ANA and Innovid Study Uncovers Key Trends in CTV Measurement, Creative, Customer Experiences

Innovid and the ANA's "The State of Connected TV Report 2020" comprises findings from 17 major advertisers and 60 million interactive impressions across seven verticals; more than 10 devices and four creative formats were analyzed. Brands that participated include Anheuser-Busch, Arby's, AT&T Business, Bank of America, General Motors, Johnson & Johnson, Kroger, La-Z-Boy, Mondelez, Taco Bell, TIAA, Visible, and White Castle. Together, Innovid and the ANA found that CTV extends reach, provides more interactivity and increases earned time over standard advertising experiences.

"A 30-second CTV ad is ultimately viewed for 101 seconds – that's 71 incremental seconds or a 237 percent increase," said ANA Group executive vice president Bill Duggan, who worked on the survey. "In an era where customers are fast forwarding through commercials and ad blockers prevent the viewing of digital ads, the time earned by CTV ads is extraordinary. It's an ad unit that consumers actually want to engage in and spend more time with."

Jessica Hogue, general manager of measurement and analytics at Innovid, added: "Delivering compelling content has been increasingly vital for brands vying for viewer attention. This study goes beyond general industry trends to analyze live interactive CTV campaign results to reveal both how audiences engage with new TV advertising experiences, and how marketers can drive greater value through relevant, dynamic and interactive content at scale."

Key insights and data findings from the research study include:

•CTV Extends Audience Reach. CTV's exclusive audiences, cord-cutters and cord-nevers, make it an ideal platform for extending the reach of linear TV campaigns, especially in competitive dayparts. 30 percent of CTV impressions were observed during the traditional primetime daypart (7:00 to 11:00 p.m.), compared to approximately 23 percent consumed on linear TV during the same period.

•CTV Provides Deeper Interactivity. Amid cross-screen competition, CTV's enhanced digital capabilities can substantially deepen and redefine customer engagement as CTV interactive ads yielded an average engagement rate of 0.36 percent, which is on par with Innovid's average across verticals. 15-second spots had an average engagement rate of 0.23 percent, compared to 0.41 percent for 30-second spots.

•CTV Provides More Time for Advertisers. CTV gives advertisers the ability to earn more of the viewer's time, which potentially increases brand awareness and opportunities for conversions. Whether it is SMS, a browsable gallery with rich product detail or video vignettes with branding, interactive CTV campaigns achieved on average 71 seconds of incremental time above the initial length of the ad — a 237 percent increase over standard 30-second ads. 15-second ads garnered an average of 67 incremental seconds, amounting to an impressive 447 percent increase in total time with the consumer.

The study also highlights a paradox of choice — the temptation to offer viewers an abundance of interactive features that may overwhelm the user instead. Generally, ads that used two to three in-unit elements, such as videos or browsable product galleries, generated the highest and most consistent engagement. In contrast, an average of 88 percent of consumers disengaged from the creative before reaching the fourth in-unit element. CTV also presents an opportunity to go beyond standard TV experiences. TV-to-mobile elements demonstrated a consistent ability to boost ad engagement, with one in 25 consumers who engaged by entering their mobile number to receive more information from the advertiser via SMS.

"Industry analysts forecast the rapid rise of connected television and advanced TV overall," said ANA CEO Bob Liodice. "It's important that ANA members be ready and understand how to best integrate CTV into the media mix while also being aware of the challenges. ANA's partnership with Innovid on this study was intended to accelerate the learning curve."

The full report is available for download here.

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