A version of this was originally featured on ANA.

In an era where television was not merely entertainment but a cultural event, the inception of the 

 marked a strategic revolution in advertising. In the 1960s, amid a backdrop in which today's digital sprawl was mere science fiction, upfront negotiations set the stage for an annual symbiotic dance between networks and advertisers. With only three major broadcasters holding the reins to America's visual diet, the competition for ad slots (particularly those in prime time) was fierce. Highly coveted inventory was scarce; securing it early was not just advantageous but imperative.

As families congregated nightly in front of their televisions, networks wielded extraordinary power, often stumbling upon hit shows that raked in massive viewership. Advertisers, hungry for a slice of this captive audience (and to secure better inventory pricing and brand visibility), would lock in enough advertising commitments that made up a good portion of a network's annual revenue. The long months of negotiations and the significant control networks had over advertisers' budgets seemed a small price to pay for the certainty and discounts that the upfronts provided. In this golden age of television, the upfront model didn't just make sense, it thrived — sculpting the fiscal landscapes of both networks and advertisers with an iron fist veiled in velvet.

The Upfront in the Modern Media Landscape

, the upfront model faces an increasing variety of limitations. With more than 160 broadcast and cable networks and hundreds of streaming services and 

, the upfronts seem to many to be an increasingly outdated relic. The explosion of high-quality media channels means that premium inventory is no longer as scarce, and that advertisers are likely to find their audience (and access to key business outcomes) across multiple platforms without the need for early, locked-in commitments.

Today's highest-rated TV shows draw far smaller audiences than hits of the past, thanks to the diversification of what viewers watch and the availability of vast content libraries through streaming platforms and FAST channels. Increased audience fragmentation has led to more frequent use of ADUs (

) and make-goods, which can disrupt the timing and relevance of campaigns. In addition, as 

, many advertisers have continued to prioritize spending flexibility.

Despite challenges and lengthy negotiations, upfronts continue to play a crucial role in the ad planning and buying strategies of agency-holding companies and major brand marketers. They allow networks to maintain control over significant portions of advertisers' budgets and often compel media buyers to purchase packages that bundle less desirable inventory with highly coveted ad units. This rigidity contrasts sharply with marketers' need for agility and the flexibility to adjust campaigns quickly in response to real-time events and consumer demand.

This evolving landscape underscores the benefits of shifting toward continuous and data-driven planning. Such strategies promise not only adaptability but also the potential to achieve upfront-scale buying efficiency within the linear TV 

, and other premium video channels. To truly capitalize on these opportunities, 

advertisers must holistically manage these efforts

, ensuring that campaigns maximize reach, limit over-frequency, and achieve key business outcomes effectively and efficiently. This approach aligns more closely with the real-time demands of contemporary viewership and the strategic imperatives of modern marketers.

The Rise of Continuous, Data-Driven Planning and Buying

The evolution of continuous and data-driven planning represents a significant shift in advertising strategies. Moving away from reliance on broad demographics such as age and gender, this modern approach focuses on strategic audience targeting using advanced data sets. These include behavioral patterns, interests, and other nuanced signals, enabling advertisers to pinpoint and engage specific consumer segments predictably and effectively. The advent of CTV and other premium digital video platforms enhances this strategy, offering the flexibility of year-round buying and the ability to make real-time campaign adjustments.

No longer does the scatter market have to be a secondary option that allows smaller brands access to TV advertising at higher costs and with limited control over ad placements. Today, with more precise targeting, automation, and advanced analytics, the scatter market provides a robust channel for year-round buying, allowing advertisers to select specific ad spots, optimize their timing, and efficiently scale their campaigns. This modern approach not only offers greater advertising effectiveness but also enhances control over advertising spend, rivaling the scale benefits once exclusive to upfront buys with far greater flexibility and enhanced full-funnel marketing impact.

Despite growing challenges and a shift toward more flexible advertising models, the traditional TV upfront model retains importance for certain segments within the advertising ecosystem: primarily large-scale advertisers aiming to secure premium ad slots during live sporting events, award shows, and other high-profile programs. These events still draw massive audiences and represent some of the most valuable advertising opportunities on television. At the same time, most of the other ostensible benefits of the upfronts — the opportunity for cross-channel (linear, CTV, digital, etc.) diversification, incremental reach, impression guarantees, and negotiated options to cancel portions of the upfront — can be achieved or mirrored outside of the upfront context.

The broader TV ad planning and buying landscape is undeniably changing. The fragmentation of TV viewership across various platforms — and the increasing demand from advertisers for outcome-based metrics — is prompting a reevaluation of the upfront model. Many brand marketers and independent agencies are increasingly turning to continuous and data-driven strategies, allowing for year-round planning, buying, and optimization, as well as the ability to maximize return-on-ad-spend with greater flexibility and responsiveness to market conditions.

For many advertisers, especially those not targeting the highest echelons of broadcast events, participation in traditional upfronts is becoming less critical. Advances in technology and data analytics now allow these advertisers to access premium inventory, drive significant reach, and maximize ad spend effectiveness without the constraints of upfront commitments.

Navigating the Future of TV Advertising (and the Upfront Evolution)

As television advertising transitions from its traditional paradigm to a more dynamic and outcome-focused landscape, the TV upfront model confronts a pivotal juncture. While upfronts still provide value for securing ads during high-profile events with large audiences, the increasing fragmentation of audiences, growth of premium video outlets, and demand for personalized media require a more flexible and targeted advertising approach.

The ability to leverage real-time audience data, better optimize campaigns in flight, and measure cross-platform performance provides significant advantages over the rigid upfront commitments of the past. By targeting more precise consumer segments, routinely optimizing media mix, and tying ad exposure to business outcomes, data-driven TV advertising enables greater efficiency and effectiveness.

