61%), they are spending time.
Source: TVision Panel
CopyrightWARC
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18The WARC Guide
As viewing habits shift, brands
More kids equals less attention
need to look at how attention in
Children K2-11 Adults 25-54
CTV differs from linear, and also
not make assumptions that the 120
“leaned in” CTV experience
translates to more ad attention.
107.6
106.3
According to research from 100.1
TVision, it might actually be the 100 97.1
96.0
Attention index
opposite. The firm found that CTV
90.4
performs better on program
attention, but ad attention is 31%
– in linear it is 37% on average.
80
Also, co-viewing affects attention.
When adults co-view CTV with
adults, they are significantly more
likely to pay attention, as
60
compared with when they are Solo viewing kids Co-viewing kids Co-viewing families Co-viewing families Co-viewing adults Solo viewing adults
watching kids’ programming with (kids) (adults)
their families.
Source: TVision, US, Attention metrics can help marketers evaluate and invest appropriately in CTV opportunities
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19The WARC Guide
Netflix’s admission in April 2022 SVOD rival, and a massive
that it was “open” to ad- advantage in terms of time spent,
supported tiers presents a accounting for 19% of streaming
wrinkle in the marketplace, even time, according to TVision
though CEO Reed Hastings said research from Q1 2022. The
during an earnings call that the closest competitor among SVOD
possibility was a year or two off. services was Hulu, at 12%,
So, in the near term, the Ash Gangwar, general manager of
expectation of Netflix with ads TV partnerships at The Trade
doesn’t change how brands Desk, noted in an interview that an
should approach their CTV ad-supported Netflix could also
strategies. But, in the long term, change the marketplace in terms
this is a game-changer, opening of innovating beyond 30-second
up an extremely tight CTV ad spots: ”'How do I create the best
marketplace. consumer experience?' If that's a
30 second ad, great. But if it's not,
Netflix has almost double the they can be creative and let data
global subscribers of its closest drive their choices."
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20Chapter 3
The WARC Guide to connected TV
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21The WARC Guide
Every new advertising platform, particularly in the digital era, is depicted in the early
stages as a panacea, capable of solving all previous marketing problems. Such is the
case with CTV. But while not free of issues such as ad fraud, it offers a tantalizing,
data-driven combination of reach and targeting to achieve full-funnel metrics.
© Copyright WARC 2022. All rights reserved.
22The WARC Guide
From driving incremental reach to enabling transactions, CTV opens up possibilities.
Incremental reach First-party data
As viewership shifts toward CTV, it’s becoming increasingly difficult CTV and addressable advertising runs primarily on first-party data.
for brands to reach their targets solely through traditional TV Although there is no universal ID solution, each component of the
advertising. Thus, an early use case has become driving incremental ecosystem contains some first-party data. Streaming platforms
reach, and in some cases, brands are using a “video-on-demand inherently require a log-in, as does opting in to a Smart TV or device,
first” strategy. as does having a cable or satellite subscription.
Enhanced targeting Transactional options Small brand friendly
CTV moves targeting away from big bucket CTV’s internet connectivity makes it CTV and addressable advertising enable
demographics to being able to target much possible for advertising to be transactional, challenger and scale-up brands to leverage
more granularly using addressability, or by and brands can take advantage of TV. While CPMs are higher for smaller
targeting custom audiences at scale. innovations such as using a QR code to take targets, the overall price point for reaching
Because of first-party data, it also sidesteps advantage of second-screening behavior. narrower targets is making TV affordable
many privacy concerns. for smaller budget brands.
Sources: Netflix’s ad revelation heralds a new era for video advertising, Five key tactics for optimizing advertising and measuring success across connected TV, Disney anticipates “commerce for television”
as key part of connected TV experience
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23The WARC Guide
CTV Social video (non-CTV) Other online video
Just-released data from the
$50
Interactive Advertising Bureau’s
2021 “Video Ad Spend 2021 and
2022 Outlook” report shows that
advertiser adoption of CTV is well $40
$22.1
along in the US.
