Brands Ignore The CTV Mid-Tail At Their Peril

Authored by: Rachel LaMura, Director, Product Marketing, CTV at TripleLift

So much of the buzz around the Connected TV space has been generated by The Big 5 streaming services – Netflix, YouTube, Hulu, Amazon Video, Disney+. Today, those five are just a few of an ever-expanding cohort that have brands shifting dollars from TV and digital budgets and placing high-priced bets. But it can be hard to see the forest for the trees when it’s dominated by these redwoods. Underneath the large shadows cast by the behemoths, there are free ad-supported television (FAST) and ad-supported video on-demand (AVOD) channels and platforms with premium content and something these behemoth’s don’t have – unique, hard to reach audiences.

If buyers are intent on maximizing their video investments, they need to look to the vast mid-tail of CTV publishers alongside the top players in this new era’s version of portfolio diversification.  Similar to the digital boom of the early 2000s, we are seeing a drove of new publishers and platforms emerging with tailored focuses – and audiences are noticing. Consider for starters, over 50% of all digital video viewers in the U.S. are watching Ad-supported Video On-Demand (AVOD). And six in ten households watched content with a FAST app in 2021 – a number that is set to grow at a faster rate than any other platform.  With a healthy mix of AVOD and FAST publishers, brands can minimize the woes of an evolving landscape. 

Harvesting the Lower-Hanging Fruit
The big name apps are an obvious choice for brands looking for scale. But for those brands looking to increase their targeted reach and buy with efficiency, there’s one category that may have the answer: the CTV Mid-Tail. Here are three compelling reasons for investing in the CTV Mid-Tail:

The CTV Mid-Tail, composed of a broad range of AVOD platforms and FAST channels, delivers sizable and consistent audiences and has yet to be fully exploited by marketers. Thanks to a focus on curating content catalogs for passionate, loyal fan bases, the CTV Mid-Tail has maintained deeply invested audiences yielding lower churn rates. Think of properties such as Pluto, Whistle TV (Sports & Entertainment), and Design Network (Home & Garden). 

CTV Mid-Tails are inherently nimble and technologically advanced, making them the natural home to innovative ad formats that deliver better experiences to viewers and in turn higher engagement and results for brands. All around, the CTV Mid-Tail can deliver a better viewer experience that drives results. 

As header bidding continues to democratize the CTV space thanks to ad serving platforms like Publica, brands of all shapes and sizes can reach target audiences across the CTV Mid-Tail on their own terms and budgets with unified auctions. No longer do advertisers need to commit to upfront buying or huge guarantees.  All bids are taken into consideration, unlike the legacy waterfall dynamics which were stacked unfairly in favor of the most scaled players. Header Bidding evens the playing field for advertisers and makes it easy to compete for impressions in high-quality television content. 

You need to get moving – FAST 
For all of the digital-like targeting and efficient workflow that CTV provides; engaged audiences, quality programming and brand-building still matter. For advertisers, the CTV Mid-Tail offers you both a chance to lean in and reap the benefits of a TV experience that’s better for viewers and your bottom line.  CTV Mid-Tail provide brands with the kind of wide open canvas we as marketers dream about, plus the opportunity to reach targeted audiences with no upfront buy required. If you’re not buying in the CTV Mid-Tail, you’re not maximizing your video investment. You need to get moving – FAST.

To learn more about how you can reach CTV Mid-Tail’s coveted audiences, check out our FAST ETD for CTV spots.

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