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Artificial intelligence (AI) and connected TV (CTV) have a perfect synergy that’s revolutionizing how advertisers connect with their audiences. CTV serves as a medium for streaming content, while AI acts as a sophisticated technology that improves the performance of CTV advertising campaigns. The integration of these two technologies has paved the way for advertisers to reach their target audience more effectively, making CTV advertising a powerful and efficient tool.
In this blog post, we’ll dive into how these technologies work together — and why you should jump on board with AI for CTV advertising if you haven’t already.
Why AI and CTV are a great match
CTV and AI are transforming how advertisers connect with their audiences and improving the performance of their advertising campaigns in the CTV space. They work together to make advertising smarter and more enjoyable for everyone involved. AI uses sophisticated computer programs to analyze and understand data, while CTV refers to the streaming services that consumers use at home. But what makes them a great match in advertising?
AI uses data to determine which TV ads are most exciting and relevant to certain people, and it can even adjust ads in real time to ensure viewers are always getting the most personalized experience. AI can provide suggestions to viewers based on previously watched content to help them find what they’d enjoy watching next. To sum it up, AI allows for:
- Precise targeting: AI uses data to determine which TV ads are most exciting and relevant to certain people.
- Personalization: AI can adjust ads in real time to ensure viewers are always getting the most personalized experience.
- Effective ad insertion: AI can provide suggestions to viewers based on previously watched content to help them find what they’d enjoy watching next.
CTV facilitates these AI-driven strategies for enhanced user engagement and satisfaction.
The rising popularity of CTV
CTV has become increasingly popular as people change the way they watch TV. Instead of the traditional approach, more viewers are now choosing CTV platforms for their entertainment. One of the main reasons for this shift is that CTV offers greater flexibility and lets viewers watch content at their convenience. The ability to skip ads on many CTV platforms also improves the experience.
CTV offers a great opportunity to interact with your target audience in a more engaging way. CTV allows for highly targeted advertising capabilities so you can reach specific demographics and households with tailored messages. Additionally, CTV provides valuable data insights that enable you to measure campaign effectiveness accurately.
If you haven’t embraced this advertising channel yet, you may be missing out on a growing and engaged audience. Here are three reasons you should add CTV to your advertising strategy.
Global video ad impressions
As a global platform, CTV has the unique ability to reach audiences worldwide. Unlike traditional TV, CTV transcends geographical boundaries and brings marketers a global audience, which makes it an ideal channel for global ad campaigns. No matter your target audience, they’re consuming content on CTV. In fact, a recent study showed that 51% of global video ad impressions came from CTV in 2022.
This abundance of global video ad impressions generates vast amounts of data, which AI can process in real time to help you make data-driven decisions and optimize your campaigns for diverse international audiences. AI can analyze viewer data from various regions, identify audience preferences and behaviors across borders, and tailor ad content accordingly. These data analysis capabilities ensure your ads get in front of the right viewers.
Viewers prefer ad-supported CTV
In 2020, the viewing time of ad-supported CTV surged by 55% while subscription video on demand decreased by 30%, according to TVision Insights. Viewers have a well-established preference for ad-supported CTV due, in part, to cost-effective access to premium content. Viewers are more engaged and less resistant to ads, as AI tailors ad content to viewer preferences and behavior to enhance ad relevance.
AI-powered insights can also aid in viewer retention and help you optimize your CTV campaigns. By accommodating viewers’ preference for ad-supported CTV and harnessing AI to improve the ad experience, you’re more likely to be successful in your marketing efforts.
CTV outpaces mobile and desktop for digital video viewing
eMarketer recently reported that U.S. adults spend 7.5+ hours each day on CTV — more than half of their digital video viewing time. Comparatively, they only spend 37.5% of their viewing time on mobile and 10% on desktops and laptops. These statistics demonstrate that CTV has become the preferred platform for digital video consumption, as viewers enjoy larger screens with superior quality for an immersive experience.
