The TV advertising landscape just got a lot more inclusive.
It wasn’t that long ago that TV advertising was the bastion of big companies with bigger budgets hoping to raise awareness and equity of their brands.
But the explosive growth of connected TV (CTV) demolished that model. Yes, major household names are still thriving on television, but now brands of all backgrounds can unlock the benefits of TV, no matter their size or spend. That’s certainly a well-documented story. Still, one important question remains: Who are these brands that are redefining TV advertising?
The truth is just about every company can now be a TV advertiser. Brands that were often locked out unless they settled for late-night slots or struggling networks, household names hoping to measure metrics that go beyond brand awareness, direct-to-consumer (DTC) businesses with TV dreams and a digital advertising budget, or b-to-b brands in need of conversions.
So why are brands flocking to CTV? Because that’s where the audiences are. In fact, eMarketer estimates that 213.7 million viewers are watching CTV every month.
Ad dollars are following that viewership: 41% of brands are reallocating their social budgets toward CTV. And as the list of streaming platforms with or planning to include advertising grows (HBO Max, Hulu, Peacock, Disney+ and Netflix), more dollars are likely to follow.
But making the jump to CTV isn’t all about budget. Brands have been hesitant due to a longstanding lack of TV experience, concerns about accountability, and an uncertainty around how to approach the behemoth medium creatively and effectively.
There are still a lot of questions surrounding this new scope of opportunity. So, let’s get up close and personal with three brands to understand why they’ve made the jump into CTV and ultimately, how they became successful CTV advertisers.
The TV advertising landscape just got a lot more inclusive.
It wasn’t that long ago that TV advertising was the bastion of big companies with bigger budgets hoping to raise awareness and equity of their brands.
But the explosive growth of connected TV (CTV) demolished that model. Yes, major household names are still thriving on television, but now brands of all backgrounds can unlock the benefits of TV, no matter their size or spend. That’s certainly a well-documented story. Still, one important question remains: Who are these brands that are redefining TV advertising?
The truth is just about every company can now be a TV advertiser. Brands that were often locked out unless they settled for late-night slots or struggling networks, household names hoping to measure metrics that go beyond brand awareness, direct-to-consumer (DTC) businesses with TV dreams and a digital advertising budget, or b-to-b brands in need of conversions.
So why are brands flocking to CTV? Because that’s where the audiences are. In fact, eMarketer estimates that 213.7 million viewers are watching CTV every month.
Ad dollars are following that viewership: 41% of brands are reallocating their social budgets toward CTV. And as the list of streaming platforms with or planning to include advertising grows (HBO Max, Hulu, Peacock, Disney+ and Netflix), more dollars are likely to follow.
But making the jump to CTV isn’t all about budget. Brands have been hesitant due to a longstanding lack of TV experience, concerns about accountability, and an uncertainty around how to approach the behemoth medium creatively and effectively.
There are still a lot of questions surrounding this new scope of opportunity. So, let’s get up close and personal with three brands to understand why they’ve made the jump into CTV and ultimately, how they became successful CTV advertisers.
As a top NBA franchise with 81 regular season games on TV, the Atlanta Hawks certainly have had a presence on traditional TV.
Still, the team also needed a better way to drive ticket sales and turned to CTV knowing that a custom game plan was the way to achieve its very specific performance goal. That meant finding a platform that optimized campaigns to generate conversions, not just broad reach, while delivering ads exclusively on premium TV networks.
THE DECISION TO SHOOT FOR CTV
As more and more consumers continue to switch to streaming services, the idea to tap CTV was a no-brainer for the Hawks. But the team didn’t want to get in front of just any audience—the Hawks wanted to target a sports-obsessed, live-event loving, Georgia crowd ahead of an upcoming game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. And the team wanted to be able to track the results of its efforts in a timely and reliable way.
THE GAME PLAN
The Hawks tapped into both MNTN’s in-depth reporting and fully integrated creative suite to roll out a data-led strategy. While linear TV could only offer impressions, CTV offered multiple trackable KPIs that helped the team better understand and market to its fans.
Analytics aside, the Hawks now had the flexibility to continuously and easily update creative for the many campaigns they planned to run throughout the season—a critical component to ensuring their omnichannel strategy was consistently effective—especially as 87% of viewers now watch CTV with a second device, like a phone, tablet or laptop on hand.
When the time came to dig into the data, the team was surprised to see just how granular it got, including the most popular websites and TV channels where the Hawks’ creative was showing up, ensuring its ads were hitting the ideal audience. The team was also surprised by the opportunities for efficiency, like connecting pre-roll spots to display ads.
