Along with metaverse, gaming, and increased consumer privacy consumer protection, connected TV is emerging as a big advertising and marketing trend for 2023, and for good reason.

With currently around 20 million households having internet-enabled TVs (and many, if not most houses having multiple TVs), the segment is expected to only grow exponentially, creating a slew of new opportunities for brands in a market that so far has primarily been driven by mobile phones. 

Yatin Balyan, Managing Partner, National Head of Media Investment at Omnicom Media Group India, believes connected TVs are set to continue growing in India's predominantly mobile-first market as a unique and new touch point for marketers due to the emergence and evolution of smart TVs and internet availability and cheap data traffic, which allows consumers access to connected TVs now more than ever. Besides, there is the return of cord-cutting audiences coming back to television via connected TV, and the immersive viewing experience it offers.

Although OTT on mobile saw an increase during the pandemic, it is now evident through metrics that audience attention is captured more effectively when streaming content via connected TV.

“The concept of binge-watching on demand in case of non-live content is a big enabler for content consumption on CTV. By consistently and optimally leveraging these trends from time to time, brands can benefit from CTV and win over new consumers in exciting new ways and drive results. Furthermore, to improve audience engagement, advertisers can identify tent pole properties that are live or non-live and build surrounding visibility around them,” he says.

Krishna Menon, Chief Operating Officer, QYOU Media India, observes that connected TV as a medium has propelled the industry to change its perspective and treat it as a promising and potent media vehicle. As CTV viewers consume content on demand it offers brands the ability to reach highly engaged viewers and drive a bigger impact from their ad spend.

“If optimally used, the medium provides brands with an opportunity to effectively target a specific audience set through behavioral attributes, demographics, and location and further track them through detailed analytics,” he says.

The Little Things

Furthermore, according to Pranav Agarwal, Co-Founder of Sociowash, with the growth of OTTs, the exclusivity of content has become the name of the game. This plays into marketing strategy, as brands can now advertise to audiences based on demographics, affinities, types of shows and much more granular level targeting.

“Brands are leveraging connected TVs and various advertising solutions to garner more brand visibility, increase reach, recall and incrementally increase consumer spends by adopting the ABCD methodology of ‘Attract, Brand, Connect and Direct’ as a more full-funnel approach for these cream audiences,” says Agarwal.

“They can attract the right audience by embracing a data-driven strategy to media buying and build an audience strategy uniquely aligned with their TV planning and campaign KPIs,” he added.

Umesh Shashidharan, Media Director Planning & Operations, FoxyMoron, Zoo Media, observes that connected TV is where digital video advertising meets traditional advertising. “Brands can do multiple things as they can bring the big screen experience of TV to digital. For starters, the power of storytelling has to become interactive for the digital audience to capture their imagination.”

“Smart marketers may also want to look at exploring differentiated messaging for cord-cutters and digital-only audiences. Connected TV will eventually occupy the traditional TV advertising space, helping brands create impact and awareness; whilst mobile devices will continue to dominate the engagement and action space,” adds Shashidharan.

Shivani Kamdar, Associate Creative Director, SoCheers, says, “While mobile is still a preferred platform for snackable content, the urban audience is opting for Connected TVs for a more holistic experience, more so in the post-pandemic era. This audience also usually keeps themselves informed about the new things in the digital space, and makes an educated decision while discovering and buying any product or service.”

Kamdar adds that CTVs allow various and more comprehensive touch points to the brands to reach out to and engage with such consumers, noting, “It is even easier for the brands to establish a relationship or a two-way communication with them, eventually leading to a sale.”

According to revenue analytics firm Voiro, the industry will witness increased CTV partnerships across the content value chain in 2023. Voiro expects that agencies will dedicate a budget for CTV advertising, and the industry will also see an increase in cross-channel management companies that will simplify Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) to help advertisers enhance data transparency in their campaigns.

Cementing the popularity of CTV, Vikram Chande, General Manager & Sales Lead at Samsung India, says, “Today, most TVs come with WIFI capability that you can just connect to the internet and start streaming right out of the box. We are at the cusp of a revolution happening in the smart TV space. Five years back, terms like ‘cord cutters’ or ‘cord shavers’ were only spoken about. Today, many people are not even consuming cable TV content anymore in a given month.”

“CTV offers a deeper connection with the consumer, making the experience of watching television more wholesome. It’s more than an impression, an app, or a piece of hardware,” Chande asserted.