If you’ve participated in any MGI webinar or read past Tipsters, you’re familiar with the fact that our success is driven by multi-channel, multi-touch marketing campaigns. As a metric-driven agency, we are always testing new tactics and channels in the hope of finding something new that we can recommend to our clients. While it may not be a new channel for all, it certainly seems the Association Industry is ready to get on board with Connected TV (CTV) advertising. Yes! Advertising your association on TV is possible and it won’t break the budget.
A client recently ran a 30-day CTV test before their Early Bird registration deadline with only a $10,000 media spend. This allowed them to show ads to a targeted audience more than 300,000 times on streaming TV services and audio platforms. Early results show strong video and audio completion rates, which we hope will translate into increased exam registrations.
So, what is CTV? CTV advertising is a form of digital advertising that appears within streaming content on internet-connected devices like Smart TVs, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, and gaming consoles. Some examples of popular platforms include Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, and many others. According to a Statista survey assessing internet-connected TV penetration rates in the U.S. spanning 7 years, the connected TV penetration rate in the United States rose to an all-time high in 2023, with 88 percent of American households owning at least one internet-connected TV device.
The statistics on CTV advertising point to a real advantage specifically for associations. Every day we hear from our clients and prospects that they want to attract younger members and are looking for ways to meet this target audience where they are. The most recently available data on the number of connected TV users in the United States showed that there were 56.8 million users among millennials, and it was estimated that this figure will hit 62.6 million by 2025. CTV advertising can help associations reach these younger audiences where they are already consuming content.
The precise targeting that is possible with CTV advertising makes it more effective and much more affordable than traditional (linear) television advertising. Traditional TV ads are viewed by everyone based on an assumption of interests and general location. CTV ads are shown exclusively to your target audience and the costs are in line with other digital advertising tactics such as retargeting or custom audiences.
Here are a few tips to keep in mind as you are thinking about CTV ads for your association:
Interested in learning how you can build CTV into your 2024 Marketing Plan? You can hear more in our recent episode of 15 Minutes to Impact (Episode 17) or contact John Sample, Senior Relationship Director, at jsample@marketinggeneral.com for a conversation about how your association can harness the power of Connected TV.