It’s important to note that AI is an essential CTV marketing tool, as it allows for precise targeting and content optimization. By utilizing AI on CTV, you can take advantage of this trend and deliver more engaging and effective campaigns to a growing and engaged audience.
How is AI already being used in CTV?
CTV has been integrated with AI across various facets and has revolutionized the television landscape. Here’s a look at how AI is already shaping the CTV experience:
Generative AI ads
Generative AI ads are taking CTV personalization to a whole new level. These innovative ads are customized versions of the same CTV ad to suit individual viewers. Some AI tools can generate several versions of the same CTV ad — swapping the actor’s clothing and voiceover elements like store locations, local deals, promo codes, and more — and can create up to thousands of personalized iterations in just a few seconds. Such capabilities are a game-changing approach to connecting with your audience.
Next, we dive into the advantages and impact of generative AI ads, and explore their transformative role in CTV advertising.
Contextual ads vs personal data
Generative AI ads use personal data, such as viewing history and demographics, to create highly personalized ad experiences. This sets them apart from contextual ads, which rely solely on the content being viewed. Using AI to harness this data, you can move beyond traditional contextual targeting and ensure your ads connect with viewers on a more individualized level.
Generative AI ads can be used to A/B test
Generative AI ads are not just about personalization; they also open the door to A/B testing. Being able to create several versions of one ad quickly allows you to experiment with various ad elements, such as messaging, visuals, and calls to action, to identify what works best for different segments of your audience and drives the best performance. This flexibility is especially valuable for refining ad campaigns and maximizing their impact.
What’s next for AI-generated ads like this?
The potential of AI-generated ads is exciting. As AI technologies constantly advance, we can expect even more personalized and automated CTV advertising. It’s a good idea to keep up with the latest AI-driven innovations to create more effective ad campaigns in the fast-evolving CTV space. The possibilities are endless, and you’ll likely find the most success when you embrace AI in CTV advertising.
Optimize streaming quality
AI helps viewers enjoy more seamless CTV experiences. By assessing network speed and user preferences, AI optimizes video quality in real time to reduce buffering interruptions. For instance, streaming platforms use AI to adjust video settings based on a user’s connection speed. This guarantees an uninterrupted and enjoyable viewing experience.
Review content for compliance
AI also has a part to play in quality assurance and compliance management. It assesses content alignment with technical parameters and moderates compliance with local age restrictions and privacy regulations. This means AI can identify and filter out unsuitable content to provide a safer and more enjoyable viewing environment for audiences while safeguarding brands from association with undesirable material.
Voice command
AI-powered voice command technology is increasingly used to control CTV viewing. This technology is embedded in streaming devices and smart TVs and allows viewers to interact with their CTV content through voice-activated commands. This personalizes the viewing experience and improves convenience, as it eliminates the need for remote controls.
CTV-integrated voice assistants like Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, Apple Siri, and Samsung Bixby offer a more human-like interaction with the television, allowing users to give commands and receive tailored responses.
Content recommendations
AI can offer content recommendations that provide viewers a more personalized and engaging experience. Major over-the-top (OTT) services like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime use AI-driven data analysis to deliver tailored content suggestions to their audiences. By analyzing user habits in detail, AI can recommend content based on factors such as actors, genres, reviews, and countries of origin. This personalized approach helps viewers discover content that matches their preferences and enhances their viewing experience.
Advertising
Programmatic ad buying, driven by AI, automatically matches ad placements to specific audience segments based on behavioral patterns. It improves ad delivery by moving away from gross rating points (GRP) to more intelligent and targeted placements. This benefits marketers by ensuring ads are seen by the right people at the right time. It’s also cost-effective for publishers, as it maximizes the sale of ad spots to suitable buyers.
