CTV growth continues and 30-second ads remain dominant
The 2021 Q2 Video Benchmarks report is in from Extreme Reach amid CTV gains from fuboTV.
We know that with the successful launch of new streaming apps, as well as the growth among platforms like live sports channel fuboTV, that viewers are flocking to the medium to watch live as well as on-demand content.
For instance, fuboTV hit records in revenue and new subscribers in Q2. Ad revenue grew 281% YoY, and they now have close to 700,000 total subscribers who pay for the service.
But from an advertising perspective, marketers should look at the CTV share in relation to other digital channels. Extreme Reach, as a global ad platform for all forms of TV and streaming video, shows that CTV is holding steady in their latest Video Benchmarks report, as marketing dollars rebound from the pandemic.
CTV impressions and share. Across the industry, overall CTV impressions are up 3X over Q2 2020. In terms of share, CTV maintains its lead over other video platforms, holding at 35%. Desktop and mobile app ads are neck-and-neck at 22% and 23%, respectively. After closing 2020 at 35% share of ads, CTV actually rose to 40% in Q1.
“CTV is definitely a priority for many marketers and is a focal point in the industry as more advertising dollars flow to that platform,” said Melinda McLaughlin, Extreme Reach’s CMO.
Finding the optimal ad length. Another gauge marketers should consider when executing video ads is the length of the ad, and how those ads perform on different kinds of publishers. In Q2, 30-second ads remained dominant, according to the report, accounting for 87% of all video ads.
“30-second ads are far and away the most popular,” McLaughlin said. “While this length might work best for premium publishers, we also think it’s what our industry at large is comfortable with. Marketers are open to experimentation, which is why we see spikes in other lengths from time to time. 6-second ads, for example, gained some momentum for a brief time. Ultimately, advertising is an ROI game and it’s not surprising that we continue to see a consistent reliance on the 30-second, tried and true ad length.”
CTV if you’re a DTC? When considering CTV, marketers should also look at their sales and take into account if they are a DTC brand or plan to transition to more e-commerce.
“We see many of the DTC brands among our clients, however, who prioritize the ability to optimize campaigns in real-time based on conversion tracking, and because of that leverage CTV to a lesser extent,” said McLaughlin.
She added, “The digital video ecosystem continues to thrive across all devices. Desktop had a resurgence during the pandemic and mobile remains strong. Outside of the digital landscape, we do see that many of the DTC companies tend to add linear TV to their marketing mix as they expand. CTV in that instance, becomes a runway of sorts for linear TV advertising.”
Why we care. Consumer viewing behavior is transitioning to streaming and CTV viewing habits. This means there is a lot more on-demand viewing and one-to-one addressable opportunities for marketers in these channels.
But just as important is the TV ad experience. The jury is still out — do viewers want personalized TV ads, or do they expect personalized messaging to be conveyed to them by email or another more private channel?
As of now, marketers are looking to preserve many aspects of the TV ad experience as they follow and meet consumers where they are on CTV. One indication of this is the continued dominance of the 30-second ad.
Read more about the Data Collaborations behind the streaming surge.
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About The Author
Chris Wood draws on over 15 years of reporting experience as a B2B editor and journalist. At DMN, he served as associate editor, offering original analysis on the evolving marketing tech landscape. He has interviewed leaders in tech and policy, from Canva CEO Melanie Perkins, to former Cisco CEO John Chambers, and Vivek Kundra, appointed by Barack Obama as the country’s first federal CIO. He is especially interested in how new technologies, including voice and blockchain, are disrupting the marketing world as we know it. In 2019, he moderated a panel on “innovation theater” at Fintech Inn, in Vilnius. In addition to his marketing-focused reporting in industry trades like Robotics Trends, Modern Brewery Age and AdNation News, Wood has also written for KIRKUS, and contributes fiction, criticism and poetry to several leading book blogs. He studied English at Fairfield University, and was born in Springfield, Massachusetts. He lives in New York.
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