+16%
After growing by 57% between
$30 $19.1
2020 and 2021, the medium is
expected to grow by another 39%
+43% +26% $5.9
by year-end. At that point, it
is predicted to be less than $20 $13.4
$1 billion behind online video’s $4.7
$22.1 billion in spend (that figure
+49% +39%
omits social video). $3.1 $21.2
$10
However, the report points out, +57% $15.2
$9.7
only 18% of total video ad dollars
are expected to go to CTV $0
in 2022. 2020 2021 2022
Source: IAB US, SMI Reports, CTV benefits from cookies’ decline
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24The WARC Guide
A 2020 campaign from US mutual Using iSpot’s Unified Measurement,
insurance company Amica the brand was able to look at
displays how brands are using deduplicated reach and
OTT to drive incremental reach conversation rates between
and examines the differences streaming ads and linear TV.
between linear and streaming
ads. It found streaming drove
conversion rates that were 6x
According to a case study higher than linear TV ads alone and
published by the Video Advertising was able to identify the most
Bureau, the company was looking effective OTT publishers.
not only at its streaming
investment, but also at conversions The brand also studied formats,
on OTT as compared with its linear and found that 15-second ads were
TV investment. the most effective at conversions.
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25The WARC Guide
The partnership between Kroger There has been significant sales
Precision Marketing, and lift over the nearly two years of the
streaming platform Roku, is a partnership. Kroger households
powerful example of using first- that are also Roku subscribers
party data in CTV. have spent 3.7x more on
promoted products than the
The venture uses both partners’ average Kroger household.
first-party data to deliver It has also built long-term impact,
sophisticated targeting and building more than $100 million in
measurement to advertisers new household lifetime value for
whose products are sold at Kroger clients.
the grocery brands under
The Kroger Co. umbrella. Especially as TV audiences
fragment and the use of third-
The duo’s reach means that party data for marketing sunsets,
pre-optimized audiences can be taking advantage of streaming
tailored for individual brands. The behavior, and first-party data, can
partnership then uses sales data be a path to more marketing
to match ad exposure to both effectiveness at scale.
in-store and online purchases.
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26The WARC Guide
Online recruitment company It worked with the cross-channel
Monster Worldwide used the TV advertising platform
enhanced targeting of CTV, Simulmedia to develop a cost-
combined with linear, to compete efficient, audience-based
against big-budget competitors approach using national scale and
such as Indeed and ZipRecruiter. data-driven targeting and planning
– and leveraged mid-campaign
In 2021, the company saw an optimization.
opportunity to reach a job market
changed by the pandemic, and The brand wanted to reach
especially wanted to reach 120 million US households, but
Americans in the middle or late since half regularly view both linear
stages of their careers who were and CTV, it was crucial to avoid
inspired to seek different duplication.
employment opportunities.
The campaign achieved its reach
The brand had to figure out how to and targeting goals across linear
specifically reach those in that and CTV with little overlap, at two
group who would be most likely to percent the net spend of
start an application on the site. competitor ZipRecruiter.
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27The WARC Guide
During the lockdowns at the Called the Carrefour Digital
beginning of the pandemic, Catalogue, the platform used
grocery brand Carrefour in QR codes to enable purchases.
Turkey needed to find a way for A tracker was also built to show
its customers to transact safely, current wait times and customer
at a time when there were strict numbers in local Carrefour stores.
limits on how many customers
could be in a store. The campaign reached more
than 70,000 people, with more
Working with GroupM, it built an than 30% navigating through the
Addressable TV Shopping digital catalogue.
Platform and provided
informational ads on smart TVs The campaign provided a much
to create a fresh new shopping needed convenience, at a much
experience for consumers needed time, and also helped
at home. It allowed people to buy Carrefour differentiate itself from
everything they would normally the competition.
get in-store by using their remote
control. Read the full case study
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28The WARC Guide
Despite its high level of name Dropbox is using CTV not only
recognition, Dropbox, the cloud- because it is more cost-effective, but
based storage brand, is priced out because it allows for more granular
of linear TV advertising. It is using targeting and a deeper set of metrics.
CTV to shift brand perception, with
a campaign aimed at providing It has used those metrics to carefully
greater familiarity with its services. assess what works in CTV, and so its
messages are now crafted with the
As 64% of US households had a platform in mind. That includes six-
connected smart TV set in 2021 second ads which can generate a
according to data from Leichtman short, sharp burst of engagement.
Research, the medium now presents
a blend of granular targeting The brand currently allocates
capabilities and fast-expanding between 65% and 70% of its budget
reach, even for relatively niche to digital video, including connected
audiences. TV advertising.