The Hawks were also able to sidestep common issues. For example, if a campaign was approaching its end date or a game sold out, the team could easily tweak creative and campaign goals. Using MNTN’s interface, the Hawks could now adjust every aspect of a campaign, including budget and end date, plus tack on timely, game-specific calls to action with the click of a button, saving time and earning high-quality traffic.
THE SCOREBOARD
After receiving a 7 times return on ad spend (ROAS) and a 24.2% visit rate from viewers who saw the CTV commercial, then visited the team's site, it’s safe to say that turning to CTV was a game changer for the Hawks. The team is now making CTV a consistent part of its media strategy.
As a top NBA franchise with 81 regular season games on TV, the Atlanta Hawks certainly have had a presence on traditional TV.
Still, the team also needed a better way to drive ticket sales and turned to CTV knowing that a custom game plan was the way to achieve its very specific performance goal. That meant finding a platform that optimized campaigns to generate conversions, not just broad reach, while delivering ads exclusively on premium TV networks.
THE DECISION TO SHOOT FOR CTV
As more and more consumers continue to switch to streaming services, the idea to tap CTV was a no-brainer for the Hawks. But the team didn’t want to get in front of just any audience—the Hawks wanted to target a sports-obsessed, live-event loving, Georgia crowd ahead of an upcoming game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. And the team wanted to be able to track the results of its efforts in a timely and reliable way.
THE GAME PLAN
The Hawks tapped into both MNTN’s in-depth reporting and fully integrated creative suite to roll out a data-led strategy. While linear TV could only offer impressions, CTV offered multiple trackable KPIs that helped the team better understand and market to its fans.
Analytics aside, the Hawks now had the flexibility to continuously and easily update creative for the many campaigns they planned to run throughout the season—a critical component to ensuring their omnichannel strategy was consistently effective—especially as 87% of viewers now watch CTV with a second device, like a phone, tablet or laptop on hand.
When the time came to dig into the data, the team was surprised to see just how granular it got, including the most popular websites and TV channels where the Hawks’ creative was showing up, ensuring its ads were hitting the ideal audience. The team was also surprised by the opportunities for efficiency, like connecting pre-roll spots to display ads.
The Hawks were also able to sidestep common issues. For example, if a campaign was approaching its end date or a game sold out, the team could easily tweak creative and campaign goals. Using MNTN’s interface, the Hawks could now adjust every aspect of a campaign, including budget and end date, plus tack on timely, game-specific calls to action with the click of a button, saving time and earning high-quality traffic.
THE SCOREBOARD
After receiving a 7 times return on ad spend (ROAS) and a 24.2% visit rate from viewers who saw the CTV commercial, then visited the team's site, it’s safe to say that turning to CTV was a game changer for the Hawks. The team is now making CTV a consistent part of its media strategy.
Rumpl’s cozy and warm Puffy blanket disrupted the outdoor market through effective DTC digital marketing. But as the sleeping-bag blanket hybrid began to get more and more popular, the brand needed to find a way to promote its growing product line to both existing and new customers. CTV, as a measurable channel, was the answer.
THE DECISION TO COZY UP TO CTV
For Rumpl, TV advertising was new territory. It reached a point where it knew its blankets and gear were popular with those who knew about the brand, but it needed to boost awareness. That seemed to be a job that CTV could do well. It would also need to appeal to its core audience of outdoor enthusiasts as well as others who might, say, want to stay warm at their kids’ soccer games or around the backyard fire pit. But the Rumpl team couldn’t find a partner that it felt would use its dollars efficiently.
A SEWN-UP STRATEGY
Rumpl ultimately chose to embark on its CTV adventure with MNTN to reach new and existing customers across multiple streaming networks. This included targeting new outdoor aficionados on the channels they frequented while also retargeting website visitors on their TV screens to remind them of an abandoned online cart or simply re-engage with them at a prime time and season.
In addition to reaching the right eyeballs at the right time, Rumpl was pleasantly surprised by just how wide the breadth of CTV’s reach was. It could now define its audience by more than just their outdoor habits, but by their interests, household income and more. This allowed the company to expand its overall audience and connect with relevant consumers who hadn’t yet discovered the brand.
Rumpl was also able to launch and pause campaigns at its leisure to achieve its evolving needs, remind website visitors about Rumpl on their living room screens and drive increased conversion rates. Additionally, as the company began rolling out variants of its sleeping-bag blanket, being able to quickly tweak campaigns on the fly became a must.
