Creative Storytelling Strategies for CTV Advertising

Whether the whole family gathers around the TV for movie night or one person catches up on their favorite show, using creative storytelling strategies for CTV is a successful way to engage with your audience. 

Storytelling can boost conversion rates by 30%, so using this tool in your CTV advertisements is critical. Plus, compelling storytelling also gives customers more faith in your business. In fact, if customers love a brand story, 55% are more likely to buy the product in the future, 44% will share the story, and 15% will buy the product immediately. 

But before we dive into some storytelling best practices, let’s discuss CTV. 


What Is CTV? 

Connected TV, also known as CTV, refers to any television with the ability to connect to the internet — a trend that started growing in the mid to late 2000s. From iTunes to YouTube and Netflix to Disney+, the history of CTV might be more complex than you think. 

As MNTN explained, CTV typically happens in two ways: 

  • Regular TVs that connect to multimedia devices — like Apple TV, Amazon Fire Stick, and Chromecast — and allow you to view content through the internet. 
  • Regular TVs with in-built internet connectivity, like Smart TVs.

What About OTT? 

Similar to CTV is Over-the-Top (OTT), which refers to content that goes “over” your cable box to give you access to TV content using an internet connection instead of a cable cord or satellite by traditional broadcast providers. The main difference is OTT content can be viewed on any device, while CTV content is strictly shown on television screens. 

Today, several platforms provide streaming services, including: 

  • Disney+
  • Hulu
  • Netflix
  • Roku
  • YouTube

These, of course, are just a few examples of OTT. As the industry continues to expand, more streaming platforms emerge and existing ones continue to add cheaper tier options with commercials. For example, Netflix’s ad tier platform is set to launch by the end of 2022

Explore our CTV & OTT: Glossary of Terms 

Why Is CTV Important? 

CTV puts your brand on the biggest screen in the house — but in a new way. Unlike linear television, CTV can allow your business to use television advertising as a performance platform, similar to social media and search advertising. 

According to Forbes, “…streaming platforms captured a record 34.8% of all television views in July [2022].” The same article states that while streaming typically outperforms broadcast, July 2022 was the first month streaming also surpassed cable television viewership. 

As streaming and CTV usage continue to grow, this is a remarkable opportunity for your business to get in front of your target audience. 

Plus, many users prefer ad-supported streaming services. A survey conducted by Gartner found the majority of streamers (57%) are watching a mix of ad-supported and ad-free streaming services, while 19% watch only ad-supported streaming. This means 76% of all streamers see CTV advertising at least part of the time. 

7 CTV Video Examples and Creative Storytelling Strategies

Share Educational Content 

Many brands avoid educational content because they’re afraid it has to be complicated or in-depth, but this quick Harken video is a great example of how brands can personalize educational content. 

Think with Google reported, “80% of Gen Z teens say YouTube has helped them become more knowledgeable about something.” Since young users are already engaging with educational content on YouTube, you can share similar content across other CTV platforms. 

Not only will younger audiences be more willing to engage with the content, but they’ll also feel like it was created with their interests in mind.

Promote Your Products and Services

Many ecommerce, brick-and-mortar stores, and omnichannel businesses focus on showcasing their products and services — and for a good reason! Once a consumer understands how your business can solve their problems or sees how easily they can access your services, they’re more likely to try it themselves.

Filled with engaging animations and on-screen text, this Credit Karma video walks viewers through the benefits of their service in an engaging way. Once viewers understand what problems your product or service solves, they’re more likely to see whether or not they need your solution — and with effective targeting, you can increase the chances they do.

Use an Engaging Hook

If you want viewers to watch the whole video, you need to get them hooked at the beginning.

This Insurify ad opens with someone driving a car while blindfolded — who doesn’t want to see what happens next? 

Thankfully, it’s just an analogy, but it’s one that resonates with many people who have car insurance. Throughout the ad, Insurify continues using this analogy of shopping for car insurance while blindfolded; in other words, many people don’t really shop for insurance. Instead, they just stick with their existing provider. 

With an engaging hook, Insurify can tell a more in-depth story because their audience wanted to know what would happen throughout the remainder of the video. 

Speak Their Language

While you’re crafting your script, make sure to take out industry jargon or other words your audience might not understand. Instead, you can review social media, surveys, and consumer feedback to understand how your audience speaks about your business and products and connect with them through the terms they use.

This Modern Fertility CTV advertisement, for example, is focused on accessibility in several ways, including through the language they use. This ad explains complex medical terms and ideas while using words the average viewer can understand, which allows the business to reach a wider audience and expand their group of potential customers.

Make Your Audience Laugh

Your CTV creative doesn’t have to be serious! In fact, “Humor gives you a jolt of positive emotion very quickly, which makes a funny campaign often easy to adapt to ultra-short formats…” according to The Serious Case for Humor by AdAge

Who would think about wearing a coat and turning up the heat? Well, Backcountry would in this humorous ad. By capturing their audience’s attention with humor, Backcountry can spend a little more time explaining the product and its benefits.

Showcase Testimonials

Consumers want to use products they know they’ll love, making social proof critical. Popularized by a psychologist in the 1980s, social proof occurs when consumers see or hear about someone enjoying a product or a professional recommending a service, and the testimonial encourages them to want it for themselves.

This Nurx commercial is a great example of how testimonials can create consumer trust in a brand. This video allows viewers to see how different people use the services and products, while listening to each of them discuss how much they enjoy the brand. 


Plus, testimonials can be used in video content across platforms, which can allow you to use similar video content on CTV and social media.

Create an Emotional Connection

Above, we mentioned how humor is an effective way to keep your audience’s attention — but so are other emotions. By creating an emotional connection through your video content marketing, your audience can engage with and remember your video. 

The Emotional Effectiveness of Advertisement, a study published in 2020, found, “…providing an emotional message in publicity increases the audience’s attention to the advertisement, and the product enhances the product’s appeal and generates a higher level of brand recall.”

For example, this Ben Bridge Mother’s Day advertisement showcases several generations of a family to create an emotional connection. Even though none of the actors say any words, video footage of each smiling and joyful family member evokes an emotional connection as a sweet and catchy song plays in the background.

Learn more: Creative Tips for Connected TV (CTV) and OTT Video Ads

Stand Out With Effective CTV Advertising Content

You might think: “Okay, sure, this sounds great, but how am I supposed to create video content?” 

We totally get it — creating high-quality video content with creative storytelling elements sounds overwhelming, and it can be if you try to do it alone. You might be afraid you need a video specialist on your marketing team or fancy equipment. But you don’t have to have a huge team or an in-depth knowledge of video production to make effective content. 

At QuickFrame, we believe businesses of all sizes should have the opportunity to create Living Room Quality video content for every objective. That’s why we created an end-to-end video creation platform to connect businesses like yours with the world’s best video makers. 

Contact us today to start creating CTV video content for your business! 

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