From CTV to Social: How Repurposing Videos Can Fuel Channel Diversification

At QuickFrame, we see The Big Game as a multi-purpose event. This year, of course, it’s a long-awaited Rihanna concert, a battle of the Kelce brothers, and the beginning of the 2023 advertising new year. 

After all, this is when some of the biggest brands in the world drop fresh ad creative. And, let’s be real, we’re all going to see these campaigns ad nauseam over the next couple of quarters. Why? Because after these ads run, to get the most out of the high cost that brands spend, they will cut, re-edit, and remix their creative so it can run on platforms other than the flat screen in your living room. 

Whether your brand appeared on the screen during commercial breaks for The Big Game or not, you can leverage the effectiveness of post-production to expand onto the most popular social media channels.

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What is Repurposing?

Sometimes, when people see or hear “repurposing,” they think resharing. But, repurposing existing CTV creative to utilize it on new platforms is a bit more complicated than simply dropping a .mp4 file into TikTok and calling it a day. 

Repurposing, rather, is the process of adjusting an existing video in several ways (including the size, platform-specific features, on-screen text, animations, voiceover, etc.) to produce a similar—but still new—video. 

Why is Repurposing Necessary? 

In our competitive digital world, producing and sharing a steady stream of fresh video marketing content is critical to keep your core audience engaged. These ads have to feel native to each and every platform, which can be hard when translating a 16×9 CTV campaign to a small 9×16 screen. 

But it’s necessary. A combination of CTV and digital ads has an incredibly positive impact on the relationship between the consumer and the brand. MNTN Research found: 

• Viewers spent 3X more time with ads when aired on CTV + digital than digital alone.
• Brand recall more than doubled when a CTV ad for the same brand accompanies a digital ad.
• There was a 15% lift in purchase intent when ads aired on CTV plus digital compared to digital alone.
• There was a 12% lift in brand attitude when a CTV ad precedes a digital ad. 

While it’s ideal to create net-new videos that capture the hallmark experience of each platform, it’s not always a realistic strategy, due to budget or time constraints. Thankfully, you can still build a foundation of videos by squeezing all of the juice out of the creative you currently have through post-production repurposing.

Use the Post-Production Process To Repurpose Content 

According to Statista, 48%—nearly half!—of all content marketing respondents said one of their biggest issues was not using their existing video to its full potential. But, with repurposed content, your team has the opportunity to tackle this challenge and reach more of your audience. 

Repurposing assets through post-production editing—the process of taking existing footage from previous campaigns and editing them to make a brand new asset—is one of the best ways to reduce time spent and keep video marketing production costs down. 

Post-production editing is also a great option if you want to use the same creative assets to expand onto different platforms. This is because the video creative would only require simple resizing or length cutdowns. You can also rework messaging on existing creative by changing on-screen text or adding a new voiceover. 

Producing new video creative through repurposing can be a cost-efficient way to reinvigorate a previous or existing ad campaign without having to spend extra time and money shooting a library of new footage. And post-production is amazingly flexible, allowing virtually limitless opportunities for delighting your audience and making your brand shine. So don’t be afraid to get creative.

How Much Does Post-Production Cost? 

Post-production editing comes with unique cost drivers. For example, the cost will depend on how many raw assets you provide and how many deliverables you want. Still, a general estimated cost of post-production editing can range anywhere from $700 to upwards of $3,000.

Repurposing CTV Ads for Video-First Social Media Platforms

Have we sold you on the effectiveness of repurposing to bring your CTV campaigns to TikTok, Reels, Shorts, and beyond? Great, we love this journey for you. 

Here are a few best practices to get you started.

Adjust the Runtime

In the CTV world, your ads get a little room to breathe, typically running between 30 and 60 seconds. These ad spots give you the ability to tell a powerful story and hook your audience’s attention through a narrative that creatively threads in your value props.

The social landscape, however, isn’t so forgiving. With a shorter attention span and far more ways for the user to skip, scroll, or opt out of your video, your ads have to be bite-sized and immediately engaging, hooking your audience in the first 3-5 seconds. 

