The power of reaching consumers via the largest screen in the house is already well established. What marketers now need to know, in order to truly take advantage of ad-driven CTV, is how to achieve cost-effective scale.

Currently, most CTV ad slots are purchased in a similar fashion to traditional linear TV – via direct insertion order (IO). This ‘white glove service’ has proved effective for many years, and relies upon marketers contacting broadcasters and platforms directly, and agreeing the predetermined details of a campaign – such as cost, run-time, creative – in advance.

However, as CTV has grown, so has the need for a purchasing method that grants marketers the ability to achieve optimal ROI on CTV. Programmatic purchasing has evolved alongside CTV and now meets this need to provide marketers with a buying experience similar to that of digital, to more effectively maximise the potential of their ad budgets.

The evolution of programmatic CTV

In its early usage, the auction-based programmatic purchasing method was mostly utilised in order to sell unused ad inventory in digital environments. But as CTV publishers and platforms continue to permeate audiences, and buyers take to the increased control of the purchasing process that programmatic enables, the amount of spend in programmatic CTV has grown – spend increased by 97% in EMEA between 2020 and 2021 alone. As demand from buyers has increased, CTV publishers have responded by making more of their inventory available for programmatic trading.

Where programmatic CTV has differed from its digital counterpart is in its increased use of private marketplace deals. At its core, programmatic buying is an automated auction that allows buyers and sellers to be connected rapidly. Deals can be achieved via an open auction, where any number of parties can take part in the process, or via private auctions, where a publisher invites trusted advertising partners to participate. Additionally, there are preferred and guaranteed deals, offering priority access and pricing on pre-negotiated terms.

Private market auctions have flourished in CTV due to the nuances of the channel. TV ads are the most trusted among UK consumers, and it is therefore no surprise that CTV publishers want to keep a close watch on which brands are advertising on their platforms to ensure high quality ad experiences. For marketers, CTV is also unique in that data activation is often coming from the supply side of the programmatic chain, enabling marketers to access the rich first-party data of media owners and device manufacturers.

Tailoring your buying

While increasing amounts of spend is moving to programmatic, direct purchasing via an IO  also allows an effective way to transact for both buyers and sellers, and in many ways provides a similar offering. Buyers are guaranteed a quality ad slot while having clarity over delivery, while also able to harness CTV publishers’ premium inventory for a set price.

However, for buyers and sellers looking for flexibility in their transactions, programmatic purchasing can offer some additional perks. Guaranteed programmatic deals, for example, act in a similar way to direct IO — selling for a fixed price with a specific amount of inventory. But, additionally, doing so programmatically enables buyers to retain the benefits of utilising a DSP, giving users increased control — easing workflow and allowing for optimisation mid-flight — and  more holistic reporting.

But, while programmatic purchasing may technically be able to offer these benefits, advertisers might currently find their programmatic choices restricted by publisher capabilities and offerings. Buyside appetite for programmatic executions shows no signs of slowing, so ultimately CTV publishers and broadcasters who are amenable to programmatic routes stand to benefit.

Taking buying to the next level

Programmatic ad buying in digital environments is at a crossroads. With third-party identifiers set to be phased out, there is an increasing importance being placed on first party data — and as a result, on the owners of this data, such as publishers and device manufacturers — to ensure effective targeting and measurement.

Traditional measures such as Barb have provided advertisers with a base level of insights in order to effectively run campaigns. However, the emergence of technology like automated content recognition (ACR) – a privacy-first, anonymised alternative content identification technology – and first party data from platforms and device manufacturers gives buyers more granular insights to drive their campaigns at scale and speed.

These insights can then be fed back into a marketer’s buying strategy, allowing for fine-tuning of campaigns in-flight. Furthermore, utilising programmatic CTV can turn the medium into the cornerstone of an omnichannel campaign. This approach – which gives marketers the ability to run a cohesive, holistic campaign across multiple devices – allows for optimal targeting and retargeting throughout the sales funnel. By identifying and retargeting exposed audiences across devices, with differing creative, marketers can better tell the story of their campaign and grab consumer attention.

For marketers looking to generate the best ROI, and gain maximum reach and impressions via CTV in a cost effective way, finding a balance between direct and programmatic deals is vital. While there are currently similarities in both purchasing methods, as publishers compete for ad spend investments, the additional flexibility of programmatic and offer of tailored purchasing options will become a differentiator. In turn, the greater autonomy, transparency, measurement, and targeting capabilities will become central to every campaign on the channel, and buyers will increasingly be looking towards programmatic CTV.

