Sitting down to watch TV after a long day or work or school has been an evening ritual for Americans basically since TV was created. For a long time, though, watching your favorite shows could be a hassle. You HAD to be in front of the TV at the exact moment your show or movie would start and pray that you were back in time from your commercial bathroom breaks. And sometimes an episode of your TV show would be one you’d seen a million times and had no interest in watching again. Then along came connected TV (CTV).

Not only does connected TV give Americans the upgrades they didn’t even realize they wanted in a viewing experience, it’s a gold mine for advertisers. According to a study by Integral Ad Science (IAS), 88% of people are connected TV watchers. Also, 91% of those viewers watch ad-​supported streaming video content. And here’s the best part: 90% prefer the ad experience of connected TV compared to linear TV.

Why Connected TV Ads are Preferable

Your client may think that connected TV ads are preferable to viewers because many of them are skippable. While that may be the case in some instances, there are other reasons that work in your client’s favor.

• Shorter Ads: 43% of connected TV viewers like this aspect of the ad experience. While this does mean that your client will have to get more creative to fit messages into a shorter video, it also increases the likelihood that the audience will watch the ad in its entirety.
• Fewer Ads: A surprising part of CTV is that it is not yet getting the attention it deserves from advertisers. If your client takes advantage of this popular ad medium before their competition realizes what they’re missing out on, they’ll have more ad time in a space with fewer ads. Fewer ads means the ads viewers do see will stick out more in their memory.
• Relevant Ads: Viewers are pleased that they have a greater chance of seeing ads that they find personally relevant (15%) and relevant to the content (13%) while watching CTV. If you’re not sure what types of programming your client’s target audience is watching, just take a look at their audience profiles in AudienceSCAN on AdMall by SalesFuel to find out.

The Ads' Influence

IAS also found that 8% of connected TV watchers actually enjoy watching ads. That may not seem like a high percentage, but it’s actually quite a lot of people. Remember, 88% of people watch CTV. According to the latest updates by the United States Census Bureau, that’s roughly 288.851 million people. So, that means that 23.108 million people enjoy watching the ads they see while watching CTV.

While they’re watching TV, 88% of connected TV users also say that they are regularly using another device. Your clients shouldn’t think of this as a negative thing. On the contrary, it means that, once they see a CTV commercial, they can immediately do more research into the advertised brand, product or service online.

So, why aren’t your clients using connected TV ads, again?