Discover how programmatic is the engine powering the boom in CTV ad spend in this recap of our recent webinar.
Moderated by BidSwitch Director of Client Services, Ryan Chandler, the webinar featured a panel of some of the industry’s leading experts in the area of programmatic connected TV:
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- Brock Bradley, Director of Supply Services, Samsung Ads
- Ilana Wollin, VP of Global Partnerships, Xandr
- Tim Ware, Executive Director of Programmatic Ad Revenue, Crackle Plus
The state of CTV in 2021
The webinar kicked off with a summary of exactly where we are with CTV in 2021.
Naturally, in the wake of the global pandemic, things have changed quite a bit – but what impact has it had on the future of CTV and programmatic buying?
To put it in hard numbers, the CTV sector has seen exponential growth over the past year thanks in part to cord-cutting and the fact that, well, we’ve all been at home a lot more.
According to research carried out by eMarketer, we’re expecting 70% of ad spend on CTV to be conducted via programmatic channels this year – but there’s still plenty of room to grow. According to Digiday / Innovid, 24% of advertisers have just made the shift to CTV advertising in the last 12 months, while another 24% haven’t made the jump at all just yet.
Even with adoption numbers rising, CTV still faces some challenges in converting those remaining advertisers. Primarily, the specific barriers to entry are:
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- Difficulty finding the right audiences via CTV platforms
- Achieving scale given CTV’s limitations on reach and frequency
- Fragmentation of inventory across differing hardware and software platforms
- Inconsistent measurement solutions due to a lack of standardization
Key insights from the webinar
You can watch the full webinar to follow our panel’s conversation on where CTV is today, an in-depth look at the challenges it faces, and where it might be going in the wake of the looming identity crisis. In the meantime, here are some of the key insights our panelists shared from the front line of programmatic CTV.
On the subject of barriers to scale:
Speaking to both transparency and the need for standardization in the CTV space, Ilana Wollin explained that it’s essential for publishers to help buyers better understand the content being shown via CTV, and therefore the potential audiences they can tap into. She also mentioned the need for Supply Path Optimization (SPO) in CTV and how cleaner paths to supply could, over time, bring scale to the space.
On the subject of identity:
Tim Ware explained that, because CTV has never relied on cookies for identity resolution, the playing field has actually been levelled somewhat with the upcoming changes to third-party cookies. He went on to explain that his suspicion is that the industry will eventually decide on a standard identity solution for CTV to ensure good match rates across the board, with some data partners already taking the lead.
On the subject of open vs. private transactions in CTV:
Brock Bradley told the audience that, so far, Private Marketplaces (PMPs) are driving most of the transactions in the CTV space, especially now that top-tier AVOD apps are entering the picture. But, to achieve true scalability, Brock explains that advertisers can’t ignore the open marketplace and the opportunities it holds. The only problem is a hesitancy in some advertisers due to concerns about fraud and a lack of auditing. That said, with initiatives like app-ads.txt and better standardization, he can see a future in which advertisers are much more comfortable in the open marketplace of CTV.
Get the full picture
This recap is really just a glimpse into the in-depth discussion that was had during the webinar. For the full picture, you can either watch the video in a new tab or simply click below to view it right here.
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If you’re already taking advantage of the CTV opportunity and looking for some best practice tips on the buy or the sell side, be sure to download our free PDF guide Best Practices for Trading CTV Supply through BidSwitch