To be clear, this transition may be complex for some organizations, as fully harnessing the potential has two key requirements:

Industry participants must continue to sufficiently invest in disparate data source integration, data integrity, and analytical capabilities.

The industry itself needs to reconcile evolving measurement standards and the need for cross-platform currencies to enable seamless planning and attribution.

While the upfront model could theoretically adapt to modern advertising needs, the industry is moving toward more flexible, data-driven approaches that better align with the changing media landscape and evolving audience behaviors. Advances in technology and analytics now allow advertisers to reach more people broadly across a variety of channels and platforms, target audiences more precisely, optimize campaigns in real time, and achieve key business outcomes — all without the traditional constraints of upfront commitments.

As the paradigm of TV evolves, so must the storied upfront

The Upfront Is Dead, Long Live the Upfront

An integrated omnichannel strategy serves as the foundation for success in the modern marketing world. This guide takes a deep dive into the complexities of crafting an effective 

, showcasing its pivotal role within the overarching omnichannel approach. Understanding the essential nature of an omnichannel strategy, tailored to ensure a consistent brand experience across diverse channels, is crucial for engaging today's multifaceted consumer.

 underscores, the proliferation of smart TVs has reached an impressive 61.9% in H1 2023, indicating a 5 percentage point YoY increase and a substantial surge from 43.1% in 2019. These numbers underscore the ubiquity of smart TVs, now a dominant force in households across income levels.

Furthermore, the data illuminates the significant surge in average US time spent consuming online TV and streaming, reaching 1:50 in H1 2023. This noteworthy statistic positions the US as the second-highest among tracked countries, trailing only Saudi Arabia. The upward trajectory in time spent with online TV and streaming, soaring by 34.1% since 2019, highlights the growing influence and appeal of CTV.

The eMarketer insights also reveal the pervasive nature of on-demand and streaming service viewership across demographics, transcending age, income, and household locations. Notably, Gen Zers lead the charge with an impressive penetration rate of 97.4% for ages 16 to 24. Even age cohorts traditionally considered below the tech adoption curve, such as ages 55 to 64, boast a robust 87% penetration. As we delve into how to integrate CTV strategy into your omnichannel strategy, these statistics underscore the profound reach and impact this channel brings to the forefront. Now, let's explore the practical steps to harness the potential of CTV in your comprehensive marketing strategy.

Let’s start with the basics – de-siloing the two major TV platforms. Understanding the synergies between Connected TV (CTV) and traditional linear TV is a smart onramp to crafting an integrated marketing campaign. Rather than being adversaries, these channels can be powerful partners, each bringing its unique strengths to the table. Linear TV, with its expansive reach, continues to be a juggernaut, capturing the attention of diverse audiences. In contrast, CTV offers a more personalized viewing experience, allowing advertisers to tailor content to specific audience segments.

Our TV+ advertising platform sheds light on the current landscape, revealing that the total time spent by P2+ on Linear TV and ad-supported Connected TV is 3 hours and 54 minutes. Notably, 79% of this time is dedicated to Linear TV, highlighting its enduring significance. However, the remaining 21% on ad-supported Connected TV signifies a substantial and growing share, underscoring the increasing relevance of CTV in the media landscape.

Further insights from our platform emphasize the nuanced viewing habits of households. Approximately 27% of households are exclusively reachable through ad-supported CTV, indicating a trend of cord-cutters or cord-nevers. On the flip side, 57% of households are reachable by both Linear and Connected TV, illustrating the hybrid nature of many households' TV setups. Notably, CTV proves to be a more efficient avenue for reaching a significant portion of this audience.


Crucially, consumers perceive it all as TV, and this perspective necessitates a holistic approach for marketers. Achieving a comprehensive view of their entire TV campaign becomes imperative, incorporating de-duplicated cross-channel reach and frequency metrics. This approach enables marketers to measure performance across the entire spectrum of TV, ensuring a nuanced understanding of their campaign's impact and efficiency. As we delve into the integration of CTV into the broader marketing strategy, these insights illuminate the evolving dynamics of the TV landscape.

Integration with Overall Marketing Strategy

To harness CTV's full potential, it's imperative to seamlessly integrate it into your broader marketing strategy. As your messaging unfolds across the immersive CTV landscape, aligning with your brand's storytelling ethos, it simultaneously harmonizes with strategies on other owned, earned, and paid channels. This cohesive messaging approach ensures a consistent brand narrative that resonates across channels.

The precision applied to audience targeting in social media campaigns can enhance your approach by refining audience segmentation for CTV. When you use precise targeting on social media to reach specific demographics or interests, you can apply these refined audience segments (when available from 3rd party audience providers) to your CTV targeting strategy. This alignment not only improves audience engagement but also streamlines the execution of marketing initiatives. It ensures that your CTV campaigns are more focused and resonant, reaching the right viewers with greater efficiency.

Moreover, overarching campaign objectives should be a shared beacon guiding each channel, whether it's fostering brand awareness, driving sales, or highlighting a specific product. This comprehensive alignment isn't just about uniformity—it's about crafting a holistic customer journey. Understanding CTV's role in the broader narrative allows strategically placed touchpoints to seamlessly integrate with other channels, crafting an interconnected experience that resonates throughout every customer interaction.

Creative Synergies and Cross-Channel Impact

Unlock the full potential of your creative assets by seamlessly integrating them across channels. Repurpose engaging CTV creatives in other platforms such as social media or display advertising to amplify your message. This not only ensures a consistent brand narrative but also maximizes brand visibility across diverse touchpoints.

Moreover, it's not just a one-way street. Consider leveraging user-generated videos from your influencer channels as valuable raw materials for your CTV creative. This bidirectional approach allows you to tap into the authenticity of user-generated content while maintaining a cohesive brand story.

