Follow Your Audience: The Ultimate Guide to Convergent TV Advertising

Follow Your Audience: The Ultimate Guide to C nvergent TV Advertising TV advertising is no longer just advanced vs. linear. A holistic strategy is necessary for success. Read our guide to learn more.

April 2023

What You Need To Know To Successfully Execute Comprehensive TV Ad Campaigns The TV advertising ecosystem is more complicated today than ever before.

It’s not just about linear TV versus connected TV (CTV) anymore — the world has moved beyond that. With major shifts like linear TV viewership continuing to decline and Netflix and Disney+ adopting paid advertising models, it’s become increasingly harder to confidently choose where and how to best spend your TV advertising dollars.

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The good news? We’ve got your back. In this guide, we’ll cover:

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• The current TV advertising landscape • The key players involved • 8 practical tips and considerations for developing your TV advertising strategy

Convergent TV

Linear TV

Advanced TV

(Broadcast, Cable/Satellite)

(CTV, OTT, TV Everywhere, VOD, SVOD, AVOD, Programmatic, FAST)

What Is Convergent TV Advertising and Why Is It Important?

Convergent TV combines any kind of linear TV and advanced TV. When we refer to advanced TV, we mean any TV content outside of linear TV models. Advanced TV usually includes CTV, over-the-top (OTT) streaming, TV Everywhere, video on-demand (VOD), subscription video on-demand (SVOD), ad-based video on-demand (AVOD), programmatic TV and free ad-supported TV (FAST).

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Convergent TV advertising is when you advertise to consumers on any of these TV types.

Just a few years ago, marketers focused on advanced TV and its capabilities. That worked then, but things aren’t as simple anymore.

Today’s viewers watch TV in many different formats — sometimes all at once. We now need to shift our focus to be more holistic, to something that encompasses both linear and

advanced TV advertising – hence, convergent TV. In fact, nine out of 10 buyers in a 2022 IAB report anticipated a converged marketplace within the next few years, where teams plan and buy both linear TV and CTV. Since TV has become more complex, you need to adjust your TV advertising strategy. Continuing to work in silos keeps you from fully reaching your consumers where they are and duplicates reach and frequency — that is, where you could be overserving your audiences with an ad, which could potentially diminish their brand perspective.

Instead, factor in the TV types your target audience(s) may be watching and the devices they’ll be using and consider using multiple TV advertising types in your ad campaigns.

Increasingly, buyers foresee a converged marketplace Nearly nine in 10 buyers anticpate a converged marketplace in the coming years, 42% of which see it happening in the next two years – up from 30% in last year’s study.

% Forsee Single Converged Marketplace for Linear TV and CTV

42%

46%

YES, but will take longer than two years to converge

Source: IAB 2021 Video Ad Spend & 2022 Outlook

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YES, within the next two years

12%

NO, do not foresee a converged marketplace

The Key Players in the Convergent TV Advertising Ecosystem

Current TV Landscape

CONVERGENT TV LUMAscape

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Distribution

Content

Addressable Linear TV

OTT

Linear TV

Supply-Side Media Facilitation

P E O P L E

Overlap

Digital

“We will see a continual blurring of lines in TV advertising as carriage deal renewals are negotiated,” said Rich Powell, the senior vice president of national multi-location sales at Goodway Group. “The investments Wall Street is paying attention to are broad and signal new lines are being drawn and aggressive new initiatives applauded. For example, we’ve heard Hulu, the original joint effort to capitalize on a nascent space, is 33% owned by Comcast and 67% by Disney — that shared investment future or camaraderie is in a state of flux.”

M A R K E T E R

Demand-Side Media Facilitation

FAST

Linear and advanced TV have blurred together, with traditional linear broadcasting companies like NBCUniversal owning subscription-based OTT services such as Peacock.

Data Management & Measurement

SVOD / AVOD

Here’s a snapshot of the current TV landscape.

Feel like your brain is about to explode yet?

You’re not alone. As you can see in the graphic to the right, the TV world has grown increasingly more and more fragmented.

We will see a continual blurring of lines in TV advertising as carriage deal renewals are negotiated. The investments Wall Street is paying attention to are broad and signal new lines are being drawn and aggressive new initiatives applauded.

Data Providers

Denotes acquired company

Source: Luma Partners

Denotes shuttered company

© LUMA Partners LLC 2022

Rich Powell

SVP, National Multi-Location Sales Goodway Group

So, of all of the different players involved in TV, who are the ones to pay attention to? Andrea Kwiatek, director of strategic partnerships at Goodway, recommends you specifically keep your eye on these service types when developing your TV advertising strategy:

Popular Free Ad-Supported TV (FAST) Services

Free Ad-Supported TV (FAST)

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This TV business model delivers linear channels supported by advertisements via free apps.

