It’s no secret that there are a lot of people watching connected TV (CTV) these days. And where the audiences go, advertisers follow.
In a short period of time, CTV has gone from questionably viable to widely desirable. It’s the fastest-growing ad channel in the US, projected to increase by 22.4% to reach a total of $30 billion in 2024 (CTV Advertising Explained: Benefits, Stats, Platforms & How to Buy).
But as CTV advertising grows, so does its complexity. The first wave of CTV advertising dollars had publishers and ad tech companies scrambling to put controls in place, take advantage of the boom and monetize valuable CTV inventory. These early solutions got the job done, but they were far from perfect.
Many digital solutions were originally created for display. They do not solve for the unique challenges of over-the-top (OTT) streaming services, such as viewer experience controls, competitive separation across an ad pod or buyer pacing for effective delivery of live advertising.
US agency/marketing professionals consider CTV to be a “must-buy” channel, according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and Advertiser Perceptions. It’s critical that publishers understand how to maximize their inventory and differentiate their offerings to break through the noise. In an increasingly complicated and chaotic marketplace, that means opting for a sell-side provider rooted in trust, transparency, efficiency and innovation.
Growing challenges and complexities among CTV publishers
Today, publishers face multiple challenges around selling video inventory due to the growing complexity of the digital advertising ecosystem:
- A fragmented market leads to higher operational costs, increased data discrepancies, suboptimal forecasting capabilities and, ultimately, less yield. The fragmentation also makes it more difficult to package, sell and measure the performance of inventory and offer the aggregated, scaled buying that advertisers want.
- The lack of control and transparency over their digital advertising business can be an obstacle to monetization. Some sell-side technology partners don’t offer specific tools or functions that give publishers control over how they monetize inventory. This lack of insight into data and reporting can make it difficult to accurately understand how inventory is performing compared to other platforms.
The case for unifying your sell-side stack
The obstacles that CTV publishers face are not insurmountable. They can be overcome with the right technology and the right partner. To achieve success and maximize your CTV inventory, consider opting for a single, unified stack.
Here’s why:
- Workflow efficiency. Seek out a unified stack. The efficiency of one platform allows for stronger workflow efficiency, minimizes reporting discrepancies and cuts costs. Your ad operations and yield management teams will spend less time learning and logging in to multiple platforms. Instead, they can build greater proficiency with the single platform.
- Consistent reporting. Ad servers and SSPs have their own reporting features to assess inventory performance. Reconciling the numbers across multiple platforms can quickly become a nightmare. Working with fewer vendors significantly reduces discrepancies.
- Cost savings. It’s not uncommon for ad tech vendors to apply a platform fee for their services in addition to revenue sharing agreements or ad-serving fees. When working with multiple vendors, you’re likely to incur multiple such fees. By unifying your tech stack, you can cut back on duplicate fees. It’s always worth asking if discounts or ad-serving credits can be applied in exchange for using multiple technologies from a single vendor.
Key partnership considerations
Even among single-stack partners, publishers have tough choices to make. Consider partners that think as big as your business does and are willing to meet you exactly where you are.
Consider these three criteria:
- Global scale. This will allow you to connect with the world’s largest brands, advertisers and agencies across all formats and devices. Access to an open, trusted and brand-safe marketplace increases your ability to scale through unique and premium demand generation, ultimately delivering a better viewer experience for your customers.
- Collaborative approach. All too often, ad tech partners offer a one-size-fits-all, rigid solution that you then have to customize. Be sure that the partner you select is flexible and transparent, with a track record of meeting businesses’ specific needs and a platform that’s dynamic enough to adapt.
- Innovative mindset. Selecting a robust ad tech partner that is investing in the right resources and growth areas to future-proof your business is imperative. Look for a partner that is leading and investing heavily in areas like privacy and identity, AI, new methods of demand generation and reporting capabilities.
Opportunity awaits
CTV advertising has a projected CAGR of over 20% from 2020 to 2025. With this much market growth, the revenue opportunity for publishers can feel infinite. Yet the pressure to constantly innovate and adapt is often even greater. Publishers need monetization models built on trust, transparency, efficiency and innovation, with a collaborative partner who will put your business before their own.