Integrating CTV with your social media strategy means combining the strengths of both channels to create a more powerful and cohesive brand presence. By aligning your CTV campaigns with your social media efforts, you ensure that the messages and stories you tell on each platform work together harmoniously. This coordination fosters a stronger connection with your audience, making your brand more memorable and impactful. In essence, it's about using the unique advantages of CTV and social media in tandem to provide viewers with a complete and unified brand experience.

But it doesn't stop there. CTV creative isn't confined to the TV screen; it can be a catalyst for actions on other devices. Drive viewers to your website or a landing page specific to a TV promotion, building retargeting pools for other channels. Incorporating QR codes in CTV creatives further minimizes friction across devices, creating a seamless user journey and amplifying cross-channel impact.

Attribution and Media Mix Modeling Across Channels

Understanding the impact of Connected TV (CTV) within your broader marketing mix is crucial for effective attribution and media mix modeling. Attribution in CTV involves assessing how specific touchpoints contribute to the customer's journey and identifying the role CTV plays in driving actions. Media mix modeling, on the other hand, evaluates the overall effectiveness of different channels in influencing audience behavior. In an integrated marketing campaign, various channels work synergistically, contributing touchpoints that collectively persuade the audience to take desired actions.

In the context of CTV attribution, it's essential to embrace multi-touch attribution models. These models go beyond simplistic, single-channel measurements, recognizing that customer journeys are complex and involve interactions with multiple channels. By examining touchpoints across different channels, including CTV, marketers gain a more nuanced understanding of how each contributes to the conversion process. Multi-touch attribution provides insights into the interplay between CTV and other channels, helping marketers identify patterns and refine strategies.

Media mix modeling takes a holistic approach, considering the cumulative impact of touchpoints across diverse channels. Evaluating the combined influence of CTV, display advertising, paid search, and other channels provides a comprehensive view of the marketing ecosystem. Marketers can then make informed decisions about budget distribution and optimize campaigns based on the collective impact of these touchpoints. This integrated approach ensures that CTV attribution is part of a broader strategy, recognizing the interconnected nature of touchpoints in the customer journey and maximizing the impact of every channel in the marketing mix.

Embrace the Versatility of Connected TV in Modern Marketing

Connected TV is a versatile and indispensable tool in modern marketing, seamlessly integrating into your broader strategy. By understanding its complementarity with linear TV, cross-device engagement capabilities, and potential for creative synergies, you can unlock the full potential of CTV. As the marketing landscape evolves, CTV stands as a practical and indispensable asset for brands aiming to connect with their audience across multiple touchpoints.

Ready to make CTV play a shining role in your integrated marketing campaigns? 

Reach out to one of our experts to get started

An integrated omnichannel strategy serves as the foundation for success in the modern marketing world. This guide takes a deep dive into the complexities of crafting an effective Connected TV (CTV) strategy, showcasing its pivotal role within the overarching omnichannel approach. Understanding the essential nature of an omnichannel strategy, tailored to ensure a consistent brand experience across diverse channels, is crucial for engaging today's multifaceted consumer.

Strategic Integration: CTV Marketing Strategy in the Omnichannel Landscape

With the growing complexity of digital advertising, crafting an effective streaming strategy is more crucial than ever. A well-defined 

 not only propels your brand into the spotlight but also ensures that every investment, message, and campaign aligns seamlessly with overarching goals. It helps you focus on what’s important. In this comprehensive guide, we'll delve into the core components of building a streaming strategy that not only captures attention but drives meaningful results. From defining goals to outmaneuvering competitors, we'll unravel the secrets to a robust streaming strategy.

What is Strategy, and Why Does it Matter?

At its core, a strategy is the blueprint that guides your efforts, aligning every move with your business objectives. Precision is paramount in streaming advertising, so a well-crafted streaming strategy ensures that your campaigns resonate cohesively with your audience, maximizing impact and ROI.

The Building Blocks of a Streaming Strategy

1. Why (Goals): What is the Ultimate Goal of My Streaming Campaign?

At the heart of any streaming strategy lies a clear understanding of your goals. Are you aiming for brand awareness, increased traffic, boosted sales, or perhaps app installations? Defining these goals provides a roadmap for your entire campaign. Your goals act as the guiding star, shaping every decision and tactic in your streaming strategy.

When it comes to measuring success in streaming, key performance indicators (KPIs) such as site visits, revenue generated from users exposed to CTV ads, and return on ad spend (ROAS) become essential benchmarks. For instance, if your primary goal is brand awareness, you might track metrics like unique reach and frequency to ensure your message is resonating with a broad audience. On the other hand, if your focus is on driving sales, KPIs such as conversion rates and attributed revenue can gauge the impact of your streaming efforts on the bottom line.

In essence, the ultimate goal of your streaming campaign sets the tone for the entire journey. It dictates not only the metrics you measure but also the strategies you employ to achieve success. Whether you're in pursuit of broader brand recognition or aiming for tangible business outcomes, clarifying your goals is the first step towards building a streaming strategy that delivers meaningful results.

2. Who (Target Audience): Who Exactly Am I Trying to Reach?

Understanding your strategic audience goes beyond basic demographics. Fully defined buyer personas are crafted based on a deep understanding of your viewers, incorporating industry best practices. Employ a mix of qualitative and quantitative research to gather demographic information such as age, gender, location, and income. However, the essence of best practices lies in delving into psychographics—attitudes, values, interests, and lifestyles. Utilize surveys, interviews, and social media analysis to gather this data effectively.

Creating impactful B2C buyer personas involves crafting detailed narratives for each persona, incorporating their challenges, aspirations, and pain points. This process humanizes your audience, allowing you to connect with them on a deeper level. For a streaming strategy, align your campaign messaging with the interests and preferences of your buyer personas.

