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ECTVI lists out key priorities to help all sides of the ecosystem come together and grow the industry
What is ECTVI?
The European Connected TV Initiative, or ECTVI, in an industry body that was launched in Q4 2020 by three founding members: Roku, Fincons Group, and IPONWEB.
ECTVI is focused on exploring the opportunities and challenges presented by Connected TVs (CTVs), looking to develop a consensus about the practical steps that could be taken to unlock the full potential of the CTV ecosystem.
The initiative works with trade bodies such as the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) to facilitate dialogue across the industry, identify potential barriers and solutions, and determine the steps the industry needs to help the industry grow.
In order to achieve this, the ECTVI believes it is important to gain a holistic understanding of the ecosystem and develop constructive proposals that help and advance the industry, which it does through various debates and discussions involving advertisers, agencies, broadcasters, TV platforms, and technology and data providers.
But first… what exactly is CTV?
There is much debate in the industry around the term ‘Connected TV’ or ‘CTV’.
Simply put, the traditional TV set has become more connected to the internet, enabling viewers to watch free and paid streaming content, as well as traditional TV channels.
The ECTVI defines CTV as an internet-connected television set that provides access to video services delivered over the internet, as well as to broadcast TV channels and other services, in most cases.
And secondly… why is the ECTVI important?
Two, previously separate ecosystems are now converging on one screen for both consumers and advertisers. For the former, the TV is the biggest screen in the house. Once connected to the internet, it’s the perfect screen to watch anything from a traditional TV channel to gaming to ad- and subscription-supported streaming platforms.
For advertisers, CTV unlocks a whole new plethora of opportunities. Ads on a CTV tend to sit higher up the funnel and they are usually non-clickable, which means the link from the ad exposure to a purchase or other business outcomes is generally harder to track.
The industry, therefore, needs to move away from thinking of CTV as a category of viewing, a type of video service, or an advertising format, and to standardise the definition of CTV as connected television.
There needs to be an industry initiative that brings together players from all aspects of the ecosystem, to understand their needs and challenges. With this in mind, the work of the ECTVI has identified four priorities for collaboration and cooperation to help the industry realise the full potential of the CTV advertising ecosystem, which were outlined in its latest report, “The European CTV Initiative.”
ECTVI’s 4 priorities:
- Agree on a set of common definitions and principles for measurement across all content and inventory on CTVs.Standardisation will support better and more comprehensive measurement of viewing across the CTV ecosystem, covering both TV streaming and traditional TV.
- Commit to the development of a more transparent and integrated CTV advertising supply chain.Advertisers and agencies both need the confidence to know what they are buying and where their advertising will run.
- Proactively lean into collaborative arrangements and standards that can help to simplify the delivery of addressable campaigns across a fragmented device ecosystem.The sell-side of the industry needs to proactively support the development and adoption of sales arrangements, standardised platforms, frameworks, and solutions that can help to unlock the full potential of CTVs, making it easier for the buy-side to transact seamlessly and at scale across a fragmented ecosystem.
- Ensure that programmatic platforms and supply chains are standardised, transparent, and interoperable.With advertisers shifting spending to programmatic platforms, CTV is the next priority for major advertisers in Europe. The industry needs solutions that facilitate easier planning, campaign delivery, and management across linear TV, addressable TV, other streaming services — and across the wider display market.
The capabilities of the CTV advertising ecosystem
The growth of CTVs, streamers and the digital advertising ecosystem all contribute to a positive outlook for advertisers. There is a learning curve wherein advertisers need time and education to understand the full benefits of advertising on CTVs.
ECTVI’s report highlights four key capabilities of the CTV advertising ecosystem.
- A large-scale source of viewing (and other) data. This data provides very granular insights into TV and video consumption and ad exposures and supports new forms of targeting and attribution.Moreover, CTV data is being licensed to varying degrees across markets, which supports a diverse set of providers ranging from those specialising in measurement to attribution.
First-party data is becoming increasingly important for advertisers. This type of data is collected by a brand directly from customers making it reliable, timely and accurate.
Platforms such as Roku’s OneView, for example, allow advertisers to integrate their own first-party data into the platform. Advertisers can also combine their first-party data with Roku’s first-party data resulting in highly efficient targeted campaigns.
2. A platform for addressable, targeted TV and video advertising
CTV data allows ads to be targeted to specific audience segments and can also be used to develop custom audience segments. Essentially, CTVs are rich in data and have therefore led to an advanced system that allows advertisers to use first-party data sets as well as additional data sets, and target specific audiences.
At Roku, it always starts with the streamer. Privacy and consent are at the heart of Roku’s first-party data. When users set up a Roku device, they enter details such as their name, email address, date of birth, etc. This information is used to create a profile that we call RIDA - Roku ID for Advertising — without revealing their identity — that helps advertisers reach them based on their channel usage and viewing behavior.
Roku has unique, proprietary audience segments to help brands reach their ideal audience. These include segments such as sports enthusiasts, music TV fans, reality TV fans, news junkies and pop culture viewers among many others.
Advertisers, therefore, now have the ability to explore targeting beyond the traditional data sets, and reap the benefits of specific targeting and measurement by driving better campaign performance.
“Brands start niche now, not mass — and TV has to support this. Broad audience segments are less in demand and mass TV audiences are declining — new brands are looking for more precise targeting, better ways of matching supply and demand.”
Jean-Paul Edwards, CPDO, OMD EMEA
3. An enabler for a new programmatic ecosystem for the TV market.
The connected ecosystem of CTVs allows the TVs to be connected to a programmatic advertising supply chain, which means that inventory can be bought and sold in private marketplace (PMPs) via DSPs and SSPs.
Roku, for instance, has its own DSP called OneView, which measures reach and frequency across both TV streaming channels, mobile and desktop. The OneView platform works across digital ad exchanges as well as TV streaming services, which empowers advertisers to create robust audience sets and drive higher ROI.
It is the platform built for TV streaming, and therefore, optimises streaming campaigns based on a brand’s reach on traditional TV, making it easier to avoid over-exposing customers to the same ad message.
4. A platform for advertising innovation and experimentation. As a relatively new channel of advertising, CTVs support the development of new ad formats, in-flight attribution, and even randomised controlled experiments. This allows advertisers to compare business outcomes across exposed and control groups and assess the effectiveness of their campaigns.
Brands can make use of innovative ad formats such as Roku’s Brand Experiences. One of these experiences, for example, is a native home screen ad that takes up on-third of the streamer’s home screen before they even decide what to watch.
These experiences allow advertisers to go way beyond a 30-second video spot and amplify their branding efforts, retarget viewers, and most importantly, measure results through Roku’s survey insights and brand lift studies.
The biggest strength of CTVs is that they combine the best of both worlds: the old and trusted power of television with the new and innovative solutions of the digital medium.
As one of the leading CTV operating platforms, Roku has the expertise, tools and solutions to transform your brand’s advertising. Contact us to find out more!