THE WRAP-UP
After experiencing the impact of CTV advertising, Rumpl decided to invest in a creative solution that matched its impressive new product cadence. It tapped into MNTN’s Creative-as-a-Subscription offering, which provides a steady stream of new CTV creative on a quarterly basis—allowing them to easily keep up with their creative needs.
The company’s ROAS exceeded its initial goals by 64%, driving conversions among its existing customers and audience as well as net-new viewers. Going forward, Rumpl can rely on an advertising strategy that matches the pace of its growing brand.
Rumpl’s cozy and warm Puffy blanket disrupted the outdoor market through effective DTC digital marketing. But as the sleeping-bag blanket hybrid began to get more and more popular, the brand needed to find a way to promote its growing product line to both existing and new customers. CTV, as a measurable channel, was the answer.
THE DECISION TO COZY UP TO CTV
For Rumpl, TV advertising was new territory. It reached a point where it knew its blankets and gear were popular with those who knew about the brand, but it needed to boost awareness. That seemed to be a job that CTV could do well. It would also need to appeal to its core audience of outdoor enthusiasts as well as others who might, say, want to stay warm at their kids’ soccer games or around the backyard fire pit. But the Rumpl team couldn’t find a partner that it felt would use its dollars efficiently.
A SEWN-UP STRATEGY
Rumpl ultimately chose to embark on its CTV adventure with MNTN to reach new and existing customers across multiple streaming networks. This included targeting new outdoor aficionados on the channels they frequented while also retargeting website visitors on their TV screens to remind them of an abandoned online cart or simply re-engage with them at a prime time and season.
In addition to reaching the right eyeballs at the right time, Rumpl was pleasantly surprised by just how wide the breadth of CTV’s reach was. It could now define its audience by more than just their outdoor habits, but by their interests, household income and more. This allowed the company to expand its overall audience and connect with relevant consumers who hadn’t yet discovered the brand.
Rumpl was also able to launch and pause campaigns at its leisure to achieve its evolving needs, remind website visitors about Rumpl on their living room screens and drive increased conversion rates. Additionally, as the company began rolling out variants of its sleeping-bag blanket, being able to quickly tweak campaigns on the fly became a must.
THE WRAP-UP
After experiencing the impact of CTV advertising, Rumpl decided to invest in a creative solution that matched its impressive new product cadence. It tapped into MNTN’s Creative-as-a-Subscription offering, which provides a steady stream of new CTV creative on a quarterly basis—allowing them to easily keep up with their creative needs.
The company’s ROAS exceeded its initial goals by 64%, driving conversions among its existing customers and audience as well as net-new viewers. Going forward, Rumpl can rely on an advertising strategy that matches the pace of its growing brand.
TV wasn’t a new channel for Ancient Nutrition. In the past, it had tested both linear TV and direct-response TV for its successful line of superfood supplements. But a new prospecting campaign designed to reach new customers required very specific targeting and significant scale. CTV would be key to generating this kind of awareness.
A HEALTHY VIEW OF THE CUSTOMER
Ancient Nutrition had very specific goals for its CTV program. After extensive research, it had identified a specific persona—“Jennefer”—that it wanted to reach. Jennefer is a person who takes great pride in her health. She prioritizes fitness, skincare and vitamins in her daily routine.
The CTV campaign would prioritize brand awareness to this audience. Performance metrics such as ROAS would be secondary. And Ancient Nutrition also wanted something in return from CTV: a better understanding of what creative and messaging really resonated with its target persona.
THE RECIPE
As a brand that values creative insights, being able to frequently and easily test different messaging was key to Ancient Nutrition’s CTV strategy. This meant being able to cast a wide net while maintaining a specific audience, and then meticulously and quickly tracking metrics to get greater insight into its target market. The company could increase brand awareness with its target Jennefer consumer, as well as retarget people who had made visits to its site in the past. This would ultimately drive purchase with both new and lapsed customers.
The brand especially valued the fact that it could track performance in real time. This allowed it to pivot creative, scale spend and adjust audience segments accordingly—a huge contrast from traditional TV and other mediums.
THE FINAL PRODUCT
Over six months, Ancient Nutrition was able to reach 40 million users and drive 3,600 purchases using CTV advertising with MNTN. The brand decided to shift some of its product priorities and messaging based on what it learned about Jennefer from its campaign, like which items resonate best with her and at what time she would want to actually make a purchase.
