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.

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

• The current TV advertising landscape

• The key players involved

• 8 practical tips and considerations for developing your TV advertising strategy

Convergent TV Linear TV

(Broadcast, Cable/Satellite)

Advanced

(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).

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%

YES, within the next two years

46%

YES, but will take longer than two years to converge

12%

NO , do not foresee a converged marketplace

The Key Players in the Convergent TV Advertising Ecosystem

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.

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

“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.”

Current TV Landscape

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.

Source: Luma Partners

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:

Free Ad-Supported TV (FAST)

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).

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 Free Ad-Supported TV (FAST) Services

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

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.

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.

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.

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

1 in 3

U.S. adults say that their brand perception decreases after seeing the same ad 5-10 times in a month

146

Avg. number of linear ads seen per day by the top 55% of TV viewers

14

Avg. number of linear ads seen per day by the bottom 45% of TV viewers

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.

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

per day among population

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%. 2021

2020 TV* 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: GWI CORE and U.S. Surveys, 2023

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.

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

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

Cable Broadcast Fast SVOD

Source: TVREV

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.

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.

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

Increase ad spend for CTV/streaming

Prioritize personalization and advanced creative technology

Increase in-flight optimization for media

Increase in-flight optimization for creative

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

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

Source: Innovid/Ascendant Network 2023

How To Create a Successful Convergent

Strategy: An 8-Step Framework

TV Advertising

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?

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.

1. Always Start With Your Audience

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.

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.

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

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?”

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.

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.

Go where your audience is overindexing and utilize one of the many insights analytics tools that are available to see what they are watching. With Roku’s OneView, for instance, you can upload your audience, and it will tell you what sites your audience is overindexing on.

Laura Taylor

Commerce | Center of Excellence Goodway Group

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.

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.

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.

Awareness KPIs

Frequency overlap

Completion rate

Incremental reach reporting

Video views/impressions

Consideration KPIs

Brand lift

Inferred brand intent

Purchase KPIs

Online and offline actions

Conversion lift

Sales lift

First-to-market retail measurement

Source: The Trade Desk

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.

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

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.

“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.”

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.

aren’t

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

As an independent digital and programmatic media agency, we offer various customizable TV advertising options that

limited by — nor beholden to — specific channels,

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.”

7. Start Large, Then Go Small

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.

About Goodway Group

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.

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What Is... Advanced 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.

AVOD?

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

CTV?

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.

Programmatic TV?

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.)

SVOD?

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

TV Everywhere?

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.