Many industries have begun to realize the benefits of CTV advertising to connect with their customers. The automotive industry is one that can hugely benefit from using CTV and OTT automotive advertising.
Over-the-top (OTT) ads are a type of streaming advertising that people view on streaming services. OTT advertising relies on connected TVs (CTVs) to connect with audiences, with CTVs being the specific devices people use to stream video or audio content.
With the help of automotive marketing using CTV and OTT, you can reach many audiences who might not be as easy to get in front of with other platforms. You’ll also experience the combined benefits of TV’s branding power and digital’s precise targeting and reporting capabilities.
Here we’ll go over the specific benefits of CTV advertising that make these campaigns integral to a complete automotive marketing strategy.
Stand Out from Competitors
In a time when more people are cutting cable and shifting toward streaming services, it’s important to reach these people on the platforms they use. CTV is quickly taking over as more people make the transition from linear TV to digital, as recent stats show. For example, 80% of American households have at least one CTV device. Additionally, 54% of all households in the U.S. have cut the cord, eliminating the ability to reach them with traditional TV.
Not only will you remain competitive with an effective CTV marketing strategy, but you’ll also be able to use these efforts to stand apart from your competitors in the automotive space.
By reaching more people on streaming services, you’ll differentiate yourself from brands sticking to other marketing efforts like traditional TV or paid ads. While you can still use those other platforms in an automotive marketing strategy, you’ll keep your brand in the spotlight with CTV marketing in addition to other channels.
Optimized Audience Targeting
One of the ways you can get the best results with OTT automotive advertising is improved targeting capabilities. You can connect with audiences who are actively watching their favorite media and target streaming platforms based on audience interests.
Using CTV and OTT, you can target audiences in automotive marketing strategies based on demographics such as age, location, gender, and more. You can also target specific genres and programs that apply to your industry. You can even target people based on the specific devices they use. In addition, you’ll have the ability to target in-market audiences who are actively considering buying a vehicle.
At the same time, you ensure more people watch your ads due to the fact that they only run when people are actively streaming. You won’t need to worry about how many people might miss your TV commercials when broadcasting them at a specific time. In short, you can avoid those inefficient “spray and pray” campaigns.
Cost-Efficient Advertising for Small & Large Businesses
While traditional TV catered primarily to advertisers with big budgets, you won’t find this to be the case with CTV marketing. One of the main benefits of OTT advertising is the ability to save more money on your ad campaigns. With more control over your campaigns and audience targeting, you can better optimize your budget.
You can start with smaller campaigns that target audiences that are most likely to respond to automotive marketing and then scale up as your budget increases. You can also scale down if needed if you want to reallocate your budget. You’ll also be able to see the results of your changes almost instantly, whereas you would need to reschedule and properly time your linear TV ad campaigns.
As your capabilities expand, you can gain access to more premium CTV inventory that’s worth the investment.
Ability to Create Dynamic Content & Boost Engagement
Another of the key benefits of CTV marketing is the ability to develop more dynamic and engaging content. For example, your ads can show the exact inventory you currently have, ensuring you’re not marketing something you can’t actually sell at the moment.
You can also connect your ads directly to your vehicle detail pages with clickable calls to action to drive more engagement. Viewers can then visit your website through these ads, creating a seamless interactive experience that moves people along the buyer’s journey.
Another way OTT automotive ads drive engagement is through their length. These ad breaks tend to be shorter than commercial breaks with linear TV, making people less likely to redirect their attention elsewhere. In turn, more people will view your ads and remember them, boosting brand awareness and recognition.
Easily Measure & Analyze Results
One of the biggest benefits of CTV advertising is access to data that allows for easy measuring and analysis of marketing results. You’ll get much more detailed information about engagement when you measure campaign results, from ad impressions to click-through rates, which you wouldn’t get with linear TV ads. You also have the ability to measure dealership arrivals and attribute them to ads, allowing you to track customers from their initial exposure to an ad to the time they set foot in your dealership with a purchase in mind.
Based on the data you collect from your campaigns, you can make more informed decisions for your campaigns going forward. You can decide which audiences to target more precisely and which ads are underperforming, helping you optimize your campaigns more efficiently. In the process, you’ll be able to adjust your budget accordingly and continue perfecting your automotive marketing strategy.
You also get access to data in real time, ensuring you’re not waiting in the dark to see how your campaigns have performed. If you decide you need to make immediate changes, you can do so before you waste too much of your budget and efforts.
Remember, you can run A/B split tests to test your ads’ performance before officially launching your campaign. Both ads can feature different variations of text, visuals, or CTAs. During this test run, you’ll be able to track engagement data. You would then work with the ad that performs the best and either optimize or drop the other.
Experience the Benefits of CTV Advertising With the Right Approach
Using the right solutions and strategy, you can get the most from your CTV advertising in your automotive marketing strategies. OTT and CTV marketing can help you differentiate your brand with CTV audience targeting and other capabilities that help you optimize your efforts based on the budget you have.
