Why D2C brands should take another look at linear TV

No doubt you’ve heard the claim that streaming and digital content are overtaking linear (also known as traditional) TV. And yes, there is some truth to that. Between 2011 and 2021, digital video viewing time grew by double digits, annually. By 2022, U.S. adults were spending an average of three hours and two minutes per day watching digital video, compared to three hours and seven minutes spent watching linear TV. What’s more, experts predict that in 2023 U.S. adults will spend more time watching digital video than linear TV — a first.

But, to paraphrase the great Mark Twain, reports of linear TV’s death have been greatly exaggerated. In 2021, 50 million U.S. households had traditional TV services and 61 percent of U.S. consumers watched linear TV on a weekly basis. According to Nielsen, linear TV continues to grab the lion’s share of eyeballs and has the broadest audience reach (77 percent of adults 18 and older).

The fact is, linear TV still has the largest and most captive audience compared to streaming platforms, which is why marketers continue to invest more in traditional TV advertising. Over-the-top (OTT) ad spend, for instance, represents just one-sixth of linear TV’s total ad spend. While connected TV (CTV) ad spend grew 33.1 percent between 2021 and 2022, around two-thirds of ad spend is still directed to linear TV. That represents $62.42 billion invested in traditional TV advertising, in one year alone. Direct-to-consumer (D2C) marketers are among those spending their ad dollars on linear TV ads. In 2021, 315 D2C brands, representing 74 categories, launched their first national TV campaigns.

With the bulk of ad budgets still focused on linear TV, streaming viewers often end up watching the same handful of ads over and over and over again — and naturally start tuning out. There’s clearly a higher level of viewer frustration with steaming ads. In a recent HubSpot survey, 57 percent of participants said they disliked ads that played before a video, and 43 percent didn’t even watch them. This frustration with streaming ads and content is driving some viewers away. In fact, around 25 percent of linear TV subscribers who switched to streaming platforms during the pandemic are now switching back to traditional channels.

The data also shows that viewers pay more attention to linear TV ads than they do CTV ads. One MarketingSherpa report found that more than half of consumers often or always watch traditional TV ads, and that consumers in general trust TV ads more than they do social media ads. One reason for this may be the longer lengths of linear TV ads, which offer 30- and 60-second formats that viewers can’t simply skip through. These longer formats give D2C brands the time and space to tell a compelling story around their product or service, and truly capture their audience’s attention.

There’s another compelling advantage to linear TV versus streaming ads: cost. CTV’s CPM (cost-per-thousand impressions) can be between $15 to $50, while linear TV ad CPMs often range between $10 and $15.

What’s more, Ebiquity reports that traditional media channels — led by TV — outperform digital channels when it comes to reach, attention, and engagement relative to costs. And while the cost of online advertising has gone up, the cost of traditional advertising has come down.

The truth is today’s consumer audience is highly fragmented. Over the course of a day, consumers get their content from multiple platforms, channels, and devices. Which means, if you’re focusing your marketing efforts solely on one streaming or social media platform, you’re missing out on a whole gamut of opportunities to reach and connect with your customers. Which is why taking an omnichannel approach to your marketing mix is more critical than ever to support the growth of your sales and your brand.

With its staying power, expansive reach, and enhancements in targeting and measurability, traditional TV has a key role to play in your D2C omnichannel strategy. Knowing how to strike that ideal balance of linear TV, streaming, social media, and other channels requires in-depth experience, access to the right data, and a proven formula for finding and refining the right media mix. It’s a lot to consider and juggle, which is why your first move is to find the right partner.

That partner should hold a belief that an omnichannel strategy is the most effective way to expand your reach, build brand awareness and lower your per-lead costs, as well as increase your conversion rates and sales. They also should believe that linear TV is an essential component of your omnichannel media mix — when used in concert with a data-driven methodology and proven formula.

Original article : https://www.resultsmagazine-digital.com/results/library/item/june_2023/4110176/