These buyer personas should also guide your campaign targeting strategy, identifying the platforms, genres, and specific content that resonate with your audience. This not only maximizes the impact of your streaming efforts but also influences how you measure your reach metrics. An integration of buyer personas, targeting strategy, and industry best practices ensures a cohesive approach, enhancing the precision and impact of your streaming campaigns.

3. What (Message in Creative Strategy): What Value Does My Message Deliver?

The heart of your streaming campaign lies in your creative strategy's message. It's not just about what you say; it's about the value you deliver to your audience. Center your message around addressing the jobs-to-be-done for your viewers—the fundamental problems or tasks they're seeking solutions for. This business-oriented concept ensures that your creative strategy speaks directly to their needs, positioning your brand as the answer they've been looking for.

Craft a compelling message by understanding the brand attributes most appealing to your audience. Identify what makes your product or service unique and desirable, differentiating you from the competition. Your streaming campaign should be more than information; it should tell a story that resonates with your audience's values and aspirations.

Promotions play a crucial role in delivering value. Go beyond standard advertising and create promotions that resonate personally with your audience. Utilize limited-time offers, exclusive deals, or tailored promotions that align with your audience's preferences. These promotions become an integral part of the value your message delivers, creating urgency and excitement. Ensure your core message is memorable, succinct, and aligned with your brand identity, leaving a lasting impression that associates key values with your brand.

4. When (Timing, How Long, How Often): When Should My Campaign Run, and How Frequently?

Timing is a critical element to define in your streaming strategy. Consider your product's nature and determine the most opportune moments to showcase it. Some products benefit from a continuous, always-on campaign, providing a steady presence in consumers' minds. Others find success with seasonal bursts, strategically aligning with periods of heightened interest.

The temporal considerations extend to the duration of your campaign. Decide how long it should run for optimal results—whether a continuous, ever-present approach or a seasonal, intermittent schedule aligns with your goals. Additionally, carefully choose the frequency of your campaign to strike the right balance, ensuring your message remains impactful without overwhelming your audience. The 'when' factor involves a practical balancing act between timing, campaign duration, and frequency goals, ultimately shaping an effective streaming strategy.

5. Where (Media Buying Avenues): Where Can I Find My Strategic Audience on TV?

Determining where your strategic audience can be found in the vast landscape of Connected TV (CTV) is a pivotal aspect of your streaming strategy. Simulmedia, as a trusted partner, can assist in pinpointing the ideal places to connect with your audience on TV. The CTV supply chain is dynamic, so it's essential to comprehend the diverse avenues available for media buying.

Understanding the distinction between publishers and sellers is crucial to navigating the CTV ecosystem well. Publishers create and produce content but also sell ad inventory, while sellers distribute the content through their apps and sell some percentage of the ad inventory within that content (depending on their licensing agreement with the content producer). Marketers must decide whether to engage directly with content producers for a more tailored association or explore different distributors, including Ad-Supported Video on Demand (

) apps, Virtual Multichannel Video Programming Distributors (

However, navigating multiple points in the supply chain comes with its challenges. Marketers should be mindful of potential over-frequency issues that may arise when working with various sellers, as one seller may not have visibility into where another places your ads. Striking a balance between targeted association and avoiding over-frequencing becomes a crucial consideration in optimizing media buying strategies within the intricate CTV landscape.

6. How (Campaign Strategy): How Can I Optimize Campaign Strategy Across the Funnel?

A successful CTV campaign strategy requires a nuanced understanding of your target audience and product. Upper-funnel campaigns serve as the launchpad, strategically casting a broad net for brand awareness. Addressing key questions about your audience and product lays the foundation for impactful campaigns. This approach involves considering geographic priorities, leveraging 

 for precision, and recognizing the intricate landscape of demographic targeting.

In the realm of demographics, a tailored strategy is essential. While a broad approach may suit mass appeal, certain products benefit from a more nuanced demographic targeting approach. Understanding the multifaceted nature of your audience's behavioral characteristics is also crucial. This insight allows for finely-tuned outreach strategies that create a profound connection with diverse consumer segments.

 through content genres becomes vital. With the challenges posed by the demise of third-party cookies, genres act as effective proxies for audience profiles. Aligning your brand with specific content genres that resonate with your target audience ensures contextual relevance. Additionally, identifying viewer behavior and leveraging this insight for lookalike modeling can be a powerful strategy – and Simulmedia 

In essence, optimizing your campaign strategy involves answering crucial questions, tailoring your approach at each stage of the customer journey, and ensuring a cohesive and effective streaming strategy. From casting a broad net for brand awareness to delving into nuanced demographic and behavioral targeting, a comprehensive strategy is the key to streaming success.

7. How Much (Investment, Cost per Reach Targets): How Much Should I Invest, and What Are My Reach Targets?

Strategic investment planning for the streaming channel requires a comprehensive understanding not only in comparison to linear TV but also concerning other advertising channels. The high-impact nature of TV advertising, which often radiates a halo effect on other channels, emphasizes the need for a thoughtful allocation of resources.

In this context, utilizing planning tools and media mix models becomes instrumental in determining the optimal budget for each channel, including the Connected TV (CTV) channel. Simulmedia, serving as a strategic partner, 

 into the distribution of the audience between linear TV and ad-supported CTV. This collaborative effort ensures that the investment is tailored to the audience's media consumption patterns, maximizing the impact of the streaming strategy across diverse channels.

To further refine this strategic investment, it's imperative to formulate clear 

 goals. Understanding the desired reach and impact of your CTV campaign allows for precise calculations that guide the allocation of resources. By establishing these goals, marketers can measure the effectiveness of their streaming strategy and fine-tune their approach for optimal outcomes.

