Your TV Your Way: Why Connected TV is the Future

The entertainment & content consumption landscape in India has undergone a seismic shift in recent times, with the advent of the Connected TV (CTV) era. The transformation, fueled by the rise of Smart TVs, faster internet connectivity, and variety of streaming options, has led to a significant change in media consumption patterns among Indian audiences. The trend towards CTV has only accelerated in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, with more and more people watching online content on their CTVs.

Today, CTV has become a family-viewing phenomenon in India that transcends urban boundaries, reaching towns and smaller cities across the country. According to our 2022 India CTV 2.0 report, 84% of households had more than one person watching CTV, and 64% of respondents preferred watching CTV with their families. With a growing digital-first ecosystem and a plethora of streaming options for global viewers, many consumers have opted to cut the cord and switch to CTVs.

The implications of this transformation are far-reaching, creating new opportunities and challenges for content creators, broadcasters, and advertisers alike. Brands can take advantage of newer technologies in this space to make an impact in 2023 to reach niche audiences and deliver more impactful campaigns.

The Expanding CTV Landscape in India

As compared to the Western markets, India is a developing market with enormous viewership potential for CTV’s adoption. India is witnessing a significant increase in internet penetration, enabling consumers to access high-quality streaming content seamlessly. The rollout of 5G technology in India, which promises enhanced internet speed and reliability, is expected to further accelerate this trend. This is particularly exciting for brands because they get to engage with a strong consumer base and drive targeted messaging. Infact, according to EY-FICCI 2022 report, CTV base in India is expected to grow fourfold by 2025, with an estimated 40 million
subscribers.

Through OTTs, news, gaming, and other content genres available on CTV, advertisers have access to a wealth of high-quality, exclusive content that can be leveraged to create compelling and effective advertising campaigns. Recently, JioCinema’s live streaming of the Football World Cup has shown that viewership of such events can only increase over time and as we sit at the start of an exciting new cricket season of IPL, we are likely to see more brands flock to CTV to
attract highly engaged audiences.

Improved Measurement & Tech Innovation: Game-Changers for CTV Advertising

CTV advertising is really changing the way brands perceive advertising on television. Combining the twin benefits of engaged storytelling with key benefits of programmatic advertising, CTV brings together a superior advertising experience – all the while making advertising on television more transparent, measurable, and impactful!

Brands have the power to make their ads more engaging with formats such as video, display, homepage banner, in-app banner, and many more engaging formats within OEMs. These ad formats enhance viewer experience, making it more immersive and engaging. As a result, the recall and engagement rates are higher, which is excellent news for advertisers who want to create more impactful campaigns.

Advertisers are also drawn towards CTV due to its audience targeting capabilities that allow them to target viewers based on specific demographics, screen size, interests, and location. This level of precision targeting can enhance the effectiveness of advertising campaigns, which stands in contrast to traditional TV advertising. It’s interesting to see that while users both on traditional TV and CTV pay almost the same kind of monthly subscription fees, the on-deman consumption makes the viewer more in control of what they want to see and when. This is
particularly appealing for advertisers who want to ensure that ads are delivered to the right audience at the right time, which increases the ad recall and conversion. In fact, according to our 2022 CTV India 2.0 report, 9 in 10 viewers of CTV recall being exposed to ads. 81% of those exposed to ads claim that the ads influenced them. Unlike traditional TV advertising, CTV lets advertisers track viewer behavior and engagement in real-time, providing them with a better understanding of the effectiveness of their campaign for efficient campaigns to improve ROI.

Connecting Omnichannel Journeys for the Connected Consumers with CTV Advertising

The traditional notion of media spending in isolation is no longer applicable in today’s world, where customers engage with brands across multiple devices, both online and offline. By leveraging CTV advertising, brands can reach customers at multiple touchpoints, seamlessly integrating their online and offline experiences to create a more impactful omnichannel brand experience.

To efficiently target the evolved consumer journeys, CTV advertising can help advertisers deliver personalized ads on multiple screens. Brands can use newer niche technologies like Household Sync, Engagement Sync and Offline Sync that empower them to target multiple users in a single household with ads that are tailored to interests; target users on both CTV and mobile devices; and drive footfalls to stores for brands having an offline presence. Plus, it also helps increase interaction on the ad, where a viewer can take action on their phones like installing an app or
purchasing a product.

Finally, CTV advertising with Digital-Out-Of-Home (DOOH) screens is another powerful addition to media budgets for advertisers. By combining CTV and DOOH advertising, brands can create more immersive and engaging advertising experiences that deliver a cohesive brand message across multiple screens. For example, a viewer may see an ad for a product on their CTV screen, and then later see a similar ad on a DOOH screen while out shopping.

By targeting users on CTV, re-engaging them on mobiles, and using newer technologies like DOOH in conjunction with CTV, we’re looking at a brand new world of advertising that delivers. As we look at the new financial year in India, amidst headwinds from the global economy, brands will look to derive value fromtheir media spends to invest in channels that maximize ROI across connected devices. CTV, here, will take a larger share of wallet for media spends for brands to deliver highly interactive messaging leading to better engagement, ad recall, and
reaching their actual customers.

About the author: Nikhil Kumar, VP (India & SEA), Mediasmart