Boosting brand visibility with cross-device CTV campaigns for the Olympics

The Olympic Games are a global spectacle that captivates billions of viewers worldwide. Beyond the thrill of sports, audiences are profoundly moved by the emotional narratives that unfold. In India, the remarkable performance of Indian athletes at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics has heightened national pride and interest. Viewers are especially eager to watch events featuring star athletes, further fuelling this enthusiasm. For marketers in India, the Olympics offer an unparalleled opportunity, combining massive viewership with deep emotional engagement, making it a premier event for impactful advertising.

While the larger-than-life spirit of the Olympics continues to be captured and experienced on the big screens at home via linear and digital feeds, more and more users now consume content across multiple devices—from smartphones and tablets to Connected TVs (CTV) and out-of-home screens—offering even more touchpoints for brands to engage with their audience. As consumer journeys have evolved, this has necessitated more personalised content that speaks to specific consumer segments. This is where sophisticated cross-device CTV campaigns come into play.

CTV: Revolutionising Olympics season advertising

Traditional TV consumption is gradually transitioning towards CTV as more viewers tune into on-demand content. CTVs give brands a robust, engaging platform to deliver more targeted and measurable advertising driven by programmatic technology. By combining the engaging storytelling of linear television with the real-time targeting and optimisation of programmatic advertising, CTV allows for a great amount of personalisation and delivers more outcome-driven results.

CTV ad spending has also been on a significant rise, reflecting its effectiveness in reaching targeted audiences and driving engagement. Brands across various categories, such as consumer goods, automotive, entertainment OTTs, retail, and consumer technology, are increasingly allocating their advertising budgets to CTV. This shift aligns with the global trend of moving ad budgets from traditional TV to CTV due to its targeted capabilities and growing audience base.

This makes CTV an effective medium for Olympics season advertising, where viewers from a vast demographic tune in over the duration of the event. Interestingly, the Olympics event is not restricted to one sport. As it brings together different athletic events, it gives brands a chance to reach and engage different persona types. For example, the same user might be interested in track and field and badminton, each of which has its own audience size.

Additionally, some viewers are only interested in consuming news-related content on FAST (Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV). This variety gives brands a palette to deliver different advertising messages during different events and to different audience sets.

Embracing multi-screen engagement

Since the modern Olympic viewer is not tied to conventional timed viewing, they may watch live events on their CTV, engage in social media, follow content via their mobile screens, consume news on FAST channels, and interact with DOOH (Digital Out-of-Home) boards in the public domain. This multi-screen presence means brands also need to create a consistent and cohesive advertising experience across different platforms, enhancing brand recall and minimising ad fatigue.

Cross-device CTV campaigns integrate advertising efforts across multiple screens while ensuring a seamless and cohesive brand experience, no matter where or how viewers are consuming Olympic content. Technological advancements in CTV advertising now also make it possible for advertisers to sync CTV ads with other connected devices in the same household. This means viewers who watch the Olympics on their smart TVs can be retargeted on their smartphones within the same household and driven to take action, such as installing a CTV app or visiting a product page on an app or mobile web.

QR scanning available on CTV also brings actionable engagement that brands can use for product discovery or app installs. For advertisers, these capabilities to target across screens help create an omnichannel impact. By having the ability to allowlist and blocklist audience segments on CTV, advertisers can cap the frequency of ads shown to counter ad fatigue.

CTV advertising also offers rich insights into key brand KPIs, allowing advertisers to track viewer behaviour and engagement in real-time, as well as track conversion metrics. Additionally, advertisers can measure the impact of CTV advertising through app downloads, web events, and unique visits. Through technological innovations such as CTV app measurement, advertisers can track installs and in-app events of CTV apps.

Going a step further, through footfall tracking, advertisers can measure the offline impact of CTV ads to see how CTV advertising can improve in-store purchases. Beyond traditional metrics, advertising on CTV has shown a significant increase in brand awareness and proven impact on purchase intent, message association, and brand favourability.

2024 Olympics: A defining moment for CTV advertising

The impact of CTV advertising during the 2024 Olympics will likely be a turning point for marketers. Unlike previous editions of the Games, this year’s Olympics will be the first where CTV has firmly established itself as a mainstream medium. As brands experience the enhanced reach, engagement, and measurability that CTV offers, its inclusion in future media budgets will become increasingly justifiable.

The ability to target specific audience segments, retarget viewers across multiple devices, and measure the effectiveness of campaigns in real-time will provide invaluable insights and drive more efficient allocation of advertising spend. This year's Olympics could very well mark the beginning of a new era in advertising, where CTV stands as a dominant and indispensable medium, forever transforming the landscape of media investment.

(Our guest author is Nikhil Kumar, Chief Growth Officer, mediasmart)