Dealership Connected TV: Laser-Targeted Advertising

Let’s start with definitions, because when it comes to digital marketing, the acronyms can get confusing! The term OTT stands for “over the top”, which essentially refers to video content that users stream through an internet connection. The devices used are many and continue to grow (such as laptops or desktop computers, tablets, mobile phones and many other mobile devices), but for the purpose of clarity, think of OTT as the content providers rather than the devices used to view that content.

The term CTV, on the other hand, stands for Connected TV. This differs from OTT in that it’s specifically referring to the devices that are connected to a large screen like a Smart TV, which is also connected to the internet either directly or through Wi-Fi.

Where this comes into focus is when you think about the content you probably stream yourself. Services like Netflix, Hulu, and many others are considered OTT services, and more and more people continue to move away from traditional Cable TV and toward OTT services for their favorite movies and TV shows every day.

More and more people also have Smart TVs these days, or connect devices like the Amazon Fire Stick, Roku, Apple TV and others (including many modern gaming consoles) to their TVs than ever before. What that means, in simple terms, is that you can view OTT services through a CTV device – but these are definitely not interchangeable terms. And for marketers, that’s a very good thing.

Now that we understand the terminology, let’s look at how OTT and CTV work together to provide an incredible opportunity for dealerships to reach more potential customers, and drive higher engagement and sales.

The ads that are shown in OTT content show up as a user is viewing videos, either before or after, but also during the video playback (like they do on Youtube videos, for example). These ads are also generally skippable, but there’s a guaranteed display window of 5-10 seconds on most platforms. What’s really important though, is that CTV ads can be highly targeted and they play on the devices themselves, which means dealerships who want to focus only on likely customers have a much better opportunity to do just that.

In essence, CTV ads allow you to leverage the popularity of OTT content, but to be hyper-targeted when it comes to who views your ads. This can include only people who have searched for vehicles that match what’s in your inventory (or has been recently) and who are within your dealership’s territory, so you’re not wasting ad spend on people who aren’t in the market to buy a vehicle or who are too far away to come to your lot. You can also choose the publishers you prefer, based on your audience’s behavior, which allows for optimization at all times – making the most of your investment.

One additional advantage of CTV advertising comes from its ability to effectively retarget people who view your ads – and not just on the same device. Recent research shows that an overwhelming percentage of people use their mobile devices while they’re watching TV, which is why the best CTW ads play on the large screen, and also allow for ads to show on that viewer’s mobile device.

Redline CTV ads, for example, allow clickable display ads to take over other connected devices in the household both during and after the CTV ad is viewed. This results in a huge increase to your website’s visit rate, and that traffic means more visits to your lot – and eventually vehicle purchases.

The final piece of the OTT/CTV picture comes from understanding the metrics behind the ads. Generally speaking, traditional TV ads, as well as those typically run on OTT channels, leave a lot of the numbers unseen (such as total impressions, clicks through to website, visit rate, cost per visit, etc.). One of the most powerful things CTV ads provide is a full suite of detailed metrics showing how your ads are performing, so you know your investment is rendering the kind of results you’re looking for.

Coupled with AI-powered optimization to get the best performance possible by selecting channels that are rendering the best results, this makes for a powerful and quickly growing channel for dealerships to make a big impact on their bottom line rapidly.