WTF Is Addressable TV Advertising?

From social media to television and billboards to internal communication, video content is everywhere. One of the most common places to find video is within marketing strategies—and for good reason: 59% of marketers reported a positive return on investment. Video marketing, including addressable TV advertising, is one of the most effective ways to engage with and convert customers. 

Here, we’ll explore addressable TV, including what it is, how it compares to other advertising types, and how you can utilize it.

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What Is Addressable TV? 

Addressable TV allows marketers to segment and selectively target audiences regardless of what they’re watching. With addressable TV, you can set segments by geographic location, age, and other demographic data and behaviors.

This type of advertising enables you to create messaging that resonates with your target audience. Instead of making one broadly focused ad and hoping it appeals to some members of your audience, you can create specific, optimized video content to highlight the best features of your product or service for each audience segment. 

Addressable TV vs. Linear TV

Traditional TV advertising occurs through linear television, where people watch broadcasts through cable or satellite. Linear TV often allows you to reach a large audience, but there’s no way to know if they’re actually interested in your brand, product, or service. 

With linear TV ads, you have to make sure your message appeals to the masses, highlighting broad benefits and values that are relevant to various demographics. This forces you to create advertising with a generic message—and only hope it sticks with your audience. 

Addressable TV, however, allows you to directly connect with people through demographic information. You can create a tailored message, optimize your content, and see what’s most effective for your audience. 

Addressable TV vs. Connected TV

Connected TV (CTV) is any TV with the ability to connect to the internet. When we say CTV advertising, we’re referring to ads placed on a platform that can be played on a CTV. 

Addressable TV refers to personalized ad content you distribute to various audiences through CTV.  As more people opt for Connected TV, addressable advertising is becoming more prevalent. 

Addressable TV vs. Over-the-Top Advertising

Connected TV (CTV) and Over-the-top (OTT) are often used interchangeably, but they’re not quite the same. 

OTT broadcasts through the internet and includes TV shows people watch on streaming services like Hulu, Netflix, HBO Max, and YouTube. With OTT advertising, you can target anyone watching content on the internet, regardless of what medium they’re watching it through, including tablets, smartphones, and laptops. Again, CTV content only streams on TVs with internet connection capabilities. 

So how does addressable TV fit into this conversation? Just like with CTV, it refers to the targeted ads you can air through OTT platforms. 

How Can Addressable TV Fit Into My Marketing Strategy? 

Since 62% of customers say they pay closer attention to video content, video marketing is one of the best ways to connect to an audience. Addressable TV lets you more effectively leverage your ads through precise targeting. 

Just like other video types, including social media video, you can create a specific strategy for addressable TV advertising. This placement helps you put your ad in front of people who are more likely to respond to it—rather than a general audience (like you’d get with linear TV advertising). 

This Food52 video is a great example of how you can drive traffic to your website while promoting community among your audience with targeted video ads: 

Effectively Create Addressable TV Ads

Like any type of video ad, these ads should be engaging, high-quality productions. With the right video production resources, you can create these videos quickly, efficiently, and at scale for your business. 

Not sure where to start? We’re here to help. 

At QuickFrame, you can access our global network of top makers who are ready to create custom videos for your business—no matter your industry or objectives. From concept through creation, we work to understand your goals and match you with makers who are ready to promote your brand with data-driven videos. Contact us today to learn more. 

Related: Your Guide to Connected TV Video Ad Specs (2023)

Final Thoughts on Addressable TV Advertising

Thankfully, the days of creating broad ads for a general audience are gone. (Well, you can do it, but just…don’t.) 

Adding addressable TV gives you more flexibility and enables you to have more fun (don’t forget to flex those creative muscles!) while creating ads that highlight the benefits of your products or services.

Plus, you can add a scalable and precise advertising placement to your strategy, ensuring your video content gets shown to people who are most likely to enjoy it and interact with it.