Read the full case study here
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29Chapter 4
The WARC Guide to connected TV
© Copyright WARC 2022. All rights reserved.
30The WARC Guide
For decades, the buyer/seller dynamic in advertising has been straightforward –
it was brands and agencies on one side, and media owners on the other. While
things changed in the digital age with the introduction of programmatic buying,
CTV now also brings in a whole other source of inventory and data – from the smart
TV and device manufacturers. (These are often referred to as OEMs, for Original
Equipment Manufacturers).
The introduction of this new set of players changes the terrain, in ways that are both
exciting, and complicated.
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31The WARC Guide
The sell-side in CTV is crowded. The OEMs can gather data from
The players include traditional their ACR systems that can track
media owners, stand-alone all activity – linear and CTV – on
streaming services, Smart TV the screens of those owners who
manufacturers and also some have opted in. Inventory is sold
linear TV companies that are based on that data.
bringing addressable into the
linear environment. DSPs are also But the way the ecosystem is set
part of the mix – and there’s a lot up also means it is a series of
of overlap. walled gardens that are almost at
right angles to each other. While a
Traditional media companies major player like Disney will be
are leveraging their existing able to “see” viewers across its
relationships with brands – and, platforms, it won’t know what
increasingly, their first-party data goes on at Paramount+ or Tubi.
from streaming subscriptions and
other sources – to add a rich new And, while a smart TV company
ad revenue stream. may be able to track across linear
and CTV, their data is mostly
limited to owners of their brand.
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32The WARC Guide
As the 2022 upfronts rev up in the Paramount+, the ViacomCBS
US – where much of the CTV platform, had 56 million
inventory for the next year will be subscribers by year-end 2021. In
sold – here are some numbers Europe, it is rolling out a new
surrounding traditional players. service, SkyShowtime, that could
reach 90 million homes. The
NBCUniversal has over 182 million company expects 100 million total
adults watching its streaming subscribers by year-end 2024.
content per month on properties
including Vudu, its NBC One app Disney is approaching Netflix’s
and Peacock. Peacock has 28 scope across Disney+, Hulu and
million monthly active accounts, ESPN+, which total 196 million
and 13 million paid subs. subscribers.
NBCUniversal thinks that, within 18 Some platforms are ad-free, but
months, the consumption ratio this is all laddering up to ad
between streaming/digital outlets revenue. Disney said 40% of its ad
and linear will be 50/50. dollars from last year’s upfront
came from interactive and
streaming video platforms.
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33The WARC Guide
The major Smart TV
How the numbers stack up on some of the major Smart TV platforms
manufacturers, which also now
participate in the US’ upfronts, are
each building out their own reach
and data capabilities.
• Global Smart TV households: 130 million • Scale: Can reach 80 million households
• US Smart TV households: 30 million • Roku Channel: 60 million subscribers
The statistics at right, primarily
• Number of deterministic addressable
provided by each of the Source: Roku
devices: 250 million.
companies, give a peek into their
scale, but there is little uniformity Source: LG Ads
in how they report. Additionally,
the CTV universe has a dizzying
stream of integrations and
partnerships, so the field of play
constantly shifts. • Opted-in Samsung Smart TVs US: 42 million • Opted-in devices: 19 million
• Opted in Smart TVs global: 200 million • Scale of Vizio Enact, cable and broadcast
Also – since ACR data is opt-in – Source: Samsung
platform TVs: 11.2 million
that affects reach. According Source AdExchanger, Vizio
to Sequent Partners, less than
half of the TV sets in a household
may be measured by any ACR
data provider.
Source: AdExchanger: The Rise Of The Walled Gardens Around ACR Tech In Smart TVs
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34The WARC Guide
Snapshot of US Cross-platform ad currency contenders
Linear TV has long been transacted NBCUniversal’s current search for
on reach and frequency, metrics new measurement solutions
that go back decades. Though the indicates where the marketplace is
specifics differ regionally, it all going. NBCU is being transparent
depends on some version of what, about its process – it received 120
in the US, is the Gross Rating Point responses to its RFP. Vendors are
(GRP). Each GRP represents 1% of being assessed on cross-platform
the total potential audience for one skills in audience measurement,
advertising message. sales impact, audience verification,
brand measurement, multi-touch
The GRP also explains why linear attribution, incrementality and
TV spending continues to increase. business outcomes.
