CTV Simplified! Samsung Ads’ Alex Spurzem Debunks Your Greatest CTV Myths

The more discerning among you may have noticed a new category making its debut in this year’s B&T Awards presented by YouTube: the “Best CTV Campaign” sponsored by Samsung Ads.

It’s about damn time we start recognising and celebrating how advertisers employ data, technology and creative innovation in CTV to deliver substantial results.

Why didn’t we think of this sooner??

Perhaps it’s because CTV is still shrouded in mystery for some (obviously not us, though). Luckily, the General Manager of Samsung Ads Australia, Alex Spurzem, lent us his time to get the lowdown on CTV…

B&T: Let’s start with the basics. What is CTV, and what’s all the fuss?

AS: Now I may be showing my age, but remember when your mobile phone was just for making calls and the occasional text? Fast forward to today, and we don’t even call them smartphones anymore. Well, something similar is happening to your TV; they are becoming smarter, more personalised and more connected. CTV simply stands for “connected TV” and is any television set used to stream video over the Internet. 

The pandemic has acted as a catalyst for viewing habits. Australians are watching more content than ever, but in a more hybrid manner across streaming and linear environments. In Australia, a recent study showed that 9/10 people were streaming content on their “connected TV”. 

Simply put, the connected TV is becoming the entertainment hub of the household, and savvy marketers are already taking note. 

B&T: What do people get wrong about CTV?

AS: Streaming is no longer an emerging behaviour. It’s here, and it’s time to take advantage of new opportunities.

Australia’s consumption of streaming services overtook Linear TV in Australia last year, and if you ignore the exponential growth, you could fail to reach your audience. Only eight per cent of Samsung’s Total TV universe in Australia are exclusive linear watchers, compared to 23 per cent who are exclusively streamers.

Adding to that, just under half (46 per cent) of Samsung TV users are hard to reach on linear TV because they are either exclusively streamers or spend very little time watching linear.

So, anyone buying Linear TV only will miss out on a growing streaming audience. 

The truth is, it’s really not an either-or debate. Linear and CTV can supplement and complement each other by using CTV to gain incremental reach across a highly fragmented market of viewers. It’s about looking at your budget carefully and balancing your reach and frequency across both linear and CTV to de-duplicate your audience and gain that incremental reach. 

B&T: Samsung Ads is sponsoring the new Best CTV Campaign category at the B&T Awards, so clearly, you’re confident about its potential. What makes you most excited about the future of CTV? What’s your favourite aspect of CTV?

AS: Linear TV, connected TV, and digital video are converging. As a result, advertisers can innovate and get creative. For example, using technology to ensure brands don’t miss out on audiences they may not have been able to reach in other elements of their campaigns.

There are also more opportunities for advertisers to create immersive experiences. Whether through digital engagement, QR codes or dynamic CTA’s I’m excited for the next iteration of creative ads that go beyond repurposing TVCs. There are powerful tools that can help with mechanics that drive more business-focused outcomes; for example in-store visits, test drives, brand uplift or website conversions, those that are more digital (and therefore measurable) in nature. I can’t wait to see what creative advertisers come up with in both this and in the coming years. 

CTV also adds value to the brand-building and broadcast appeal of linear TV, because it’s a new opportunity to go deeper into audiences’ interests or even focus on contextual relevance. It’s a complementary insights layer that can be used alongside other platforms.

People with highly specific interests now have viewing options to fulfil them and with more people plugged in than ever before, I expect that we’re going to see a boom of creative dollars being spent and incredible content.

B&T: Why do you think it’s essential for people doing great work in CTV to enter awards such as these?

AS: Advertisers have never had the opportunity to combine data-driven precision with creativity like this before. Entering and even winning this category is a huge opportunity to stamp a pioneering outlook and authority in this space; innovative marketers who are keen to explore new opportunities and ways of thinking are more likely to succeed. 

It’s not just a chance to demonstrate the effectiveness and power of CTV, it’s also an opportunity to showcase how you collaborate across disciplines, such as storytelling, video production and digital to create a campaign that impacts the bottom line and connects with audiences in a meaningful way. 

B&T: What advice do you have for people entering this category? If not this year, then next?

AS: Our market here in Australia is still emerging, with lots of exciting campaigns, but it’s worth remembering that this is the first time we’ve seen awards dedicated to our growing ecosystem. 

I think the judges will be looking for campaigns that tapped into the growing CTV toolkit in an innovative way.

I imagine those who combine the targeting precision of digital with impactful storytelling and smart contextual references to build brands will stand out. Those that have real-world business impact included will likely reap the benefits. 

As we already discussed, CTV campaigns are complementary to linear. So, I also think that the judges will also notice advertisers that harness the power of addressability or dynamic creative to maximise ROI of a campaign could do well, by extending reach strategically across innovative planning and creative execution.

B&T: Any final words of wisdom?

AS: Advertisers have always had to follow their audiences, and CTV presents a new opportunity to fluidly extend the reach of both brand and performance campaigns across a myriad of viewing experiences.

You can check out the finalists for this year’s Best CTV Campaign award, as well as the finalists for all the other categories in part one and part two of the B&T Awards’ 2022 shortlists.

The B&T Awards gala will be held on Friday, 4th November 2022, at Moore Park’s Hordern Pavilion.

Haven’t got your tickets yet? Consider this a timely reminder to secure your seat at the industry’s biggest silly season shindig. Pronto! 

Thank you to Samsung Ads and all the other sponsors for this year’s B&T Awards. We wouldn’t be able to put on the industry’s favourite event without your support.