Automatic content recognition (ACR) technology, which AI powers, is integrated into smart TVs and streaming devices to improve ad relevance. It provides contextual targeting and extends the reach of ads across multiple devices. For example, platforms like Roku use ACR data to display ads to viewers who haven’t seen them on traditional TV. Similarly, Samba TV retargets mobile users based on IP address and aligns their viewing habits with their smart TVs.
Demand-side platforms
CTV advertising relies heavily on demand-side platforms (DSPs) to efficiently manage and optimize ad campaigns. These platforms use machine learning and AI in several important ways:
Using machine learning and AI to address data fragmentation
Data is abundant but fragmented when it comes to CTV advertising. DSPs are flooded with a massive amount of data, including information about households, viewer behavior, and viewing patterns. This data is far too much for manual analysis to handle effectively, which is where AI comes in.
By integrating machine learning algorithms into DSPs, AI can harmonize this fragmented data and provide valuable insights and a holistic view of your audience. AI can process zettabytes of data in real time, which streamlines the decision-making process and empowers you to compete quickly for limited CTV impression opportunities.
Predicting advertising outcomes with AI
AI is quickly changing the way we predict and optimize advertising outcomes. TV buying and optimization platforms are now using AI to improve ad performance. With machine learning, these platforms can anticipate which ad creatives will produce the best results based on various non-creative factors. These include the context of the ad, the audience’s profiles, the time of day it is displayed, and the frequency of the ad display.
By relying on AI to make these predictions, you can make sure your campaigns are highly optimized for success and deliver more relevant, compelling ads to viewers.
Optimizing generative ads
AI is also driving optimization in generative ads. These personalized versions of the same CTV ad can be tailored to suit individual viewers. By utilizing AI-driven analytics, DSPs can process extensive amounts of data in real time and optimize generative ads to ensure they align with viewers’ preferences and behaviors. This level of personalization is a game-changer in CTV advertising that boosts engagement and delivers content that truly resonates with the audience.
Add AI to your CTV strategy today
Integrating AI into your CTV strategy can help you stay competitive and ensure your ad campaigns are effective and engaging.
At Experian, we’re ready to help you elevate your CTV advertising and implement AI as part of your strategy. Our solutions, such as Consumer View and Consumer Sync, provide valuable audience insights, enhance targeting capabilities, and optimize engagement on TV. Plus, our partnerships with leading media marketing solutions can help you achieve greater success through effective advanced television advertising.
As you incorporate AI into your CTV strategy, you’ll be able to make more data-driven decisions, deliver more relevant content, and reach the right audience at the right time. Explore Experian’s TV solutions and empower your CTV advertising with AI today.
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The political winds in the United States shifted sharply to the right earlier this month with Republicans making gains across the board. While political party affiliation was a strong indication of a candidate's success in the election, we wondered: Can the political leaning of a TV show's audience determine the success of the program? The answer is yes. Experian Simmons examined the political party registrations of viewers of over 700 television programs measured in the Spring 2010 Simmons National Consumer study. We found that registered Republicans and Democrats, indeed, have