Programs that used to deliver
50 GRPs now deliver a fraction of Whatever the process’ outcome,
that, so buyers need to buy more Krishan Bhatia, President and Chief
linear TV to meet reach goals. Business Officer/Global
Advertising and Partnerships at
The rise of CTV has proven the NBCU, notes brands need to
perfect moment for re-evaluation. prepare for a multiple currency
Note: Industry in state of flux, subject to change. Will be updated regularly (NBCU).
There won’t be one single player, marketplace.
as Nielsen was with GRPs; Source: Measurement Innovation Forum, NBCUniversal Measurement Framework Look Book V1
© Copyright WARC 2022. All rights reserved.
35The WARC Guide
It’s probably obvious by now: spreading into the CTV space,
buying CTV advertising has at with Roku being the latest to
least as much overlap with launch a clean room, just before
traditional digital as it does with the 2022 upfronts in the US.
linear TV.
Since they rely on first-party data.
So, it should come as no surprise clean rooms obviously work best
that so-called data “clean rooms” when both partners can bring their
– which combine data from CTV datasets to a clean room at scale.
walled gardens with advertiser
first-party data – have come to They are also one way that major
CTV. Since the data is not directly entertainment companies can
shared or exposed, it’s a privacy- leverage their entire first-party
safe way not only to make the data footprint. Disney’s and
most of data-driven TV but pursue NBCUniversal’s, for instance,
targeting as the use third-party includes data from their theme
cookies sunsets. park operations.
First created by internet walled
gardens, these have been
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36The WARC Guide
Even as traditional entertainment
companies embrace clean rooms, some
techniques from linear TV are being
adopted by the CTV universe as well.
One example is Roku’s recent addition of
media mix modelling (MMM), a
measurement technique associated with
linear TV, to its measurement offerings.
The point is to bring better measurement
integration across streaming and linear,
making use of a still-popular old-school
tool. Partners in its launch include IRI,
Mediahub, and Nielsen. While MMM is
helpful, it is but one tool in the CTV
measurement toolbox.
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37The WARC Guide
At this early stage in CTV Another format, the “frame ad” – in
advertising’s growth, most of the which a brand is permitted to
creative takes familiar forms – “frame” the content – includes a
30- and 15-second commercials, transactional element, in which
with some use of longer and viewers can take advantage of in-
shorter formats. But, the screen purchase offers (Peacock
medium’s measurement has a partnership with instant
capabilities makes it a great place commerce platform Gopuff).
to experiment with new formats.
There are also high hopes in the
In a presentation to the marketing advertising community that Netflix,
community in May, Peacock which could enter the AVOD
previewed two new ad formats. market with a clean slate, will bring
One that the NBCU streaming new thinking to all parts of the
platform is experimenting with video advertising experience.
is called the “in-scene ad”
(photo at right), which inserts
branding into programming during
post-production.
© Copyright WARC 2022. All rights reserved.
38The WARC Guide
One advantage being touted by effectiveness and efficiency
the Smart TV manufacturers is across linear TV and streaming.
their ability to drive unduplicated Households that saw the Toyota
reach because ACR data allows advertising had a buy rate that
them to more easily see across was 16% better across both
both linear and streaming TV. streaming and linear as compared
to unexposed households.
A case study available on the
Samsung Ads website showed The campaign also drove
how this worked during a incremental reach of more than
campaign for SoCal Toyota, a 25%. Additionally, the campaign
dealership for the Japanese shows how difficult it can be to
automotive brand located in reach audiences today without
Southern California. The agency buying CTV inventory. The case
Davis Elen worked with Samsung study said that 128% of
and SoCal Toyota on the effort. incremental reach was against
households who are light viewers
The results demonstrate how ACR of linear TV or don’t watch it at all.
technology can drive reach,
© Copyright WARC 2022. All rights reserved.
39The WARC Guide
As the major entertainment watching TV. At a recent
companies embrace CTV presentation, the company said
advertising, they are also 71% of consumers look for
looking to leverage it across the information on a second-screen
funnel, all the way to while they are watching “the
transactions. big TV”.