8. Against What (Competitor Analysis): What Are My Competitors Doing, and How Can I Disrupt?

A thorough analysis of competitors' CTV efforts is imperative to formulate a disruptive and impactful CTV strategy. Understanding the reach and success of competitors in the CTV landscape sets the stage for strategic maneuvers that can elevate your brand's share of voice and market presence.

Gauging a competitor's advertising reach within the shared target audience may present challenges, but 

 unlocks valuable insights. With a clearer picture of competitors' strategies, the next step involves the implementation of conquesting campaigns. This strategic approach entails targeting the same audience reached by competitors, not only disrupting their established share of voice but also amplifying your visibility among potential customers. The choice between a red ocean strategy, amplifying spend in DMAs where competitors dominate, and a blue ocean strategy, focusing on less-contested territories, provides a tactical framework to strategically position your brand and outmaneuver competitors in the competitive CTV landscape.

Conclusion: Navigating the Streaming Waters with Precision

The streaming world continues to evolve at a hectic pace, and so precision and strategy are the keys to success. Crafting a streaming strategy that aligns with goals, resonates with your audience, and outmaneuvers competitors ensures your brand stays ahead. As you embark on your streaming journey, let these questions provide direction to thinking about your streaming strategy and propel your brand to new heights of visibility and engagement.

Ready to elevate your streaming strategy with hard-to-get viewership and competitive data? 

A well-defined strategy not only propels your brand into the spotlight but also ensures that every investment, message, and campaign aligns seamlessly with overarching goals. It helps you focus on what’s important. In this comprehensive guide, we'll delve into the core components of building a streaming strategy that not only captures attention but drives meaningful results. From defining goals to outmaneuvering competitors, we'll unravel the secrets to a robust streaming strategy.


Building a Solid Streaming Strategy: A Quick Guide

For advertisers who work in Connected TV (CTV), crafting a successful campaign involves understanding the nuances of the customer journey and tailoring a 

 accordingly. Let's embark on a journey through the layers of CTV campaigns, exploring how marketers strategically navigate the upper and lower funnels to achieve optimal results.

Casting a Broad Net: Strategies for Upper-Funnel Campaigns

Upper-funnel campaigns act as the dynamic launch pad for building brand awareness and engagement. Here, marketers strategically cast a broad net to captivate attention and forge an extensive audience base. An effective approach to crafting upper-funnel campaign strategies involves thoughtful consideration of the target audience and the promoted product or service. By answering key questions about these elements, you lay the foundation for a well-rounded and impactful campaign.

As you navigate these questions and their respective answers, consider their amalgamation. This process might yield diverse strategies for multiple upper-funnel campaigns, each tailored to resonate with specific aspects of your audience and product or service.

What are the geographic priorities and constraints of the campaign?

Determining your campaign's geographic priorities and constraints is a pivotal step, whether you're making a grand entrance with a brick-and-mortar store in the Chicago metropolitan area or strategically concentrating advertising efforts in Northeastern major metropolitan areas where your restaurants flourish.

Geographic targeting, often called geotargeting, ensures your message resonates within specific markets or city centers. This approach is particularly beneficial for brands with a regional focus, allowing them to concentrate their efforts where it matters most. For CTV advertisers, understanding 

 and how it can elevate your campaigns becomes pivotal to crafting targeted and impactful strategies.

With geotargeting, precision is the key. Different geotargeting strategies allow marketers to fine-tune their approach based on specific geographical parameters. Marketers can narrow their audience down to designated market areas (DMAs), cities, regions, zip codes, and more. This granular level of targeting becomes crucial when a product or service is only available in specific parts of the country. Geotargeting, in essence, ensures that advertising efforts are not squandered in areas where the product or service cannot be serviced effectively.

Example: Consider a local restaurant chain utilizing geographic targeting to reach potential customers within a 10-mile radius. By promoting daily specials and exclusive offers, the restaurant maximizes the impact of its CTV advertising, resonating specifically with the local audience.

How would you demographically describe your target audience(s)?

In defining your target audience demographically, moving beyond conventional boundaries is crucial. While age and gender are common considerations, the spectrum of demographic data is vast, encompassing marital status, household size, ethnicity, income level, education, professions, and more. Many products, in fact, cater to multiple target audiences, each with unique demographic characteristics and distinct values tied to your product. The level of specificity or broadness in your approach hinges on the nature of your product and the nuances of each audience segment.

For some products, a broader approach may prove advantageous, especially when aiming for mass appeal. Targeting broad demographic groups, like adults 18+ or parents with kids, becomes a strategic move to maximize reach and establish a foundation for widespread brand recognition. Conversely, when a product is designed to resonate with distinct and diverse consumer groups, fine-tuning your demographic targeting becomes paramount.

Example: Imagine a skincare brand with a product line tailored for both young adults battling acne and mature individuals combating signs of aging. In this scenario, a nuanced demographic targeting strategy involves tailoring ads to reach both age groups distinctly. By doing so, the brand speaks directly to the unique concerns of each demographic, fostering a deeper connection and resonating more effectively with its diverse consumer base.

What behavioral characteristics does your target audience(s) exhibit?

When delving into your target audience, it's essential to transcend conventional demographic constraints. Your customers are intricate beings, reflecting a kaleidoscope of behavioral characteristics—personal intricacies like affinities, hobbies, and interests; behavioral nuances encompassing lifestyle, habits, and propensities; diverse consumption habits like ownership, purchase behavior, and brand preferences; and even experiential stages that encompass past behavior, life moments, and micro-events. Let's encapsulate this rich mosaic of human subtleties under the term "behavioral characteristics."

Deciphering and harnessing these diverse behavioral characteristics unlocks the potential for finely-tuned outreach strategies, forging a profound connection with your audience. It's not merely about demographic labels; it's about unveiling the triggers that spark their consideration of your product.

