A DoubleVerify (DV) study examining how connected TV (CTV) ad campaign performance improves when advertisers can solve for viewability challenges, is warning advertisers of the need to attack the growing “TV off” threat and not to assume all CTV environments are fully viewable when, in reality, this simply isn’t true.
DV said that viewability, a measure of whether an ad had the chance to be seen by a user, is an important performance indicator for advertisers across all digital media and especially in CTV, as revenue continue to flow to the channel. To measure viewability for digital video, advertisers have historically relied on video player-ad interface definition (VPAID), code that runs within video players to provide engagement insights. However, DV noted that VPAID isn't supported in CTV environments and this has forced advertisers to make their assumption regarding viewability.
In February 2022, DV revealed that a quarter of leading CTV environments continued to play programming content – and recorded ad impressions – after the TV was turned off, an issue for which DV coined the issue “TV Off,” that is when the TV screen itself was in fact turned off but a CTV device or app remains on.
With the analysis, DV found a correlation between lower ad fraud and inventory that plays ads 100% on screen when the TV is on – the fraud/sophisticated invalid traffic (SIVT) rate was 83% lower for scenarios which ran in fully on-screen environments, than when in screen off.
Additionally, DV found that campaigns targeting fully on-screen CTV environments saw stronger performance, in particular when targeting environments that only display ads when the TV is on and the ad is 100% on screen, video completion rate (VCR) can be 18% higher with 96% for fully on screen.
In terms of authentic ad rate, describing ads served to a real person in a brand suitable environment and in the right geo, the fully on screen situation was 5% higher (99% versus 94%). Overall Authentic, fully on-screen completion rate – a DV proxy for ad exposure in CTV and a key driver of user attention – was 95% for fully on screen, while DV saw an insignificant number of authentic, fully on-screen impressions for the off mode. DV found that improving ad exposure correlates with increased brand awareness and favourability.
“As CTV attracts an increasing amount of ad dollars, the need to understand performance and measurability of the medium is essential to ensuring spend is effectively delivered,” said Mark Zagorski, DoubleVerify CEO.
While viewability has generally been assumed by CTV advertisers, we have found that is increasingly not the case. CTV commands some of the highest CPMs in digital advertising, which can make it more susceptible to fraud and bad actors. “Brands rightfully expect their ads to deliver to engaged audiences while the TV set is on. Targeting environments certified to only display ads when the TV screen is on and where the ad is 100% displayed helps to reduce fraud’s impact and improve campaign ROI.”
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In February 2022, DV revealed that a quarter of leading CTV environments continued to play programming content – and recorded ad impressions – after the TV was turned off, an issue for which DV coined the issue “TV Off,” that is when the TV screen itself was in fact turned off but a CTV device or app remains on.
With the analysis, DV found a correlation between lower ad fraud and inventory that plays ads 100% on screen when the TV is on – the fraud/sophisticated invalid traffic (SIVT) rate was 83% lower for scenarios which ran in fully on-screen environments, than when in screen off.
Additionally, DV found that campaigns targeting fully on-screen CTV environments saw stronger performance, in particular when targeting environments that only display ads when the TV is on and the ad is 100% on screen, video completion rate (VCR) can be 18% higher with 96% for fully on screen.
In terms of authentic ad rate, describing ads served to a real person in a brand suitable environment and in the right geo, the fully on screen situation was 5% higher (99% versus 94%). Overall Authentic, fully on-screen completion rate – a DV proxy for ad exposure in CTV and a key driver of user attention – was 95% for fully on screen, while DV saw an insignificant number of authentic, fully on-screen impressions for the off mode. DV found that improving ad exposure correlates with increased brand awareness and favourability.
“As CTV attracts an increasing amount of ad dollars, the need to understand performance and measurability of the medium is essential to ensuring spend is effectively delivered,” said Mark Zagorski, DoubleVerify CEO.
While viewability has generally been assumed by CTV advertisers, we have found that is increasingly not the case. CTV commands some of the highest CPMs in digital advertising, which can make it more susceptible to fraud and bad actors. “Brands rightfully expect their ads to deliver to engaged audiences while the TV set is on. Targeting environments certified to only display ads when the TV screen is on and where the ad is 100% displayed helps to reduce fraud’s impact and improve campaign ROI.”
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