Platforms such as Disney’s When GatewayGo serves a
GatewayGo ad product show a commercial, such as the one for
pathway forward. GatewayGo Smile Direct Club at the right,
launched in 2020 on Hulu, the audience members can scan
streaming platform of which QR codes, or opt-in to push
Disney owns the majority. Its scale notifications, to find out more
makes it a useful testing ground information, access promotions,
for the theory that TV viewers can and so on. Spots run for 15- or
be turned into buyers. 30-seconds, and seek to prompt
trackable actions. Hulu’s research
Disney is looking to capitalize on has shown that six in ten viewers
research showing consumers are like being able to discover and act
open to transacting while on offers in this way.
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40The WARC Guide
As AVOD streaming services rights to NFL Thursday night
begin to explore transactional TV, football games starting next year,
there’s one player which probably and it is also anticipated that in
has the best opportunity to tie 2023, it will stream the first-ever
streaming, advertising and NFL game on Black Friday, the
transactions together: Amazon. biggest shopping day of the year.
The e-commerce giant is This is the ultimate example of
increasingly flexing its muscles how the company can leverage
in streaming. Even though Prime its vast balance sheet – by
is an SVOD channel, Amazon’s acquiring exclusive AVOD content
portfolio is infused with AVOD and allowing advertisers to
content, including Freevee granularly target viewers based
(formerly IMDbTV), and Twitch. on their Amazon purchasing
Last year, it unveiled transactional behavior. That creates a closed
formats, showcasing the ability to loop environment in which viewers
create actionable video ads. can purchase products direct
from the video ad itself.
But the most powerful play is yet
to come. Amazon has exclusive
© Copyright WARC 2022. All rights reserved.
41Chapter 5
The WARC Guide to connected TV
© Copyright WARC 2022. All rights reserved.
42The WARC Guide
Despite some overlaps with linear TV, CTV advertising is far different, combining the
sight, sound and motion that have long made TV so attractive for brands, with the
targeting and full-funnel capabilities of digital.
Its complexity means that there are many ways to get CTV right – and wrong – so
brands would do well to keep an eye on its emerging and evolving best practices and
watch-outs.
© Copyright WARC 2022. All rights reserved.
43The WARC Guide
Embracing a new medium
is seldom easy, especially one Consider working with an initial partner. Optimize to meet business objectives.
as complicated as CTV, but CTV is about learning how the ecosystem Continually evaluate which CTV partners are
a few pointers can get works, and how it combines elements of digital delivering on the KPIs that matter most to your
newcomers started. and television. It may make sense at first to business – and optimize accordingly.
working with a single partner, possibly on one
campaign, from end to end.
Focus on data. The more Be creative about Think about CTV math
data, especially first-party targeting. The differently. Because CTV is
data, you can bring to the segmentation available in more targeted, CPMs can be
party, the better. Data from CTV is expansive. It’s an higher, even if overall budget
sell-side partners, which opportunity to cast aside is lower. Balance is key –
some are now handling targeting assumptions and ensure that your CTV buys
through clean rooms, can break new ground in terms are as effective as linear,
enhance existing brand of reaching your targets. while also not targeting to a
datasets. point of diminishing returns.
Sources: Five key tactics for optimizing advertising and measuring success across CTV, The first steps toward making CTV advertising smart,
© Copyright WARC 2022. All rights reserved.
simple and accountable 44The WARC Guide
Keep these watch-outs in mind as you navigate the CTV marketplace.
CTV ad targeting is on the household level Walled gardens create CTV limitations
CTV can differ from other digital targeting in that it’s generally at the This is probably no surprise, but streaming services can only track
household level. Though certainly much more granular than panel- viewing behavior within their universes; Peacock, can’t tell you what
based audience measurement, it can be difficult to know who is the same person is viewing on Paramount+. In the Smart TV world,
watching in a household at any given time. OEMs can track complete viewing behavior, including linear, within
their TV universe, but not what happens on other Smart TV platforms.
Frequency management can be difficult IP address deprecation is coming to CTV
Walled gardens can make frequency management difficult. One solve The coming deprecation of third-party cookies and identifiers is one
is not necessarily to buy inventory programmatically, but to monitor factor shifting dollars to CTV. While it is a worthwhile alternative to
it programmatically. This involves taking direct deals, and moving web and mobile advertising, the Interactive Advertising Bureau
them over to programmatic guaranteed deals, and buying them the recently pointed out deprecation is coming to IP addresses too,
same way. which, right now, are the main way that CTV is tracked.