different preferences in entertainment programs. But especially noticeable was the preponderance of highly rated Nielsen programs at the top of the Republican list. Not all shows that skew Republican are ratings darlings, of course, but programmers should take note of this fact if ratings are their foremost goal. Republicans: When looking at programs on broadcast TV, we see that Republicans tend to gravitate towards reality shows that center on some sort of competition. In fact, Republicans are 32% more likely to watch The Amazing Race on CBS than the average American adult. They're also 24% more likely to watch American Idol on Fox and 18% more likely to watch America's Got Talent on NBC. The Simmons data provides some evidence that it's the competitive angle of these shows that is attracting Republicans. Specifically, Republicans are fully 29% more likely than the average adult to watch the results show of Dancing with the Stars on ABC and just 17% more likely to watch the non-results episodes of the same show. Republicans tend to gravitate towards reality shows that center on some sort of competition. When it comes to cable entertainment programs, Republicans tend to prefer lifestyle programs on HGTV and TLC. Republicans are also found in high concentrations among many adventure/documentary show audiences, like Ice Road Truckers on History and Deadliest Catch on Discovery. And finally, big families are big draws for Republicans with 18 Kids and Counting and Jon & Kate Plus 8, both on TLC, attracting more than average concentrations of Republican viewers. Top indexing Republican NETWORK programs (non-news, non-music) Republican Index Top indexing Republican CABLE programs (non-news, non-music) Republican Index THE AMAZING RACE (CBS) 132 PROPERTY VIRGINS (HGTV) 125 DANCING WITH THE STARS RESULTS SHOW(ABC) 129 MODERN MARVELS (HISTORY) 121 MODERN FAMILY (ABC) 124 COLOR SPLASH (HGTV) 120 AMERICAN IDOL (FOX) 122 UNSELLABLES (HGTV) 120 V (ABC) 122 LEVERAGE (TNT) 118 THE BIG BANG THEORY (CBS) 119 18 KIDS AND COUNTING (TLC) 116 THE GOOD WIFE (CBS) 119 DEAR GENEVIEVE (HGTV) 116 THE MENTALIST (CBS) 119 WHAT NOT TO WEAR (TLC) 116 AMERICA'S GOT TALENT (NBC) 118 DINERS, DRIVE-INS & DIVES (FOOD NETWORK) 115 SURVIVOR (CBS) 118 HOUSE HUNTERS (HGTV) 115 DANCING WITH THE STARS (ABC) 117 INCOME PROPERTY (HGTV) 114 DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (ABC) 116 OPERATION REPO (TRU TV) 114 NCIS (CBS) 115 WHITE COLLAR (USA) 114 HUMAN TARGET (FOX) 114 ICE ROAD TRUCKERS (HISTORY) 112 LIE TO ME (FOX) 114 PAWN STARS (HISTORY) 112 THE BACHELOR (ABC) 114 SAY YES TO THE DRESS (TLC) 111 ANTIQUES ROADSHOW (PBS) 113 DIRTY JOBS (DISCOVERY) 110 CASTLE (ABC) 113 MYTHBUSTERS (DISCOVERY) 109 HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER (CBS) 113 JON & KATE PLUS 8 (TLC) 106 THE BACHELORETTE (ABC) 113 AMERICAN LOGGERS (DISCOVERY) 105 EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION (ABC) 112 IN PLAIN SIGHT (USA) 104 NCIS: LOS ANGELES (CBS) 112 THROWDOWN WITH BOBBY FLAY (FOOD NETWORK) 104 TWO AND A HALF MEN (CBS) 112 DEADLIEST CATCH (DISCOVERY) 103 FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS (NBC) 111 MAN VS. WILD (DISCOVERY) 103 CELEBRITY APPRENTICE (NBC) 109 THE SMOKING GUN PRESENTS:WORLD'S DUMBEST (TRU TV) 103 Democrats: On the left side of the broadcast dial, we see that registered Democrats tend to be drawn to crime and legal dramas like Law & Order and Law & Order: SVU, both on NBC. We also see higher concentrations of Democrats tuning into broadcast shows featuring female characters playing central or leading roles, such as Brothers & Sisters on ABC, Medium on CBS, 30 Rock on NBC and the Good Wife on CBS. The Good Wife, actually, has higher than average concentrations of both registered Democrats and registered Republicans. Given that the program is about the wife of a politician, it's not such a surprise that registered voters from both sides of the aisle tune