Hooks are also frequently used in CTV ads, so your creative may already have a baked-in hook. When you edit, prioritize a sense of urgency to your audience by providing entertaining and informative elements as quickly as possible, ensuring users are captivated by your ad. 

According to TikTok, 25% of their top-performing videos are between 21 and 34 seconds long. Keep in mind: every brand is different and will likely have different optimal runtimes. This, however, gives your brand a great starting point. 

Once you have a considerable amount of video content on the platform, you can also test your videos to find the most effective runtime for your videos and optimize your campaigns. 

Find Your Frame

One of the biggest hurdles you’ll face expanding your CTV campaigns to social is getting your creative into the native aspect ratio of each platform. 

While Facebook and Instagram both allow for 16×9 horizontal videos, shifting your videos to this size will still require minor re-edits to your CTV spot. 

Marketing teams all around the world are keeping an eye on the 9×16 vertical aspect ratio. Practically every social platform has “pivoted to TikTok,” releasing new features that mimic the creative experience the app has to offer. Of course, the best practice for TikTok videos is to produce unique ad creative for the platform. But if you want a more accessible, low-lift way to begin building a foundation of videos on the platform, you can repurpose your existing creative. 

The problem is that 16×9 videos look more than a little terrible on TikTok. Your video will appear as a tiny little rectangle sandwiched between black bars that fill out the 9×16 frame. To put it frankly, users aren’t going to watch that. Sure, you can add text and graphics into the blank spaces to enliven a 16×9 video in 9×16, but you’re better off cropping the video and ensuring the image actually fills the frame. 

Review your creative and find where in the 16×9 frame most of your action takes place. Based on “the rule of thirds,” the maker or production team you worked with most likely had already placed much of the action in the center of the frame. You’ll want to crop the image to this area, but you’ll also need to communicate with your video editor to ensure the visual you’re focusing on doesn’t move out of the frame. 

Include Additional Creative Effects

You can also make your CTV ad creative feel more native to social platforms by adding new text, sounds, or motion graphics. You’ll want to make sure these elements feel familiar to the users of each platform, so you can enjoy the benefits of native video advertising, including: 

• Improved reach 
• Higher engagement 
• Stronger hooks 

Specifically, on TikTok, you can implement popular audio to drive more views and increase engagement with your videos. 

Check Image Quality

Ensure all of your initial production videos are created in the highest quality possible. If you want to edit the video, it will likely require cropping to get it to the 9×16 frame. You could unintentionally pixelate or blur the image if your video isn’t high-quality enough. 

If your content is blurry or users can’t understand what’s happening in the video, they’re not going to stick around to see if it gets better. Instead, they’re going to (quickly) scroll to the next piece of content, since TikTok (and similar platforms) provide a constant stream of video. 

However, with creative, engaging, and high-quality content, your brand can stand out in the seemingly endless collection of videos and get users’ attention. 

Complementary Campaigns

Repurposing is a cost-efficient way to get the most out of your video ad creative. However, If you know at the top of your campaign that you will want to run on both CTV and video-first social platforms, then you can strategize your shooting schedule so you can film (rather than re-edit) the creative in as many aspect ratios as you need. 

If you have the ability to create complementary campaigns in one shoot, you’ll want to utilize a creative brief to ensure your team is aligned in all areas, including: 

• The goals and objectives of all the campaigns 
• The platforms and aspect ratios you need 
• An exhaustive list of the shots you want 

This will save you time in the post-production process and will also ensure your campaign creative is unified while being shot in the native format each platform requires. 

Final Thoughts on the Effectiveness of Post-Production 

As video production becomes more prevalent, it’s essential to make the most of your content. From the living room during your favorite shows to ads on TikTok while they’re on the go (or doomscrolling before bed—we don’t judge), you can make an impression on your audience with high-quality, engaging video content. 

Whether you have already-existing content or want to create an entirely new campaign, QuickFrame is here to help. Contact us today to get create a campaign that’s perfect for screens of all sizes.