PREPARING FOR 2022: 5 Tips for Agency Buyers and Planners

The first quarter of 2022 is just three months away. Are your video media campaigns for next year set up for success? We have five tips to help you formulate strategies to effectively reach your target customers and drive results via advertising across streaming services.

1.) Identify Your Target Consumer(s)
Consumer preferences and behaviors are changing. The pandemic sparked new interests and shopping methods among U.S. adults across all ages. Rather than referencing a past segment, leverage recent research to re-evaluate who your ideal consumer is in order to reach the full potential and scale of your target customer. Have the age demographics changed over the last few years? Are there emerging trends in the consumer category to consider?

For example, the age groups of restaurant customers and their preferred order method have shifted. In 2019, drive-thru/curbside pickup was most likely to attract younger segments, but mature adults (55+) had a greater representation of this type of diner in 2021. Conversely, eat-in diners were less likely to be over the age of 55 in 2021 compared to 2019. [1] These trends suggest that a broadened age group for restaurant/QSR advertising is ideal for creative messaging centered around contactless pickup. Campaigns focused on inviting customers for a sit-down experience would benefit from reaching the Gen Z and Millennial generations.

In 2019, 30% of eat-in diners were age 18-34. This age group grew +5 percentage points by 2021 accounting for 35% of the total dine-in consumer segment.

2.) Optimize Your Geo-Targeting Strategy
There have always been market nuances according to geographical differences including demographics, weather and retailer footprints. Additional factors have come into play as of 2020. Consumers are relocating and settling into new homes, placing them into purchase funnels while residing in a new town. State and city officials within the U.S. are all monitoring their local communities leading to the implementation of safety guidelines that can ultimately affect consumer sentiment, accessibility, and shopping preferences. Tailoring an OTT campaign to execute advertising to DMAs that present the greatest marketing opportunity can deliver a greater return.

Telecommunications, Furniture Store and Restaurant advertisers can leverage home sales and moving intel to pinpoint heavy-up markets to promote their services and introduce nearby retail store locations to new residents in growing cities.

3.) Determine How to Distribute your Video Budget Between Linear TV and OTT
Consumers’ video habits are shifting and internet-connected devices continue to carve out viewing share from traditional media. The latest eMarketer forecast indicates that just 54% of U.S. households will subscribe to a traditional pay TV service in 2022. [2] That means nearly half of the homes in the country cannot be reached via cable or satellite advertising. By balancing out investments according to consumption, you’ll reduce the risk of over-exposing viewers on broadcast/cable TV and under-reaching viewers on streaming video.

4.) Diversify your OTT Media Buy
Consumers are hungry for video entertainment. On average, a CTV household uses five OTT services sources to get content, a number that has increased each year since 2019. [3] As usage surges and adoption rates climb, streamers are not exclusively relying on just one app or service to satisfy their video needs. Streaming platforms allow consumers to access content whenever and wherever they want, resulting in a more engaged viewer. Setting strict daypart parameters and/or network limitations could result in a missed opportunity to maximize the reach of your OTT campaign.

5.) Set Optimal Frequency to Boost Ad Attention
The viewing experience is important to consumers and that includes content as well as the advertisements served during the programming. To cut costs, consumers are more tolerant of ads delivered via streaming services to receive the video entertainment they desire. However, there is an expectation that the advertising is relevant and not repetitive. Consumer satisfaction and attention are highest when viewers see a reasonable number of ads and drop when exposed to the same ad multiple times during a single episode. [4] Work with your OTT partner to determine best practices regarding frequency or recency caps during your flight for an impactful campaign.

Just 41% of consumers enjoyed their viewing experience when they saw the same ad multiple times during the episode. [5]

Research and Insights are a critical component of any media strategy and CTV advertising investments continue to rise to reach the growing, engaged streaming audience. It’s important to factor in the latest consumer trends to build a campaign designed to deliver significant ROI. Contact Gamut today to learn more about how you can effectively incorporate OTT into your media mix for 2022 and beyond.

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[1] Source: MRI-Simmons USA Study Spring 2021; MRI Survey of the American Consumer Spring 2019. Courtesy of MRI-Simmons.

[2] eMarketer Forecast; Pay TV Households, February 2021

[3] Source: Source: Comscore OTT Intelligence, CTV Devices, U.S.

[4] [5] Source: HUB Research “TV Advertising: Fact vs Fiction” Report June 2021