LinkedIn Connected TV (or CTV as it’s also known) Adverts have been a growing opportunity for digital first advertisers. LinkedIn has just announced a whole heap of additional functionality they’ve added to the campaign manager platform.
You can read more about what’s been announced on their website.
Penny Price, VP, Marketing Solutions at LinkedIn told AdExchanger:
“Many brands use streaming to reach general consumers, but that’s not necessarily the case for marketers trying to target business professionals.
B2B brands need to make sure customers have a favourable opinion of a brand before they see a product ad on LinkedIn. By starting campaigns further up the funnel with CTV, brands can increase the odds of their digital ads actually driving sales.”
So what are LinkedIn CTV adverts?
LinkedIn Connected TV (CTV) ads leverage first-party data from their vast professional community to target audiences on large-screen experiences.
These ads are tested within long-form and episodic content on streaming platforms, like Roku, Samsung and NBCUniversal. Placement options include pre-roll, mid-roll, or near the end of videos.
Requirements include: using LinkedIn’s Campaign Manager, meeting CTV ad specifications, selecting Brand Awareness as the campaign objective, and enabling the CTV-only campaign toggle. Currently, CTV ads support auto-bidding and have limitations such as targeting only the US and Canada and requiring English as the audience language.
Brand Lift tests can measure the impact of CTV campaigns, but detailed breakdowns between CTV and other campaigns aren’t available yet.
Best practices for CTV ads include using short-duration assets, broad audience criteria, and brand safety features like allowlists and blocklists.
LinkedIn prioritizes brand safety for CTV ads through partnerships, detection, and filtration mechanisms, as well as providing controls and reports for advertisers to manage suitability.
Monitoring delivery and demographic reporting is advised post-launch, and LinkedIn continues to collaborate with industry partners to ensure a high-quality ad experience across its platforms.
Why should b2b advertisers consider CTV adverts?
B2B marketers face significant hurdles when attempting to effectively target business professionals using traditional TV ad buying methods.
Unlike B2C advertising, where demographics like age and gender play a significant role, these metrics hold less relevance in the B2B landscape. Instead, B2B marketers require more nuanced data, specifically pertaining to users’ professional roles, industry affiliations, and workplace details.
This level of granularity is essential for understanding decision-making power within organizations, as well as identifying key stakeholders involved in purchasing processes.
Benefits of CTV for B2B Marketers
LinkedIn’s new Connected TV (CTV) functionality offers a solution to these targeting challenges by leveraging data from their members to precisely reach the desired audience.
This enables B2B companies to tap into rich professional data to target business professionals accurately. This allows marketers to tailor their messaging and content to resonate with specific industries, job roles, and organizational hierarchies.
This has the potential to be powerful for industries like financial services, technology, software, and healthcare.
These sectors often target niche audiences with specialized needs, making precise targeting crucial for campaign success. By leveraging LinkedIn’s CTV, B2B marketers could in theory ensure their messages reach the right professionals at the right time, maximizing the impact of their advertising efforts.
Role of CTV in the Purchase Journey
CTV could play a pivotal role in the B2B purchase journey by helping raise brand awareness and consideration at earlier stages.
Unlike impulse purchases common in B2C settings, B2B decisions involve a lengthy consideration process akin to buying a new car.
Prospective buyers conduct extensive research, consult with colleagues, and evaluate multiple options before making a purchase decision.
By incorporating CTV into their marketing strategies, B2B marketers can engage audiences early in the purchase journey, laying the groundwork for future conversions.
CTV ads could serve as a powerful tool for building brand recognition, establishing credibility, and educating prospects about products or services. By capturing attention during this crucial phase, B2B companies can increase the likelihood of driving conversions and securing long-term customer relationships.
