NEW YORK—Despite uncertainty about the overall economy, a new survey by Digital Remedy of U.S. based direct-to-consumer (DTC) marketers finds that CTV/OTT advertising expenditures are likely to rise in the first half of 2023.
“CTV/OTT provides an all-encompassing performance channel that presents a wide reach, accountability and precise targeting through data analysis,” said Matt Sotebeer, chief strategy officer at Digital Remedy in explaining the attraction of CTV advertising. “Additionally, it offers a secure and captivating advertisement environment for brands. DTC marketers who aren’t investing and leveraging in CTV/OTT are missing a prime opportunity to engage with customers who are predominantly consuming media through these channels.”
Digital Remedy’s new “CTV/OTT: The Next Frontier of DTC Marketing” report found that two-thirds (67%) of DTC marketers leverage CTV/OTT insights to influence their linear strategies. Of the DTC marketers planning to spend on CTV/OTT in 1H 2023, 57% plan to spend more this year, versus 43% in 1H 2022.
Other key findings include:
- Access to higher quality OTT inventory (40%) and brand lift measurement capabilities (38%) have the most impact on convincing DTC marketers to increase their CTV/OTT budget.
- CTV/OTT generates a new wave of budget allocation and ad spend. 65% of DTC marketers who plan to spend more on CTV/OTT in 1H 2023 say it will be their first time investing in this media channel altogether. Among those who plan to spend more in CTV/OTT, 61% say the budget will be reallocated from another media channel (i.e. search and social, mobile apps, and digital display), while 39% say they will increase their total media budget to allow for increased investment on CTV/OTT.
- CTV provides a leg up in a cookieless world. Nearly a quarter of DTC marketers say that their advertising campaigns (targeting or measurement abilities) have been affected by recent data privacy regulations. CTV offers the ability to measure online and offline conversions to understand the true impact of campaigns, taking the guesswork out of attributing ROI. For DTC marketers, high brand awareness, product visibility, and larger reach are considered top benefits of CTV/OTT as a direct-to-consumer marketing channel.
- DTC marketers are looking for stronger campaign performance insights (including more granular measurement and reporting) from their media partners and marketers are looking for partners that can deliver on specific capabilities that their current media partners are lacking, such as real-time, automated campaign reporting and optimization. When asked about their satisfaction level, less than half say they’re satisfied with their current media partner’s incremental measurement (48%), survey-based brand lift measurement (47%), and low-funnel attribution (44%), the study found.
The survey was conducted in December 2022 via Dynata and targeted U.S.-based decision-makers at various-sized companies that sell products or services to consumers in some capacity. For the full study and more insights visit www.digitalremedy.com.
