How advertisers are building performance marketing into awareness-driven TV strategies

While many awareness-driven campaigns are measured through offline activities, CTV advertising offers marketers measurable ROI through its digital capabilities, including targeting and measurement. In contrast, linear TV is mainly considered a branding channel.

“There’s a general sense that marketers need to prove the impact and importance of their budgets,” said Tim Edmundson, senior director of content and research at MNTN. “CTV at its core is a digital ad channel, which means marketers can directly tie revenue outcomes back to ads — something that just isn’t feasible on linear TV. So, for an advertiser who is looking to raise the profile of their brand but also deliver measurable revenue, CTV is looking like a pretty appealing option.”

How a pet supplies retailer added a performance marketing strategy to its CTV plans

Marketers are increasingly using CTV’s digital capabilities to reach targeted audiences through TV screens and generate measurable results.

For instance, a popular pet supplies retailer partnered with MNTN to expand its CTV presence to reach new customers while gathering key audience insights. The retailer had advertised on linear and CTV for years but wanted to enhance its top-of-funnel TV efforts with a performance element.

“This is where performance metrics come into play,” said Edmundson. “Return on ad spend is a common goal for marketers using MNTN’s platform because it shows how much revenue is generated for every dollar spent by the campaign. For advertisers looking to ensure their budgets are spent efficiently, or perhaps don’t have a revenue goal, cost per acquisition is a popular choice because it illustrates how much of their budget is being spent to acquire a customer.”

The retailer leveraged MNTN’s integration with Oracle Data Cloud to target segments such as new pet owners, dog owners, pet store shoppers, and cat food and supplies purchasers. 

“The data used to target audiences depends on what the advertiser is trying to accomplish,” explained Edmundson. “If they’re trying to reach new customers, third-party data sources — which meet all privacy protocols — are great for getting in front of prospective buyers. For nurturing campaigns and lower-funnel efforts, retargeting, which uses the advertiser’s own first-party data, is an excellent option.”

Reaching multiple consumer groups was vital to the retailer’s prospecting campaign because it allowed them to test different audiences to see which were driven to action. These learnings were then used to adjust the targeting strategy, ad creative, goals and other factors in real-time.

According to Edmundson, the flexibility of CTV paired with automated optimization tools ensures budgets are spent wisely. While linear TV can generate strong awareness, it doesn’t offer the flexibility to shift buys to placements that are more likely to yield the desired results.

As a result of the partnership with MNTN, the retailer achieved a $1.09 cost-per-visit, 11.7% visit rate, 98% video complete and 10x ROAS.

Driving awareness for a new brand through prospecting and retargeting efforts

In an instance of brand building, Campspot, a premier travel booking site for campgrounds and RV resorts, wanted to build awareness ahead of the busy summer season. As a growing brand, however, Campspot had critical performance goals, including ROAS benchmarks, and was looking to generate more impact in addition to its other channels. 

The brand used MNTN’s prospecting and retargeting features to reach in-market audiences across the entire funnel. The prospecting campaign involved identifying net-new users with an appreciation for outdoor adventure — including outdoor enthusiasts, travelers, campers and hikers — via MNTN’s integration with Oracle Data Cloud. The retargeting campaign reached users who previously viewed one or more pages on the Campspot website. 

The campaigns launched in March to capture early-bird travelers, and spending ramped up closer to the summer to attract last-minute bookings. The effort resulted in a 225% higher ROAS, a 13% higher conversion rate and a 30% lower cost-per-acquisition.

“The perception among consumers, that if a brand is advertising on TV, then they’re legit, is a powerful one,” said Edmundson. “For newer brands focused on growth, they obviously want to raise their profile while ensuring their ad budgets generate solid results. CTV allows them to do just that.”

Using CTV to tap into TV’s ability to drive awareness

While upfronts and linear TV are built for branding opportunities, CTV ultimately offers similar benefits by leveraging linear’s storytelling with unskippable video formats that can reach audiences on various household devices. 

Further, by leaning on tech integrations and digital features — such as audience targeting capabilities — CTV can serve performance-optimized campaigns that deliver measurable ROI while simultaneously offering the impact and awareness that TV advertising has consistently delivered.

“It’s CTV’s digital backbone that simplifies the measurement of ROAS and ROI. TV advertising is effective when it comes to delivering an impact, and CTV amplifies that value,” said Edmundson. “Advertisers who want to generate a performance impact can do so, knowing that their ads will also help elevate their brand in the eyes of consumers. Those who prioritize branding can also measure performance outcomes, such as return on ad spend, average order values and more.” 

Sponsored by MNTN