Connected TV Saw Big Gains During the Pandemic

The online video marketplace is set for a drastic transition, catalyzed by the pandemic, as more consumers embrace streaming. This is leading marketers to increasingly flood dollars into connected TV and embrace the automation of ad buying that programmatic tools can offer. Top line In 2020, global CTV impressions saw a 60% year-over-year increase, according to data from video ad-tech company Innovid, which analyzed over 200 billion display and video impressions delivered via its ad server. Overall, CTV accounted for 40% of digital video impression shares, compared to mobile and desktop, up from 31% in 2019. Meanwhile, mobile’s share of video impressions fell from 48% in 2019 to 43% in 2020. Desktop video advertising only accounted for 16% of the market, down from 46% in 2016. Jessica Hogue, gm of measurement and analytics at Innovid, told Adweek that CTV’s share of the online video marketplace within the company’s platform has been growing steadily over the two years, but the pandemic accelerated growth of the medium. “Where we're seeing share-shift is a little bit from mobile, and then a big share-shift from desktop into connected TV,” she said. Between the lines The pandemic forced people to stay at home and consequently consume more media, including streaming TV, which is often done on CTV devices. Plus, major media companies like NBCUniversal and ViacomCBS have rolled out their ad-supported streaming services, while device-makers like Samsung, Vizio, Roku and Amazon bolstered their big-screen ad offerings. The pandemic also disrupted television’s upfront season, leading marketers to demand more flexibility from networks. These factors have helped push marketers to embrace automation in their TV buys, as programmatic impressions served to CTV increased 207% in 2020, according to Innovid. And eMarketer projects programmatic ad spend on CTV in 2021 to equal $6.73 billion, accounting for more than half of the $11.36 billion total CTV ad spend in the U.S., according to the research firm. However, much of those automated deals are set up as programmatic guarantees or private marketplaces, which offer less flexibility than open marketplace buys that dominate mobile and desktop advertising. Bottom line Marketers are also starting to dabble in creative-versioning, where an advertiser will buy an ad placement but deliver different messages to certain users, across all devices. In the second half of 2020, Innovid saw dynamic video impressions double on its platform, meaning more brands were swapping creatives to reach audiences in better ways. “Brands are focused on putting their data to work while leveraging increased flexibility, better targeting and accurate campaign management. CTV solves for all of those and more, which is why the channel is growing so quickly,” Jon Tabak, gm of TV partnerships at The Trade Desk, said in a statement. NBCUniversal Wants to Be a Technology Company Too