In Part One of our Future of TV Advertising event preview, we list some of the sell-side innovations you can hear about, what leading buyers are discussing, and the leading research that will be revealed. We also highlight the addressable TV advertising sessions. Look out for Part Two at the end of this week.

World-class innovation from the sell-side

• Rhys McLachlan, Director of Advanced Advertising at ITV, will discuss how a programmatic planning and buying system can ensure broadcaster sovereignty and maximise inventory yield. You can learn more about one of the most advanced broadcaster programmatic solutions anywhere (Planet V, which went live recently).
• KC Sullivan, President & Managing Director of Global Advertising & Partnerships at NBCUniversal will give more detail about the ground-breaking One Platform, which is a strategy to reach all audiences across every screen. The aim is to create a more relevant advertising experience for viewers and greater impact for brands. With One Platform, there is an opportunity for a better premium video marketplace that helps advertisers reach the audiences they need to drive better business results. You will hear how NBCUniversal is building an advertising division to reflect global consumption as well as harnessing the power of its international assets, including Sky.
• Australian commercial broadcaster Nine explains how it enables brands to match their customer data against its registered users so that, among other things, they can target known customers or find ‘lookalike’ consumers. This addressable solution uses a DMP integration and is fully automated and privacy compliant. It does not rely on cookies and every ad impression is linked back to a person. You will hear about the technology, the use-cases for buyers, how it impacts the efficiency of campaigns and the role of TV within omnichannel campaigns. The speakers are Ben Campbell, Director of Advertising & Data Products at Nine, and Michael Stephenson, CSO, Nine.
• Kevin Arrix, Senior Vice President at DISH Media Sales, will reveal how one of North America’s leading Pay TV providers has made its set-top box VOD advertising inventory available for private, real-time programmatic trading. This interview explores the key lessons and results from the implementation, which means STB VOD can be bought through the same programmatic demand sources as other owned digital inventory.

Up-to-date advertising research and fresh thinking

• ‘The Value of Attention, and How to Measure and Trade Upon It’ with Karen Nelson-Field (Centre for Amplified Intelligence)
• ‘Advanced TV Uncovered: European Landscape’ with Virginie Dremeaux (Executive Director, Product and Sales Marketing International, FreeWheel)
• Orlando Wood, Author of ‘Lemon’ and Chief Innovation Officer, System1Group, on maximising creative effectiveness by examining the features of successful online video advertising.
• James Fennesey, Global CEO, Standard Media Index, on understanding AVOD – the big players, their catalogues and their audiences.
• ‘How Broadcasters can Improve Share-of-Time with Young Adults’ with Tom Harrington (Senior TV Analyst, Enders Analysis)
• The future of viewing and ad-supported TV – what the numbers say. This panel looks at the VOD market, content investments and ad budgets with: Maria Rua Aguete, Executive Director, Omdia; Richard Broughton, Research Director, Ampere Analysis; Duncan Stewart, Director of Research, Technology, Media & Telecommunications, Deloitte.

 What the buy-side is thinking (from interviews or panel discussions):

• Kate Rowlinson, CEO at Mediacom, discusses advertising in the age of Covid, and especially the agency lessons we can carry forwards.
• Steve Bignell, CEO at PMX UK (Publicis Media Exchange) explores the unification of broadcast and digital advertising.
• Benoit Cacheux, Global Chief Digital Officer, Zenith, considers how we can better understand identity, behaviour and context
• Carl Bratton, Head of Effectiveness at Direct Line Group, looks at how we judge and prove the value of television.
• Jean-Paul Edwards, Chief Product Development Officer at OMD, gives his views on connected TV as a new audience and new data opportunity

How the industry scales addressable TV advertising

• ‘The Path to ‘turn on’ Addressability in Europe’ with Marcien Jenckes, President, Advertising, Comcast Cable
• ‘Unlocking Advanced TV in Europe: The Marketers’ Perspective’ with Tim Willcox (Managing Director at Amnet Programmatic Experts, Dentsu), Emmanuel Crego (General Manager, Values.media) and Emmanuel Josserand (Brand, Agency and Industry Relations, FreeWheel) (confirmed speakers).
• There is also a panel focused on ‘What Pay TV brings to the addressable TV party’.

You can see all the confirmed conference speakers here.

The conference agenda is here.

You can register for this online event here.