Sources: Horizon Media’s Dave Campanelli puts connected TV in perspective, Five key tactics for optimizing advertising and measuring success across CTV, The first steps toward making CTV advertising
smart, simple and accountable
© Copyright WARC 2022. All rights reserved.
45The WARC Guide
Wherever there’s a hot digital ad
market, there are fraudsters, and Be aware that while every ad network selling Consider buying directly from media owners.
CTV is no exception. CTV ads says it has fraud detection in place, If you want to buy ESPN inventory, buy it from
fraud detection can be very unreliable ESPN. Real media owners have real CTV ad
One of the largest frauds to date, because no javascript tags can be run to inventory because real humans stream their
the so-called StreamScam case, verify parameters. The process only uses content. If you buy directly from an OEM, make
involved algorithms randomizing static pixels. sure they turn OFF audience extension.
nearly 30 million US household
IP addresses, 3,600 different
app names and 3,400 internet- Use strict inclusion lists, Use analytics, not fraud Focus on actual business
connected TV device models to starting with apps you’ve detection, to troubleshoot outcomes resulting from
hide the fraud. heard of; you can’t your CTV campaigns. For CTV advertising – did the
blocklist your way out of example, if you have data ads drive any incremental
But there are steps you can take, trouble if you buy cheap like hourly usage charts sales or other business
and fortunately many of them are CTV ads on lower-tier broken out by CTV app, outcomes? Run tests or
about simple common sense. apps. Solutions for proving common sense can help hypotheses, like pausing
ads rendered are coming, you figure out if the app CTV spend, to see if
but not here yet. is legitimate. outcomes change.
Source: How brands can protect against ad fraud in CTV
© Copyright WARC 2022. All rights reserved.
46The WARC Guide
Netflix’s ad revelation Dropbox makes CTV a How brands can protect
heralds a new era for video “cornerstone” of efforts to against ad fraud in CTV
advertising shift perceptions
Dr. Augustine Fou, FouAnalytics
Rich Kirk, Zenith UK
Stephen Whiteside, WARC
The first steps toward Disney anticipates Attention metrics can help
making CTV advertising “commerce for television” marketers evaluate and
smart, simple and as key part of CTV invest appropriately in CTV
accountable experience opportunities
Dave Morgan, Simulmedia Stephen Whiteside, Elana Yan Liu, TVision
Morris, WARC
CTV in Europe: A complex Five key tactics for As AVOD takes the lead, a
but significant opportunity optimizing advertising and measurement
measuring success across transformation gains pace
Ana Camara, GroupM CTV
Monica Longoria, LG Ads Stephen Whiteside, WARC
© Copyright WARC 2022. All rights reserved.
47The WARC Guide
Monster Worldwide: Why Horizon Media’s Dave What Amazon is really up to
CTV, especially when Campanelli puts CTV when it comes to streaming
combined with data-driven in perspective
linear, can be an Dave Campanelli, Horizon Media Adam Epstein, Perpetua
opportunity for challenger
brands
Dave Morgan, Simulmedia
How the Kroger/Roku
partnership brings long-
and short-term value to CPG
brands via precision
targeting
Michael Schuh, Kroger
Precision Marketing
© Copyright WARC 2022. All rights reserved.
48The WARC Guide
▪ Recommendations for ▪ Sky: Direct web ▪ CTV benefits from
commingling set-top attribution cookies’ decline
box data and Smart TV
ACR Data ▪ ARF’s DASH study ▪ How Dentsu predicts
reveals the reality attention
▪ The IAB Europe guide around US consumer
to the programmatic device and account ▪ Advertisers pick their
CTV opportunity in sharing spots for streaming TV
Europe carefully
▪ The reasons CTV will
▪ WARC Talks: reign in a cookieless ▪ Carrefour: Addressable
Connected TV world TV Shopping Platform
▪ Attention: Paying for ▪ What we know about ▪ The CTV/OTT
quality time online video advertising industry:
effectiveness What lies ahead in 2022
▪ Slam dunk: The
opportunity for brands
to reach livestreaming
sports fans
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49The WARC Guide
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