CTV advertising isn’t something you set and forget. Ongoing measurement is necessary to gauge the success of your CTV advertising campaign. Make a concerted effort to gauge the efficacy of your CTV advertising and implement strategic adjustments and you’ll be that much closer to steady conversions and a better bottom line.
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How to Measure CTV Advertising
CTV measurement centers on key performance indicators or KPIs for short. KPIs are metrics businesses and advertisers use to understand an ad campaign’s performance. The KPIs that are optimal for your business are unique to the enterprise’s idiosyncratic aims. Everything from audience engagement to reach and conversion matters.
Reach refers to the number of people who see the ad. Engagement is exactly as it sounds in that it measures the interaction level with the ad as quantified through video completion rate and click-through rate.
Focus on CTV Ad Impressions
Ad impressions are the total number of views an ad receives. The KPI of viewability refers to the impression percentage viewable in that the ads were observed by onlookers for a minimum of half the duration of the ad.
There is a common misconception that the average CTV ad might not be seen, is skipped over, ignored or only partially noticed. The truth is that most viewers are willing to watch around 90% of all CTV advertisements. This percentage is likely to hold strong or possibly even increase as more consumers transition away from cable TV to CTV platforms. However, you won’t know the specific number of viewers who watch your CTV ads unless you proactively quantify those views with the right measuring tools.
If you are intimidated by the prospect of monitoring view counts and analyzing related metrics, don’t fret. Plenty of CTV ads provide real-time viewing stats for your use as a business owner, manager or marketer.
The KPIs listed above help businesses and marketers understand why an ad is or is not converting yet they are only the tip of the iceberg. The analysis of such metrics contributes toward the overarching aim of boosting the conversion rate. Conversions are the aggregate number of viewers who took the suggested action such as surfing the web over to the company website or buying the product or service as a result of exposure to an ad aired on CTV.
Mind the Completion Rate of Your CTV Ads
Measuring the success of a CTV advertising campaign requires an understanding of the completion rate and the ongoing measurement of that rate. The completion rate is a measurement of the viewers who view the ad from beginning to end.
An elevated completion rate indicates viewers have engaged with the content and are that much more inclined to take meaningful action such as venturing to part of the company’s online footprint or paying for the value offering. Choose the right measurement tool to gauge the length of time that viewers spend watching the ad and you’ll successfully track your completion rate.
Be Mindful of Your Advertising Frequency
Take a moment to put yourself in the position of a potential buyer. If you are inundated with repetitive ads, you will be less inclined to pay for the advertised product or service. This is precisely why the KPI of frequency is so important for CTV advertising campaigns.
The frequency KPI gauges the number of times a business’s marketing message is displayed to a viewer. If the frequency is high, it will help to heighten brand awareness yet it might also cause viewer fatigue. Strive for a balance between extremes and your CTV ad frequency will make the intended impact.
Measure CTV Advertising Success Across Posterity
Briefly pausing to quantify the success (or lack thereof) of your CTV advertising effort with a one-time look at the metrics will prove useful for the short term yet it will not suffice across the long haul. Ongoing measurement of CTV advertising success is necessary to understand the efficacy of an ad campaign across weeks, months, years and into the future.
CTV ad measuring clues you into actionable figures and data essential to understanding ad effectiveness. Moreover, ongoing CTV ad measuring provides helpful information about the target customers. Seize the opportunity to better understand your audience, keying in on their viewing patterns and demographics, change your marketing content accordingly and your campaigns will stand a much better chance of succeeding.
Perhaps most important is the fact that CTV ad measurement creates an invaluable opportunity to make timely adjustments. Track real-time reports throughout your ad campaigns and you’ll better understand the specific ad components that are impactful. Make the necessary alterations, be patient, and continue to measure ad performance and it won’t be long until you notice a meaningful impact in online traffic and sales.
