CTV Creative Best Practices

Mixing the visual impact of TV with the interactive potential of digital advertising, CTV might be the best thing to happen to brands since, well, customers.

Optimize your impact with these best practices, garnered from our thousands of partner advertisers.

1. Define success beforehand. Traditional or “linear” TV campaigns used to be aimed at general awareness, but today, the targeting capabilities of CTV allow for much more targeted efforts. Make sure your team understands your ad's desired outcome beforehand, so the creative can be as impactful as possible.

2. Remember you’re talking to people - not robots, so talk to them like real humans! Use simple language, relatable value propositions, and a fun, compelling story to maintain engagement.

3. Size matters. If you want your ad to win streaming bids, it's gotta fit! Here are some simple rules for you to follow:

4. Consistency is key. Make sure your brand information remains on-screen during your ad and that the brand experience viewers have while watching the ad will match the one they have while visiting your website. 

5. Don’t neglect audio! If you are used to social ads, you already know how to create impactful graphics, but sound is an intrinsic part of TV advertising -  make the most of it!  

6. Develop a single, clear Call To Action. Make sure you only ask audiences to take one action at a time, and make that action clear, ideally with an incentive to back it up.

7. Highlight your product or service features. Remember, CTV viewers are being presented un-skippable, sound and image rich video creatives next to content they are actually engaged in watching. That means you can leverage the full power of television to demonstrate your product or service range. Don’t miss out!

8. Test early and test often.  Real time reporting and optimization mean you can edit your ads as soon as you detect an issue or opportunity. No more wasted impressions!

9. Pull at the ole heart strings… or funny bone. Work to evoke an emotional response to your ad. A recent study by Neuromarketing found that any emotion - as long as it’s strong enough - can aid ad recall and conversion by up to 70%!