Similar to linear TV, FAST is a new acronym that was created to distinguish this model from subscription-based providers like Hulu. Most FASTs are owned by large companies. Popular FAST services include Pluto TV (Paramount), Tubi (Fox) and Xumo (Comcast). Also, Sling TV launched its own FAST named Sling Freestream, which is owned by Dish Network. TVREV estimated by 2025, 35% of total ad spend ($33.7 billion) will go to FASTs, and by 2027, this number will rise to 68% ($69 billion).

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Ad-Based Videos On-Demand (AVOD) AVODs are subscription-based streaming services that deliver shows and movies for a fee and include ads. With a recession threat looming, the latter half of 2022 saw 54% of households watching content on two or fewer streaming services, putting newer AVOD options like Netflix and Disney+ in top spots for this year.

Other key AVODs are Max, Discovery+, Hulu, Paramount+ and Peacock.

Popular Ad-Based Video On-Demand (AVOD) Services

93% of linear impressions reached 7% of linear impressions reached 55% of U.S. households: 2H 2022 45% of U.S. households: 2H 2022

Recent TV Stats and Trends Enhance your convergent TV knowledge by looking at these significant statistics and trends.

Cord-cutting steadily increased over the two years since COVID, with older generations (Gen X and baby boomers) opting for subscriptionbased models like their Gen Z and millennial counterparts per GWI.

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Also, according to Samba TV, less than 50% of American households watched linear TV each day on average throughout Q3 and Q4 2022. In Q3 2022, the average daily reach decreased to just 55 million viewers — the lowest it had been in the past seven quarters.

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Samba TV’s research report also shows the correlation between brand perception and ad frequency. Seeing the same ad 5-10 times per month led to a reported decrease in brand perception by 1 in 3 adults — showing the importance of using frequency caps in TV advertising campaigns.

1 in 3

146

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perception decreases after seeing the

by the top 55% of TV viewers

by the bottom 45% of TV viewers

U.S. adults say that their brand same ad 5-10 times in a month

Source: Samba TV State of Viewership Report, 2H 2022

Avg. number of linear ads seen per day

Avg. number of linear ads seen per day

Linear TV Viewership Declined From 2020 – 2022 Across All Generations Digital Video Viewership and Ad Spending Will Continue To Increase From 2020 – 2022, all generations watched more online TV, with the average time spent daily increasing for each generation. Baby boomers showed the most increased time spent since 2020 with online TV at 17 more minutes daily on average.

This trend is expected to continue. eMarketer predicts by 2024, the time spent viewing digital video will grow and eventually outpace the time spent watching linear TV altogether.

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Meanwhile, digital video advertising will continue going up to an estimated $76.20 billion; Magna Global estimated that AVOD/ OTT advertising will grow by 31.6% this year, but national TV advertising will decline by 6.3%.

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Gen Z

Millennials

Gen X

Baby Boomers

2020

2021

2022

2020

2021

2022

2020

2021

2022

2020

2021

2022

Avg Time Spent Linear TV

2:05

2:05

2:09

2:55

2:37

2:44

3:14

3:04

3:10

3:46

3:41

3:44

Avg Time Spent Online TV

2:10

2:12

2:14

2:08

2:08

2:18

1:25

1:32

1:38

0:44

0:55

1:01

Source: GWI CORE and U.S. Surveys, 2023

TV* vs. Digital Video**: Average Time Spent in the US, 2020–2024 hrs:mins per day among population

3:33

3:16 2:24

2020 TV*

3:07 2:33

2021

2:41

2022

2:56 2:48

2:48 2:53

2023

2024

Digital video**

Note: ages 18+; time spent with each medium includes all time spent with that medium, regardless of multitasking; *includes live, DVR, and other prerecorded video (such as video downloaded from the internet but save locally); **includes viewing via desktop/laptop computers, mobile (smartphones and tablets), and other connected devices (game consoles, connected TVs, and OTT devices) Source: eMarketer, 2022

AVOD and FASTs Will Generate the Most Revenue by 2025 For the first time ever, AVODS and FASTs are winning over subscription-based models. Per a Samsung Ads consumer survey, 75% of viewers would switch to a free or lower-cost tier if given the option. Research from the healthcare ad tech firm DeepIntent showed 64% of CTV viewers prefer to watch ads rather than pay more for content.

© 2023 Goodway Group. All rights reserved.

And by 2025, FASTs are anticipated to generate more advertising revenue compared to cable, broadcast or subscription streaming per TVREV.

