A study released by Unruly investigates consumer attitudes and consumption habits around connected TV (CTV) during the COVID-19 pandemic. The video advertising platform surveyed nearly 1,800 US consumers in July 2020 for this study. “US consumers’ pivot to CTV is an opportunity for brands to reach audiences at scale in a highly targeted, personalized way that has, until now, not been possible,” Terence Scroope, VP of Insights and Solutions at Unruly said.
Previous research indicates that 42% of US consumers are spending ‘a lot more time’ watching CTV content since the start of the pandemic. But as CTV content consumption continues to accelerate, marketers are trailing behind with their media plans. In 2020, 3.4% of US marketers’ total ad spending will go on CTV. The figure is predicted to spike to 4.7% in 2023.
Unruly concluded that ad-supported CTV users are 71% more likely to tell a friend about a brand, 53% more likely to search for a brand, 48% more likely to have an improved opinion of the brand, 52% more likely to buy a product, and 45% more likely to visit a store or website. More than one third, 35% of US consumers have tried a new ad-supported streaming service since COVID-19 began and 79% will continue doing so.
Despite the trends, the video platforms states that media plans do not represent this change in consumption and are in danger of miss the opportunity to engage consumers on CTV. And as the pandemic has rapidly accelerated the growth of CTV, Unruly stressed that it was more important than ever before that brands understand and embrace the medium.