Focus on Contextual Targeting for CTV Content
It is something of a cliche to say that ‘nothing will be the same after COVID-19’, but it is true – and especially so for how we consume media. Beyond lockdowns and direct film streaming in lieu of cinemas, a revolution has occurred in our media consumption patterns. Connected television (CTV) has arguably experienced some of the greatest changes.
CTV refers to a wide array of streaming services, like Apple TV, but also covers TV consumption via gaming consoles like the Xbox One. According to a study by the Leichtman Research Group, up to 80% of American households have CTV connections, often with more than one device. Already popular before the beginning of the current pandemic, CTV uptake has increased with a year-over-year increase of 81% over pre-COVID-19 levels.
In tandem with this explosion in CTV usage came changes in advertising patterns. However, nothing is permanent and change is expected in this year as new restrictions look set to come into place on third party cookies. Advertisers will need to return to more conventional models, which is why they are looking at contextual targeting.
What is contextual targeting?
Contextual targeting, also known as contextual advertising, is a form of advertising with a long history. This method is predicated on finding the perfect placement for an advertisement based on a number of metrics like viewership, demographic data etc, and can be used for most forms of media including TV, magazines and newspapers. In essence, it is all about finding the best sweet spot for an ad.
Contextual targeting is often confused with behavioural targeting. However, the two concepts are entirely separate. Behavioural targeting refers to the practice of monitoring the behaviour of online shoppers, and placing ads based on their search engine hits, purchases, web pages etc. It relies on the use of cookies to track internet users, which has raised privacy concerns.
The difference can be summed up thusly; behavioural targeting is predicated on user behaviour, while contextual targeting is predicated on webpage content. In fact you could say that the difference between two is the former is quantitative and the latter is qualitative. Therefore, the contextual ad targeting method is a better choice for high quality online advertisers.
Why is contextual targeting better?
There are a number of key benefits to using contextual targeting and of those, these are the most broadly applicable:
- It is neither covered nor constrained by privacy legislation like the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) act.
- Users are less likely to experience ad fatigue as both the advertisement and the content complement one another.
- Contextual targeting can increase purchase intent by 63% compared to other advertising methods.
- Ads can be placed live, for example, streamers may discuss toys so ads for children’s stores may appear, then the subject changes to sport and sport equipment ads are placed, and so on.
- Perhaps most importantly, contextual targeting is cheaper to implement as you do not have to rely on gathering large amounts of data.
Contextual Targeting
If you are thinking of running an advertising campaign with contextual targeting, then this year is likely to be your year. Both Safari and Mozilla Firefox are now restricting the use of third party cookies and Google looks set to follow the same course. More privacy legislation like GDPR is in the works too.
The time is now to reorient the focus of advertising on quality rather than quantity, which is why you should consider investing in a dedicated contextual targeting tool. There are a lot of options to choose from.