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Aggregate ad spend: cable, broadcst, FAST, SVOD, 2023–2027 Cable

Broadcast

Fast

SVOD

2023

$89,760,000

2024

$94,248,000

2025

$97,075,440

2026

$99,016,949

2027

$100,997,288

$0 Source: TVREV

$25,000,000

$50,000,000

$75,000,000

$100,000,000

Marketers Will Prioritize CrossPlatform Measurement and Increase Ad Spending in 2023 In late 2022, Ascendant Network surveyed 100 of their members — including brand and agency marketing leaders — to get insights into their plans for converged TV in 2023. In a report presented in partnership with Innovid, respondents revealed plans to increase spending across linear TV, CTV/streaming and digital video this year. Most of those surveyed anticipated an increase in CTV/ streaming ad spending especially.

© 2023 Goodway Group. All rights reserved.

They also plan to prioritize crossplatform measurement — a necessity in a fragmented TV advertising ecosystem where companies often leverage more than one platform, publisher or approach for their ads.

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Marketers expect to spend more on converged TV in 2023 What are your plans for converged TV in 2023? (select all that apply) Prioritize cross-platform measurement

31%

Increase ad spend for CTV/streaming

23%

Prioritize personalization and advanced creative technology

45% 39%

16%

Increase ad investments across linear TV, CTV/ streaming and digital video

24%

Revamp how I buy linear TV, CTV/streaming and digital video

26% 39%

8% 0%

Source: Innovid/Ascendant Network, 2023

38%

18%

Increase in-flight optimization for creative

Increase slightly

44%

26%

Increase in-flight optimization for media

Increase significantly

38%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

How To Create a Successful Convergent TV Advertising Strategy: An 8-Step Framework So, given TV advertising’s convoluted state and the fact you’ll most likely want to use more than one TV advertising type (on top of the other kinds of ads you may be running), how can you effectively develop and execute a convergent TV advertising strategy?

Go where your audience is

We talked with Andrea as well as some of Goodway’s CTV and ad campaign experts including senior director Amy Burrows; commerce lead, Center of Excellence Laura Taylor; and senior trading consultant Sarah Howcroft to best provide you with a framework you can use when creating your strategy. Here’s what they had to say.

many insights analytics tools that

1. Always Start With Your Audience

relationship management (CRM) to uncover who your tried-and-true current audience is. Who is already purchasing your product or service? What information can you glean about people you’re already seeing success with?”

watching. With Roku’s OneView,

your audience is overindexing on.

Only once you fully understand who they are, what they care about and how and when they consume media — as well as future trends — can you begin conceptualizing your strategy.

Then, match your data with data connectivity platforms like LiveRamp to get look-alike audiences with anonymous IDs. You can also use solutions like Goodway’s Passport One™, which analyzes your existing first-party data and creates new opportunities for closed-loop measurement.

So, how do you get the data you need, whether demographics, psychographics, audience behaviors or media consumption habits? “Start with your own first-party data,” Amy suggested. “Use your customer

Once you have this data and analyze it, layer in consumer research from platforms like GWI and IBISWorld, create buyer personas and eventually build dynamic audiences.

© 2023 Goodway Group. All rights reserved.

Focus on your target audience first because TV advertising is so complex, and the way audiences watch TV is complex. Each generation consumes video differently, using multiple channels and device types.

You may even discover variations by location.

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overindexing and utilize one of the are available to see what they are for instance, you can upload your audience, and it will tell you what sites

Laura Taylor

Commerce | Center of Excellence Goodway Group

CTV 8-STEP FRAMEWORK For example, for advanced TV, you may want to choose one of these KPIs:

2. Choose Where TV Advertising Aligns in Your Customer Journey Next, develop a customer journey for your target market from awareness to conversion. Identify the role media plays in the buying process and which media types lead to ideal specific actions.

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Convergent TV advertising is usually viewed as part of a full-funnel strategy unless it’s part of a purely awarenessdriven, top-of-funnel campaign, so identify where it would fit in with the overall customer journey.

Also, look at whether convergent TV advertising works best when paired with other ad types. CTV is a great option for this in particular. “If you’re advertising on CTV, you can complement your buys with other programmatic formats, thus reaching your audience throughout the customer journey, driving more conversions and sales,” Sarah said.

“By leveraging automatic content recognition (ACR) data from operating systems like Vizio, LG and Samsung, you can use the data to identify other devices in the same household and target with follow-up, sequential messaging,” Andrea added.

