In 2023, Connected TV (CTV) has emerged as a true catalyst for change, firmly establishing itself in the mainstream – the most recent data from WARC highlights an impressive 31% year on year surge in global open programmatic CTV ad spend. This significant growth underscores the widespread recognition of its ability to effectively deliver performance-led campaigns to highly engaged audiences. Moreover, as brands continue to leverage CTV next year, it’s clear that this dynamic platform is not a trend, but will play a pivotal role in the future of digital advertising.

However, this is not to say that CTV is without its obstacles. For example, CTV has been historically vulnerable to ad fraud and frequency capping. Unfortunately, a few high-profile cases of poorly planned campaigns and opaque models have resulted in a lack of trust from advertisers directed at the inventory they’re buying.

Additionally, the fragmentation of the CTV landscape, with an ever-growing taxonomy of new channels (e.g. OTT, BVOD, FAST…) has cultivated some confusion as to how best to approach and tackle its opportunities. Indeed, with each channel representing its own audience, advertisers need a transparent means to acquire a birds-eye view across the platform and subsequently measure and optimise campaign performance.  Finally and perhaps most crucially, CTV media buyers deserve more data than what they are currently receiving, with insufficient reporting currently hamstringing the ability of media buyers to assess the outputs of their budgets in full confidence.

Fundamentally, CTV is a platform that is well suited for brands eager to change the game in their advertising – Its atmospheric rise over a relatively short space of time is a testament to the great outputs of its campaigns. However, it can reach even loftier heights if the full potential that exists in the reporting stack is unleashed.

Key criteria

To address these challenges, there must be greater clarity for advertisers regarding who the main CTV players are, and what opportunities are offered, including how their programming and inventory continually scale and improve. Likewise, the industry must provide the necessary education to demonstrate the evolving CTV landscape and its appeal to a growing viewership. There are admirable recent efforts by the IAB, that seek to unify knowledge and broach these classification differences. In doing so, CTV campaigns can be planned earlier to increase reach to linear TV campaigns as well as target hard-to-reach audiences like light linear viewers.

However, the answer to CTV’s shortcomings demands far more than education. To gain the necessary encouragement to really embrace CTV, more than anything, advertisers need to trust the platform. This means meeting some key criteria, including having transparency of spend and nurturing the confidence that the content their campaigns are running against is appropriate and aligned with the audience they are targeting. Finally, that desired frequency is not capped, but guaranteed.

This trust must be nurtured by the platforms themselves. Failure to provide this will undermine the big strides they are taking and the major potential they promise.

Digging deeper

Unfortunately, many suppliers of CTV inventory can be opaque when it comes to providing this information. Indeed, there isn’t just enough information being passed along the reporting stack. Thankfully, if agencies are persistent, and know where to look, particularly by asking the right individuals and the right teams (usually the SSP or a publisher), then they can usually remedy this. This includes finding out more about the channels, platforms, content, audiences, and approach.

There is currently a language barrier between CTV and media buyers, that must be dissolved in its entirety if the platform is to unlock sustained growth. For one, more transparent reporting must be considered a priority. Not just of activation and performance data but as much intelligence that can be pulled together as possible.

It is in the interest of the platforms to do so, as promoting better campaigns, will lead to advertisers who will invest their hard-fought ad spend into CTV again and again thanks to the game-changing results.

• William Jones, senior director and head of advanced CTV and omnichannel activation at media buying platform Adform.