Example: A travel agency collaborates with a third-party audience provider. By tapping into the provider's insights, the agency targets individuals immersed in extensive research about various European destinations. This strategic alignment with behavioral characteristics ensures that the CTV campaign resonates with aspiring European vacationers, effortlessly promoting the agency's enticing and affordable packaged trips to diverse European destinations.

What types of content genres make sense with your product or service?

With the demise of third-party cookies, achieving accurate behavioral targeting is becoming increasingly challenging. Fortunately, genres can serve as effective proxies for audience profiles, offering a workaround in this evolving landscape. For instance, individuals passionate about home decor might find themselves engrossed in home makeover shows, while those eyeing new kitchen aids might gravitate toward cooking shows.

 becomes a beacon for marketers seeking precision. Aligning your brand with specific content genres that resonate with your target audience provides a contextual relevance that transcends traditional cookie-based approaches. This strategic immersion places your brand seamlessly within the consumer's chosen narrative.

Example: Consider a fitness brand utilizing CTV contextual buys by sponsoring health and wellness content. They can do so by working within publishers’ genre-specific private marketplaces. By intertwining its message with content that already captivates viewers focused on well-being, the brand not only ensures contextual relevance but also establishes a genuine connection within a shared narrative. This strategic alignment enhances the impact of the brand's message, fostering a deeper resonance with the audience.

What viewing behavior do your best customers exhibit, and can we find more like them?

Answering this question may seem daunting, but fear not—collaborating with a trusted partner like Simulmedia can illuminate the way. Just 

Take a moment to ponder your digital footprint, from your main website to microsites and apps. At a fundamental level, placing a pixel on your site or leveraging your Mobile Measurement Partner to profile app users opens a window into the TV consumption habits of your audience.

For more precision, especially if your site boasts significant traffic, we can delve deeper. Imagine understanding the TV viewership behavior of individuals who have added items to their shopping cart—a level of specificity that transforms targeting strategies. Additionally, your CRM holds a treasure trove of data, allowing us to profile the TV viewership behavior of customers in your database.

Once armed with the profile of an anonymized pool of your visitors or customers, we can employ the power of lookalike modeling. This strategic approach involves identifying new prospects exhibiting similar behavioral patterns, effectively expanding your reach with precision.

Example: Picture an online fashion retailer utilizing CTV lookalike modeling. By targeting audiences mirroring the TV consumption patterns of their most loyal customers, this retailer not only expands its customer base but does so with surgical precision, ensuring the outreach aligns seamlessly with the preferences of their existing audience.

Are There External Factors, Such as Seasonality or Weather, That Make Your Product More Appealing?

Understanding the impact of external factors like seasonality and weather is crucial for an effective CTV advertising strategy. Seasonal and weather targeting provides a powerful way to stay relevant by aligning your CTV campaign with consumer needs influenced by seasons or weather conditions. It enhances personalization and focuses your CTV advertising efforts by allowing you to tailor your CTV buys based on the regions or times where your product is most relevant. Additionally, it enables adaptability by allowing you to respond to changing consumer behavior in real time.

Example: A travel agency might use CTV advertising to promote sunny destinations during especially cold days during the winter months, or a streaming service could highlight cozy content on rainy days. By leveraging external factors in CTV advertising, marketers can tailor campaigns with precision, ensuring maximum impact and relevance.

Who Are Your Competitors Currently Reaching with Their Advertising, and Does It Make Sense to Target Them as Well to Increase Your Share-of-Voice?

Understanding your competitors' reach in advertising is crucial for devising a strategic campaign that enhances your share of voice. While it might be challenging to gauge a competitor's reach in their shared target audience, 

Once you have your hands on these insights, conquesting campaigns come into play. By strategically targeting the audience your competitors are reaching, you not only disrupt their share of voice but also increase your own visibility among potential customers. You can tailor your approach based on market conditions — a red ocean strategy involves dialing up spend in specific DMAs where competitors dominate the share-of-voice, intensifying the competition. On the other hand, a blue ocean strategy focuses on DMAs where both you and your competitors have a low share of voice, presenting an opportunity to capture market share in less contested territories.

Example: Consider a scenario where a new streaming service aims to challenge an established competitor. By employing a conquesting campaign, the newcomer strategically increases its CTV advertising spend in DMAs where the competitor holds sway. This red ocean approach not only disrupts the competitor's dominance but also elevates the newcomer's share of voice, making waves in the competitive landscape.

Creative and Media Strategies: Crafting the Message

Diversifying creatives for different audience segments, paired with optimizing media plans, enhances the effectiveness of upper-funnel campaigns, by ensuring a dynamic and resonant message that captivates diverse viewer preferences.

Example: A car manufacturer tailors its creatives differently for families, adventure seekers, and tech enthusiasts, optimizing media placement for maximum impact.

Metrics in this phase focus on reach and frequency, aiming to keep the brand top-of-mind and capture early interest in the sales funnel. They often can extend to mid-funnel metrics, such as site visitation or app installs.

Precision Targeting: Strategies for Lower-Funnel Success

In the lower funnel, where the goal is to transition prospects into valued customers, precision targeting takes center stage. This phase hinges on refined strategies, directing efforts towards high-intent audiences and actions that propel conversions. A powerful tool in this arsenal is CTV retargeting, a strategic approach that capitalizes on the familiarity already established with potential customers.

 operates on the principle that targeting those who have visited your site or app yet haven't completed a purchase and those who have encountered your CTV ad but haven't taken action yet can significantly amplify conversion efforts. The effectiveness of retargeting lies in capturing the attention of individuals who have already shown interest, ensuring your brand remains top-of-mind during their decision-making process.