Frequency overlap

Awareness KPIs

Incremental reach reporting Video views/impressions

3. Identify the Business Objectives (Outcomes) and KPIs for Your Campaign Next, focus on measurement. What outcomes are you trying to achieve?

Which KPIs do you need for your campaign, and what funnel stage are you using TV advertising for?

When choosing your ideal business outcomes and KPIs, keep in mind what you are able to track per the TV strategy type you use. See what data is available and if you have the data attribution tools you need to truly track a consumer throughout the entire customer journey.

Consideration KPIs

Purchase KPIs

Brand lift Inferred brand intent

Online and offline actions Conversion lift Sales lift First-to-market retail measurement

Source: The Trade Desk

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Completion rate

CTV 8-STEP FRAMEWORK

4. Choose Your Media Channels and Allocate Your Budget Once you’ve identified your target audience, how they engage with TV, what key metrics you want to achieve and how and when your audience will interact with ads throughout the buying process, select the different media channels and advertising types you’d like to pursue with your strategy.

Use your budget to inform this. Then, allocate it as needed by your audiences and the different types of ads you’ll use and the frequency of these ads.

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5. Select TV Platforms and Publishers To Help You Achieve Your KPIs

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Whether you run your own ad campaigns, use an agency or outsource some of your advertising, your next step will be to look at different demand-side platforms (DSPs) and publishers (content owners) to help you meet your business objectives.

Common DSPs include Roku OneView, Xandr Invest and Xandr Monetize, The Trade Desk, Amazon and Google Display

& Video 360 (DV360). Some of the most popular publishers are Disney, Comcast NBCUniversal, Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount.

Here are some tips to follow during this process: Get in Touch With Publishers First Work with publishers to identify the preferred way to access their inventory that benefits you (and if you’re an agency, your clients).

Meet With DSPs and Publishers To Gather Critical Information Use these meetings to better understand any best practices the DSPs and publishers have and any key partnerships they have in place. You’ll gain a better understanding of what content is available for ad placement programmatically versus direct. “Let’s say you want to place an ad within the series Yellowstone — that will likely not run programmatically and will be a lot more expensive than viewing an 80s movie on FAST,” Andrea explained.

Also, inquire about DSPs and publishers’ buying capabilities, features and benefits.

Working with publishers directly gives you access to knowledge about the various content types where your ads can be placed — not to mention unique opportunities for sponsorships, product placement, home screen placements, shopping ads, etc. If you don’t have a way to get in touch with a publisher directly, Goodway can help — we can leverage our direct relationships with the top publishers, supplyside platforms (SSPs) and DSPs.

Andrea Kwiatek

Director, Strategic Partnerships Goodway Group

CTV 8-STEP FRAMEWORK “Determine their advantages and their limitations,” Laura said. “What’s offered by a certain platform you can’t get elsewhere?”

Be Mindful of Transparency Issues CTV and other forms of advanced TV are known for transparency problems; that’s where positive relationships and partners can prove beneficial.

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“If you work directly with a publisher, you transact in a private marketplace environment to curate the inventory you want to reach.

Knowing ahead of time what inventory you’re buying means the publisher can help you optimize to goals,” Andrea explained. “You don’t want to utilize the open exchange for CTV — you’ll run the risk of buying fraudulent inventory, or content you don’t wish to be aligned to.”

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The issue with transparency in CTV is the reporting — that is, knowing what content your ad placement ran on. A lot of the premium broadcast publishers still have carriage agreements, which prevent the ability to share show-level content through the bidstream for reporting. However, by working directly with publishers, often you can receive a report from them post-campaign versus accessing it directly in a DSP.

“Also, if you curate the inventory you want to run on — let’s say by genre or category with a publisher — then you’ll have a better idea of what content your ads were placed in,” Andrea said. “Another option Goodway has been testing is buying through an ad server, which provides us with more transparency, scale and efficiencies instead of just using a DSP.” Ask Each Platform How They Classify Premium Content With the lack of transparency and measurement in the convergent TV advertising space, many platforms are taking it upon themselves to classify what is “premium,” so ask them directly to define this so you know if their definition of “premium content” aligns with yours.

Planning on completely outsourcing your paid advertising to a marketing agency? While you may not meet with DSPs and publishers yourself, it’s helpful to do your own research about different DSPs and publishers so you can identify if the agencies you’re evaluating have the relationships you need to best place your ads and meet your business objectives.

Plus, consider looking for DSP- and inventoryagnostic media partners (like Goodway Group) so you have more available options and unbiased ad-placement approaches.

As an independent digital and programmatic media agency, we offer various customizable TV advertising options that aren’t limited by — nor beholden to — specific channels, tactics, platforms or publishers. We have exclusive relationships and partnerships with most biddable buying platforms and access to an expansive inventory so you can meet your customers where they are.