TV wasn’t a new channel for Ancient Nutrition. In the past, it had tested both linear TV and direct-response TV for its successful line of superfood supplements. But a new prospecting campaign designed to reach new customers required very specific targeting and significant scale. CTV would be key to generating this kind of awareness.
A HEALTHY VIEW OF THE CUSTOMER
Ancient Nutrition had very specific goals for its CTV program. After extensive research, it had identified a specific persona—“Jennefer”—that it wanted to reach. Jennefer is a person who takes great pride in her health. She prioritizes fitness, skincare and vitamins in her daily routine.
The CTV campaign would prioritize brand awareness to this audience. Performance metrics such as ROAS would be secondary. And Ancient Nutrition also wanted something in return from CTV: a better understanding of what creative and messaging really resonated with its target persona.
THE RECIPE
As a brand that values creative insights, being able to frequently and easily test different messaging was key to Ancient Nutrition’s CTV strategy. This meant being able to cast a wide net while maintaining a specific audience, and then meticulously and quickly tracking metrics to get greater insight into its target market. The company could increase brand awareness with its target Jennefer consumer, as well as retarget people who had made visits to its site in the past. This would ultimately drive purchase with both new and lapsed customers.
The brand especially valued the fact that it could track performance in real time. This allowed it to pivot creative, scale spend and adjust audience segments accordingly—a huge contrast from traditional TV and other mediums.
THE FINAL PRODUCT
Over six months, Ancient Nutrition was able to reach 40 million users and drive 3,600 purchases using CTV advertising with MNTN. The brand decided to shift some of its product priorities and messaging based on what it learned about Jennefer from its campaign, like which items resonate best with her and at what time she would want to actually make a purchase.
More than just a powerful pillar of advertising for brands with money to burn, CTV has evolved into a customizable, accessible strategy for all. If you’ve been hesitant about CTV, here are five things you should know.
THE EARLY ADOPTION PHASE FOR CTV IS OVER
It’s less about dipping your toe in the water and more about taking the CTV plunge: 91% of advertisers think CTV advertising is just as or more effective than linear TV at driving ROAS.
EXPERIENCE ISN’T NECESSARY
Everyone has a first CTV ad. With the right partner, you can make a splash on CTV, score engagement, track ROI effectively and more, regardless of your experience with the channel.
IT’S NEVER BEEN A BETTER TIME TO TAKE ON TV
The CTV audience is telling advertisers what they want to see from streaming ads: 60% of viewers enjoy watching CTV shows with ads customized to their taste.
CTV IS WHERE THE ACTION IS
That traditionally desirable 18-34 audience overindexes on CTV. You’ll be able to find a younger, more engaged audience and drive both brand awareness and customer conversions on CTV.
YOU ACTUALLY CAN HAVE IT ALL
Everyone talks about social advertising, but here’s a startling insight: CTV advertising has the same reach and audience of social, but consistently outperforms it in engagement.
More than just a powerful pillar of advertising for brands with money to burn, CTV has evolved into a customizable, accessible strategy for all. If you’ve been hesitant about CTV, here are five things you should know.
THE EARLY ADOPTION PHASE FOR CTV IS OVER
It’s less about dipping your toe in the water and more about taking the CTV plunge: 91% of advertisers think CTV advertising is just as or more effective than linear TV at driving ROAS.
EXPERIENCE ISN’T NECESSARY
Everyone has a first CTV ad. With the right partner, you can make a splash on CTV, score engagement, track ROI effectively and more, regardless of your experience with the channel.
IT’S NEVER BEEN A BETTER TIME TO TAKE ON TV
The CTV audience is telling advertisers what they want to see from streaming ads: 60% of viewers enjoy watching CTV shows with ads customized to their taste.
CTV IS WHERE THE ACTION IS
That traditionally desirable 18-34 audience overindexes on CTV. You’ll be able to find a younger, more engaged audience and drive both brand awareness and customer conversions on CTV.
YOU ACTUALLY CAN HAVE IT ALL
Everyone talks about social advertising, but here’s a startling insight: CTV advertising has the same reach and audience of social, but consistently outperforms it in engagement.
About MNTN
MNTN builds advertising software for brands to drive measurable conversions, revenue, site visits and more through the power of television. MNTN Performance TV is the world’s first and only connected TV advertising platform optimized for outcome-based marketing goals. It redefines what advertisers can do with television, giving them the power to tie performance directly to their TV campaigns. Learn more at mountain.com.
Artwork by Jackson Gibbs
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