News from TheTradeDesk, the Measuring Success in Digital Advertising: 2020 Report, shows the pressure CMOs feel from CFOs. The bean counters want to know that marketing spend drives an increase to the bottom line. That interest means 41% of digital marketers will increase CTV ad spend this year. As a result, you should be increase CTV marketing to position your organization as a key provider.

Growth for Data-​Driven Ad Formats

CMOs cite three specific advantages to spending more money in the digital sphere. First, they appreciate the real-​time information flow (50%). When a campaign is in midstream, marketers can make adjustments quickly and easily. This ability allows them to fix what isn’t working. Second, digital formats allow marketers to measure the effect of their ad campaigns. 54.5% of marketers say this factor strongly influences their decision to use a specific media type. The ease of personalizing a campaign is the third major reason (53%) so many marketers are spending more money on digital formats like CTV.

One way for CMOs to show they are using budgets wisely is to shift spending to data-​driven formats beyond CTV. These formats include digital and programmatic. In the next year, CMOs will move the following percentages of marketing expenditures to digital formats:

• <10%: 1%
• 10%-25%: 25%
• 26%-50%: 45%
• 51%-70%: 27%
• >70%: 2%

The number of marketers who plan to increase ad spend on the following formats in 2021 break out as follows:

• Connected TV 41%
• Linear TV 34%
• Streaming audio 40%
• Radio 28%
• Digital out-​of-​home 36%

Despite the large number of advertisers who are looking into new formats, you may need to engage in some CTV marketing to tout the benefits.

The Problem with UGC

The TradeDesk survey indicates some marketer hesitation with respect to UGC, which was the shiny new object, until recently. About 32% of businesses have shifted some of the budget reserved for UGC to premium data-​driven channels. Another 56% are considering making this change. Analysts explain that, “User generated content’s biggest appeal has always been its scale and accessibility.” However, in an era of a highly polarized consumer nation, it’s risky for marketers to rely heavily on user-​generated content. Now more than ever, marketers need to consistently demonstrate their social and environmental sensitivities."

Measuring Results

The streaming service alternative has become compelling for marketers. They can target specific audiences, control the message, and measure results. Measuring results is a catchall term for a number of activities. And accessing some types of analytics is more important to some businesses than others. For example, businesses says it’s very important to be able to measure media-​specific ROI (48%) and marketing mix analytics (44%). The ability to export their data across their platforms is also key for 52% of marketers.

Digital Marketers Will Increase CTV Ad Spend

Cross-​channel attribution has posed a consistent measurement problem with 29% of marketers calling the issue very challenging and 44% saying it is somewhat challenging. However, marketers also say that CTV models make cross-​channel attribution much easier. This is another benefit you should highlight in your CTV marketing.

These days, 57.5% of marketers can connect brand awareness to their digital ad spend. Equally as important, CMOs now have the data that CFOs demand when they start reviewing which part of the budget to increase or cut. About 43% of CMOs say they now have to justify expenses that were not previously questioned.

You can help your clients understand how they stack up against their competitors when it comes to digital advertising. Run a digital audit on them, using the tool that's available in AdMall by SalesFuel. And you can also view profiles in AudienceSCAN about OTT Viewers.