Natalie Canavati

RVP, Business Strategy and Development Goodway Group

CTV 8-STEP FRAMEWORK 6. Strategically Align Platforms With Available Inventory Now that you’ve selected which platforms to work with, create a strategic way to apply the right platform to the type of inventory you’re looking for. For instance, if you’re buying more than one type of inventory (audio, display, out of home (OOH), etc.), you’ll most likely want to work with multiple DSPs, or DSPs that offer various adplacement capabilities.

“Take an agnostic approach,” Andrea explained. “As a case in point, Roku and Amazon have their own distinct inventory, so you’ll need to include them in your buying mix.”

© 2023 Goodway Group. All rights reserved.

7. Start Large, Then Go Small

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Apply the most crucial targeting criteria to start. The broader you go with your targeting, the less expensive your campaign will usually be. Once you start seeing conversions or trends, narrow your audience further.

By doing so, you can spend less and learn more at first, then spend more when you’ve isolated and narrowed down your audience to the people who are actually converting. You’ll also ensure you’re spreading out your marketing dollars evenly and aren’t wasting money by overserving ads to consumers.

8. Test, Test and Test Some More As with any marketing campaign, don’t just set it and forget it. Constantly test different methods, audiences, avenues and ad options with your TV advertising campaign. See if you can increase conversions or if you need to adjust your strategy based on the KPIs you may or may not meet. This will help you achieve the most success in your campaigns.

Let’s Recap How To Create a Successful Convergent TV Advertising Strategy: An 8-Step Framework 1. Always Start With Your Audience 2. Choose Where TV Advertising Aligns in Your Customer Journey 3. Identify the Business Objectives (Outcomes) and KPIs for Your Campaign 4. Choose Your Media Channels and Allocate Your Budget 5. Select TV Platforms and Publishers To Help You Achieve Your KPIs 6. Strategically Align Platforms With Available Inventory 7. Start Large, Then Go Small 8. Test, Test and Test Some More

Buy Convergent TV Advertising With Confidence With this knowledge and these steps under your belt, you’re well on your way to successfully executing your convergent TV advertising campaigns this year.

Looking for a partner to help power your convergent TV strategy? We can help.

Reach out to learn how our team can bring your TV advertising to another level.

C O N TACT U S

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About Goodway Group

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Goodway Group is a global data-driven and technology-enabled digital media and marketing services firm. Our diverse team of digital strategists, media practitioners, technologists and data scientists have won the most prestigious awards for innovative marketing technology, impactful work and inclusive remote-first places to work including being honored as a multiyear Ad Age Best Places to Work, AdExchanger’s Best Use of Technology by an Agency Award and three MarTech Breakthrough Awards. The firm deploys deep expertise across both consumer and B2B marketing including brandperformance advertising, retail media and commerce, and advanced analytics using proprietary digital programmatic technologies, data, analytics methodologies and consultation. Always independent, in 2006, Goodway Group transformed into a digital and remote-first media and marketing services firm.

Bonus Content NAVIGATING THE IMPACT OF CTV ADVERTISING Discover why CTV advertising makes sense for brands with retail media networks (RMNS) and how to measure incrementality for your campaigns.

R EA D NOW

CONVERGENT TV FAQS

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What Is...

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Advanced TV?

Programmatic TV?

This is the umbrella term that refers to several forms of streaming TV content, including connected TV, TV everywhere, video on demand (VOD) and programmatic TV. It’s the IAB’s catchall term for all forms of TV not watched through a broadcast, cable or satellite connection on a television.

This is when you buy linear TV ads programmatically and serve them during live programming. With the largest scale, programmatic TV is perfect for brand awareness campaigns seeking national exposure.

(Programmatic TV is also referred to as addressable linear if addressable targeting is layered onto the ad.)

AVOD?

SVOD?

Ad-Based Videos On-Demand are subscription-based streaming services that deliver shows and movies for a fee and include ads.

Subscription video on-demand is a streaming service business model that charges a subscription to consumers so they can access content on demand.

CTV?

TV Everywhere?

Connected TV refers to the devices used to watch over-the-top (OTT) services – i.e., smart TVs, game consoles and streaming devices like the Amazon Fire TV Stick.

FAST? Free Ad-Supported TV business model delivers linear channels supported by advertisements via free apps.

TV Everywhere is a type of business model where viewers watch a streaming app like Hulu or Netflix on their smartphones or tablets.

VOD? Video on Demand is a TV service model where consumers watch shows that previously aired on a satellite or cable provider’s app.