Example: Consider an e-commerce platform leveraging CTV retargeting. For those who visited their site without making a purchase, a strategic retargeting campaign nudges them towards making a transaction, gently reminding them of the brand and encouraging them to return. Simultaneously, for those who have seen their CTV ad but have yet to take action, a well-timed retargeting effort keeps the brand in their consideration set. It's a delicate balance, avoiding over-frequency while strategically using retargeting to remain present in the consumer's mind at the critical moment of purchase intent.

Metrics in this phase focus on lower-funnel metrics such as successful purchases and transactions or leads generated from form fills.

The Harmonious Symphony: Crafting a Holistic CTV Strategy

The key to CTV success lies in orchestrating a balanced approach across the entire customer journey. While optimizing for lower funnel conversions is vital, neglecting the upper funnel can stifle long-term growth. Crafting a holistic strategy sustains growth by continually feeding the marketing funnel with new prospects and awareness.

In conclusion, CTV campaigns are a multifaceted landscape, offering marketers a spectrum of strategies to capture and engage audiences across different stages of the customer journey. By tailoring campaigns to each phase, marketers can unlock the full potential of CTV advertising, creating a seamless and effective brand narrative.

For advertisers who work in Connected TV (CTV), crafting a successful campaign involves understanding the nuances of the customer journey and tailoring a CTV strategy accordingly. Let's embark on a journey through the layers of CTV campaigns, exploring how marketers strategically navigate the upper and lower funnels to achieve optimal results.

Unveiling the Spectrum: Navigating Through Different Types of CTV Campaigns

 is paramount for digital advertising success. This comprehensive guide delves into the intricacies of crafting a winning strategy for Connected TV (CTV) and Over-The-Top (OTT), shedding light on the importance of precision and adaptability in the ever-evolving landscape.

Grasping the Core of Strategy: Defining Strategy and Its Significance

Essentially, a strategy functions as the guiding framework for your actions, ensuring that each step is in harmony with your business goals. In the context of streaming advertising, precision is crucial. This segment will delve into the fundamental aspects of a streaming strategy, underscoring the importance of a meticulously designed plan that connects seamlessly with the audience, guaranteeing optimal influence and return on investment (ROI).

Marketers face a pivotal decision in choosing between CTV and OTT campaigns, as each comes with distinct characteristics. The primary consideration revolves around screen size and user experience. CTV campaigns are designed for the big screen, offering an immersive, lean-back experience. In contrast, OTT campaigns extend across various devices, accommodating on-the-go and interactive viewing experiences on smaller screens.

Marketers need to decide which platform aligns better with their campaign goals and audience preferences. Opting for CTV ensures a focus on the premium, larger screen experience, while OTT caters to the flexibility demanded by smaller screens and diverse devices.

Adding to the complexity, vendors often use the terms CTV and OTT interchangeably, leading to potential confusion for marketers. Understanding the distinction is crucial, especially since CTV advertising tends to be more expensive due to its exclusive focus on larger screens. Marketers must be clear about what they are paying for and choose the platform that best suits their campaign objectives and target audience.

This section takes a top-down approach, addressing the fundamental questions of why, what, when, where, and how of CTV strategy:

Why (Goals): Clarifying the ultimate goal of your streaming campaign.

Clarifying the ultimate goal of your streaming campaign is the foundational step. Defining the objectives of your streaming initiative, whether centered on brand awareness, increased traffic, enhanced sales, or app installations, establishes a clear roadmap for the entire campaign. Key performance indicators (KPIs) such as site visits, revenue generation, and return on ad spend (ROAS) become pivotal benchmarks for gauging success.

Who (Target Audience): Understanding the target audience through detailed buyer personas.

Gaining insight into your target audience involves developing detailed buyer personas through a blend of qualitative and quantitative research. This process goes beyond demographic information, delving into psychographics to foster a deeper connection with viewers. Aligning content with buyer personas not only shapes campaign targeting strategy but also ensures a cohesive and resonant approach.

What (Message in Creative Strategy): Crafting a compelling message that adds value and resonates with your audience.

The heart of a streaming campaign lies in the creative strategy's message. Craft a compelling message by addressing the fundamental problems or tasks your audience seeks solutions for. Promotions that resonate personally with your audience add value to your message, creating urgency and excitement.

When (Timing, How Long, How Often): Determining your campaign's optimal timing, duration, and frequency.

Timing, duration, and frequency are critical elements. Consider the nature of your product and determine the most opportune moments to showcase it. Whether adopting a continuous or seasonal approach, finding the right balance ensures your message remains impactful without overwhelming your audience.

Where (Media Buying Avenues): Identifying strategic places to connect with your audience in the CTV landscape.

Pinpointing the ideal places to connect with your audience in the CTV landscape is pivotal. Understanding the CTV supply chain, differentiating between publishers and sellers, and navigating potential challenges ensure effective media buying strategies.

How Much (Investment, Cost-per-reach Targets): Strategically planning the investment and setting cost-per-reach targets.

Strategic investment planning involves understanding audience distribution between linear TV and CTV. Utilizing planning tools and media mix models ensures optimal budget allocation. Clear cost-per-reach goals refine the investment strategy for optimal outcomes.

Against Whom (Competitor Analysis): Analyzing competitors to disrupt and increase brand visibility.

Thorough competitor analysis is imperative for a disruptive CTV strategy. Understanding competitors' reach and success sets the stage for strategic maneuvers, including conquesting campaigns that target the same audience, disrupting competitors' share of voice, and amplifying your brand's visibility.

How (Campaign Strategy): Optimizing campaign strategy across the entire funnel.

A nuanced understanding of the target audience and product is crucial for a successful CTV campaign strategy. Tailoring strategies at each stage of the customer journey, including geographic priorities, demographic targeting, and contextual relevance through content genres, ensures a comprehensive and effective streaming strategy. Let’s next dive into the specifics of designing CTV campaigns to support the strategy.

