Best eCommerce Video Ads And Marketing Strategies For Connected TV

This post is part of our larger “OTT/CTV eCommerce Advertising Guide,” click here to learn more.

If you’re looking for resources to make a simple eCommerce video ad, you have come to the wrong place. While there are plenty of incredible resources available on the internet for that approach, this article is for all marketers out there who are looking to make the leap towards advertising their eCommerce website and products through the best, most premium digital device in the household – the Connected TV. Strategus has been pioneering OTT and CTV advertising for over five years, and now we are going to share our insights with you so that you can learn how to avoid the potential pitfalls and nail that next big CTV ad spend. 

CTV is the premium option. If you don’t believe us, read this article. The number of households that are acquiring Connected TVs is on the rise, with the Leichtman Research Group estimating that 80% of TV-using homes have at least one connected TV device in the form of stand-alone streaming devices, built-in Smart TV interfaces, internet-connected Blu-ray players, and various types of connected gaming systems. 

During the New Normal, Connected TV adoption continues to explode. By 2023, it’s estimated that Connected TV use will grow by a whopping 82%, while 44% of households during this same time period are expected to cut ties with the traditional TV. 

“Two roads diverged in a wood … I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” – Robert Frost

Not to get all philosophical, but these statistics leave no question that we are on the cusp of a new kind of advertising. The question we offer to you is: Do you want to be a pioneer in Connected TV advertising? This relatively new territory, which can be daunting, but it leaves an incredible amount of space for success. 

Continue reading to learn about the best eCommerce video ads strategies and pitfalls when it comes to CTV so that you can find your own way in this Wild West of advertising opportunity. 

Without the right partner, post-view attribution of actions can be difficult. 

CTV advertising does not inherently have great attribution of post-view actions built-in, especially when you purchase ad space directly from platforms like Hulu, Tubi, etc. As a marketer, being able to measure results is the whole point. Well, conversions are the point, but you can’t measure conversions if you can’t gather the necessary data. While attribution might be the weaker point of CTV advertising (when you don’t have a skilled partner who can work around this), one of the most significant advantages of this type of advertising is the people can’t skip the ads. They’re stuck with them for better or worse. And you know what, most viewers don’t mind watching these ads, which opens up expansive and exciting new terrain for marketers.

A recent survey by SpotX discovered that 80% of Connected TV viewers watched ad-supported content, which countered the belief that content needed to be ad-free with companies like Netflix.

When it comes to OTT/CTV advertising, you want to know, with certainty, who saw your ad and the action they took after watching it. This might seem like an impossible measurement when ads aren’t clickable, but the impossible becomes downright easy or easier with the right partner. 

Enter: The Attribution Suite – a first of its kind in the industry 

This innovative, full-function, continuously-evolving, product suite features six customizable components for online and offline attribution. You’ll be able to see who visited the website after the ad, who made a purchase after the ad and where, who visited the physical store after the ad, how many of a specific product was purchased, online browsing behavior before and after the ad, as well as offline conversion tracking.

Smaller, hyper-targeted audiences are your friend (and an advantage of CTV)

CTV advertising for eCommerce does not need to be a shotgun style “brand awareness” approach where you’re haphazardly throwing ideas at the board and seeing what sticks. The goal isn’t whether you can reach your customers; it’s how well you know them so that you reach them on an emotional and intellectual level versus just landing in front of their eyes.

CTV has some of the best targeting options out there. Below you will find some of the common strategies available to you, and you can blend any of them as you need to and target your specific audience. Hyper-targeting your audience means you’ll get eCommerce video ads in front of the people who are actually going to convert. There’s no point wasting your time trying to reach everyone, because “everyone” isn’t your target market.

A study conducted by Infosys revealed that 86% of consumers said that personalization impacted their purchasing decisions.

We live in a day and age where information is plentiful and at our fingertips. How will you make them care about what you have to offer without hyper-targeting through one or more of the many targeting strategies listed below?

• Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) Targeting
• Behavioral Targeting
• Contextual Targeting
• Demographic Targeting
• First-Party Data/CRM Activation/Lookalike Audiences
• Purchasing Targeting
• Real-Time GPS Geographical Targeting
• Technographic Targeting
• Time of Day Targeting
• Traditional Geographic Targeting

As you can see, there are targeting options abound! Whether you’re looking to target based on interests, viewing habits, device characteristics, location, income levels, or spending habits, smaller, hyper-targeting advertising is going to be more effective than creating broader strokes. 

A blended approach to make CTV ads actionable (That’s right, marketers, you can make a CTV ad “Clickable” — With the right approach)

Storytelling isn’t just for children’s books and landing pages. Creating a cohesive narrative across multiple channels is a powerful way to continue adding layers to a storyline. This method can use a blend of CTV advertising and retargeting, providing the opportunity for sequential messaging to occur across devices, and giving the consumer more time to absorb the information. Here at Strategus, we call this Encore Omnichannel, where we can retarget an already engaged viewer with calls-to-action on their other devices.

CTV advertising is also prime time to get hyper-local while also creating lookalike audiences to expand your reach towards similar customer profiles. With hyper-local targeting, you can narrow it down to the customer’s exact address and offer cross-device advertising that pushes restaurants, shops, and other local businesses right in front of the consumers’ eyes. This is especially helpful during COVID times when delivery is in demand. 

To learn more about the different strategies for creating “clickable” CTV ads, check out this article. 

As marketers, conversions are what matter in the end; ROI and attribution are at the heart of measurable conversions. If you want the best eCommerce video ads for Connected TV, you need to partner with a brand paving the way with innovative solutions. Here at Strategus, we focus on offering fully transparent metrics that include behavioral trends, demographics, technographics, contextual data, and other retargeting efforts so that you can track your campaigns with accuracy and confidence. If you’re ready to take that next step and ensure that your next campaign is effective, contact us today!