The Complete CTV Marketing Guide for Growing Viewership

If you’ve kept close to the latest industry headlines, you know churn is on every major streamer and publisher’s mind. New research shows the average subscriber churn rate for streaming video services in the U.S. is now 47%. And, viewer retention isn’t only an issue for subscription-based services – free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channels also face challenges in keeping viewers engaged and tuned in to their content.

This industry-wide challenge of viewer churn is coupled closely with the issue of discoverability – viewers are ditching streaming services simply because they can’t find what to watch. In fact, audiences are spending a whopping 10.5 minutes per session deciding what to stream.

For streamers and publishers, hurdles with viewer churn and discoverability underscore a need for an effective marketing strategy in order to attract, engage, and retain viewers. Today, performance marketing tactics, specifically, are helping advertisers tap into high-value audiences and accurately measure return on investment (ROI). While Connected TV (CTV) hasn’t always been seen as a performance marketing channel, new approaches and technology have changed that.

Wurl’s latest report, in partnership with AppLovin, explores how streamers and publishers can turn CTV into a performance channel for growth. We’ve recapped key takeaways from the report below.

Streamline attribution and measurement

Central to performance marketing is the ability to accurately measure and attribute a viewer’s actions to a specific campaign. With performance-driven solutions like ContentDiscovery, streamers and publishers can acquire viewers and attribute conversions across CTV, mobile, and desktop.

Subsequently, with the ability to accurately track campaign performance on CTV, streamers and publishers can then make optimizations that increase viewership and revenue for their apps.

Optimize with a full-funnel mindset 

CTV has revolutionized how we consume content and changed the game when it comes to advertising on the big screen. Streamers and publishers can now leverage data-driven targeting and measurement when advertising on CTV, providing a clearer understanding of campaign outcomes and making TV a more accountable and measurable channel than it’s ever been.

A unique characteristic of CTV, too, is that as an internet-connected device, its ads can be tracked, measured, and attributed for resulting app installs. This shift toward interactivity paves the way for continued innovation in performance marketing across channels. Consistent measurement across all marketing channels also means streamers and publishers have the ability to truly understand CTV’s impact on their overall performance strategy.

Inspire engagement with impactful CTV ads 

CTV offers streamers and publishers the opportunity to produce emotionally evocative ad creatives that hook viewers into their content. With the ability to test and optimize different narratives and creatives on CTV, streamers and publishers can continuously iterate to ensure the most impactful messages are reaching the right viewers.

Wurl customers have unique access to creative services from SparkLabs – AppLovin’s in-house creative team – through ContentDiscovery. SparkLabs can help produce top-performing ads to promote shows and content, elevate existing assets, and provide creative analysis.

With more options to stream than ever before, finding the right viewers and continuously engaging them with the right content is critical for streamers and publishers to build loyal audiences. Performance-driven CTV marketing supports streamers and publishers in streamlining attribution and measurement, optimizing with a full-funnel mindset, and inspiring engagement with impactful CTV ads – effectively transforming their marketing efforts from a cost center to a revenue driver.

To learn more about how you can turn CTV into a performance marketing channel for growth, check out the full report here.