Designing CTV Campaigns to Support the Strategy

Strategic Harmony: Crafting a Holistic CTV Approach for End-to-End Growth

To craft a holistic CTV strategy that sustains growth across the entire customer journey, marketers need to take a holistic approach to campaign planning by considering both upper and lower-funnel campaign strategies:

Upper-Funnel Campaigns: Strategies for building brand awareness and engagement.

Upper-funnel campaigns serve as the launchpad for building brand awareness and engagement. Marketers strategically cast a broad net, capturing attention and forging an extensive audience base. Crafting effective upper-funnel strategies involves answering key questions about geographic priorities, demographics, behavioral characteristics, content genres, and viewing behaviors.

Lower-Funnel Campaigns: Retargeting high-intent audiences for lower-funnel success.

In the lower funnel, precision targeting takes center stage, directing efforts toward high-intent audiences. CTV retargeting becomes a powerful tool, capitalizing on established familiarity with potential customers. Metrics in this phase focus on lower-funnel metrics such as successful purchases, transactions, or leads generated from form fills.

The key to CTV success lies in orchestrating a balanced approach across the entire customer journey. While optimizing for lower-funnel conversions is vital, neglecting the upper funnel can stifle long-term growth. Crafting a holistic strategy sustains growth by continually feeding the marketing funnel with new prospects and awareness.

Elevating CTV Advertising: Strategies for Creative Excellence

Crafting diverse and compelling creatives is instrumental in making a lasting impression on your audience. This facet of your upper-funnel campaign involves tailoring creatives for different audience segments, ensuring a resonance that goes beyond a one-size-fits-all approach. By diversifying your creatives, you create a tapestry of messaging that captures the attention of varied viewers, each with their unique preferences and interests.

Advertisers used to the linear TV world need to recognize the opportunities presented in the CTV world by dynamic ad insertion technology. This technique enables advertisers to serve personalized ads to viewers in real-time, tailoring the content based on their interests and behavior. This seamless integration into live or on-demand video content, whether on CTV devices, streaming services, or OTT providers, empowers advertisers to create targeted and relevant ad campaigns. By utilizing data such as device type, geographic location, and viewer behavior, advertisers can deliver ads that speak directly to the unique characteristics of their audience. This approach not only enhances the relevance of the message but also provides the ability to measure and analyze the performance of each ad, optimizing for the best results. Dynamic ad insertion is a linchpin in CTV advertising, offering a more personalized and engaging experience for viewers and, consequently, improving the effectiveness of advertising efforts.

Mastering video advertising on CTV is the pinnacle of creating an impactful and memorable brand presence. Given that CTV advertising revolves around video content, it's crucial to ensure that your video ads are not only engaging but of high quality. Platforms like Roku and Amazon Fire TV provide a myriad of targeting options, allowing advertisers to tailor their video ads to specific demographics and interests. Video advertising's versatility, whether in pre-roll, mid-roll, or post-roll formats, enables advertisers to choose the level of engagement that aligns with the content and viewer behavior. With a higher retention rate than text or banner ads, video advertising on CTV becomes a powerful tool for enhancing brand awareness and recall. The storytelling capabilities of video content make it an effective medium for conveying messages, demonstrating products, and creating a lasting impact on the audience.

CTV Targeting Mastery: Precision Strategies for Impactful Campaigns

 strategies is integral to a successful advertising campaign. Each element, from geographic priorities to behavioral nuances, contributes to a finely-tuned outreach plan. Here's a focused exploration of key aspects empowering advertisers to unlock the full potential of CTV targeting:

Determining the geographic priorities of your campaign is foundational. 

 ensures precision by narrowing down the audience to DMAs, cities, regions, or zip codes. A local restaurant, for example, can maximize CTV impact by reaching potential customers within a specific radius.

Moving beyond age and gender, a nuanced demographic approach involves considering marital status, income, and more. Tailoring ads to reach distinct demographic groups, as seen with a skincare brand targeting both young adults and mature individuals, fosters a deeper connection.

Understanding personal preferences, lifestyle habits, and experiential stages is crucial for impactful CTV targeting. This involves delving into a rich mosaic of human subtleties, utilizing third-party data providers like Nielsen, TruAudience, or comScore to enhance insights into different demographic groups and their viewing habits. For example, a travel agency aligning with individuals researching European destinations can use this data to create a highly targeted and effective CTV campaign.

Behavioral insights from third-party data empower advertisers to optimize ad delivery for maximum impact, ensuring that CTV advertising budgets efficiently reach the right audience. This precision not only deepens the understanding of the audience but also increases the likelihood of conversions by reaching the right people at the right time.

 becomes paramount, allowing marketers to align their message with specific content genres. Genres serve as effective proxies for audience profiles, offering a workaround for precise targeting. A fitness brand sponsoring health and wellness content ensures contextual relevance and a genuine connection.

Profiling the TV viewership behavior of customers and identifying similar prospects is powerful. Lookalike modeling allows for precision expansion, as seen with an online fashion retailer targeting audiences mirroring the TV consumption patterns of their loyal customers.

Retargeting in CTV Advertising: Engaging the Interested Viewer

Retargeting in CTV advertising is a powerful strategy aimed at individuals who have previously interacted with your brand or website. This approach significantly enhances the likelihood of conversions by reaching an audience that has already shown interest in your products or services. Utilizing cookies, pixels, and tracking technology, 

 is executed on platforms like Roku or DV360, optionally combining various targeting options such as demographics, behavior, and frequency capping for maximum effectiveness.

Developing a robust strategy for CTV advertising is paramount for digital advertising success.. This comprehensive guide delves into the intricacies of crafting a winning strategy for Connected TV (CTV), shedding light on the importance of precision and adaptability in the ever-evolving landscape.

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