in. We also see higher concentrations of Democrats tuning into broadcast shows featuring female characters playing central or leading roles. On cable, we see high concentrations of registered Democrats tuning into character-driven dramas, like Dexter and United States of Tara, both on Showtime. Democrats also flock in disproportionate numbers to cable reality shows. But unlike the competitive reality shows favored by Republicans, Democrats prefer observational reality shows where they get to peer into the lives of celebrities or unique and extraordinary people. Top indexing Democrat NETWORK programs (non-news, non-music) Democrat Index Top indexing Democrat CABLE programs (non-news, non-music) Democrat Index FLASHPOINT (CBS) 145 TYLER PERRY'S MEET THE BROWNS (TBS) 189 HOMETIME (PBS) 143 HOUSE OF PAYNE (TBS) 181 90210 (CW) 140 REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER (HBO) 165 WIFE SWAP (ABC) 136 SNAPPED (OXYGEN) 162 AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL (CW) 135 SHERRI (LIFETIME) 153 NOVA (PBS) 133 HAWTHORNE (TNT) 153 LAW & ORDER (NBC) 132 LIVE FROM THE RED CARPET (E!) 149 SMALLVILLE (CW) 131 DEXTER (SHOWTIME) 147 WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? (NBC) 130 UGLY AMERICANS (COMEDY CENTRAL) 147 BROTHERS & SISTERS (ABC) 127 KOURTNEY & KHLOE TAKE MIAMI (E!) 146 PRIVATE PRACTICE (ABC) 127 TODDLERS & TIARAS (TLC) 145 MEDIUM (CBS) 126 UNITED STATES OF TARA (SHOWTIME) 144 TRUE BEAUTY (ABC) 126 MEET THE NATIVES (TRAVEL CHANNEL) 144 AMERICA'S MOST WANTED (FOX) 126 BRIDEZILLAS (WE TV) 143 30 ROCK (NBC) 126 TOP CHEF MASTERS (BRAVO) 142 VICTORY GARDEN (PBS) 126 WOMEN BEHIND BARS (WE TV) 142 THE GOOD WIFE (CBS) 124 THE BOONDOCKS: ADULT SWIM(CARTOON NETWRK) 142 ONE TREE HILL (CW) 124 TABATHA'S SALON TAKEOVER (BRAVO) 140 NEW YANKEE WORKSHOP (PBS) 122 DOWN HOME WITH THE NEELYS (FOOD NETWORK) 140 LAW & ORDER: SVU (NBC) 122 BAD GIRLS CLUB (OXYGEN) 138 MASTERPIECE (PBS) 122 SCARE TACTICS (SYFY) 136 COMMUNITY (NBC) 122 MILLION DOLLAR LISTING (BRAVO) 135 BIG BROTHER (CBS) 121 MODELS OF THE RUNWAY (LIFETIME) 135 GOSSIP GIRL (CW) 120 TORI & DEAN: HOME SWEET HOLLYWOOD (OXYGEN) 133 FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS (NBC) 119 DESTINATION TRUTH (SYFY) 132 For more information about the in-depth consumer behaviors, attitudes, lifestyles, brands and media measured in the Simmons National Consumer Study, visit our website.
Frugal living seems to have become a more common trademark of the American consumer in the last couple of years. Since the beginning of 2008, 20% less and 35% less US adults report to have purchased merchandise at the upscale stores Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s respectively. By contrast, 8% more and 62% more US adults report to have purchased merchandise at Marshall’s and Ross Stores, respectively. Discount stores appear to be weathering the recession better than some of their full-price counterparts, as they carry first-quality designer merchandise at competitive prices, often advertised at up to 70% below department store prices. However, many of these designer discount retailers would be in a difficult position without the existence of department stores, since the designer discount business model is primarily based on purchasing close-outs from the very department stores that they compete against. Discount stores appear to be weathering the recession better than some of their full-price counterparts Since the beginning of 2008, an average 54% of US adults shop around a lot to take advantage of specials and bargains. Also, from January 2008 to August 2009, 7% more US adults tend to hold out on buying things until the go on sale and 13% more head right for the clearance rack when they enter a store. In conclusion, the past 2.5 years have seen the American consumer become a more serious discount shopper – a trend that is likely to continue in this current, uncertain economic environment.