Tips and trends for mobile marketers on CTV 2024

Connected TV (CTV) is a trending topic for mobile marketers, with mentions at conferences, webinars and across the marketing ecosystem. But how can it help mobile apps grow? And if you aren’t already making the most of CTV, is it time to take notice?

In 2024, CTV offers a great mix of TV’s broad reach and the precision of digital ads, making it a powerful part of any mobile marketing strategy. Recent data shows that the use of CTV ads by mobile marketers has skyrocketed, highlighting its growing importance.

In this blog, we’ll break down why CTV is a must-have for mobile marketers. We’ll also cover what CTV is, how it works, and the different types of ads you can use. Plus, we’ll look at how CTV can boost your mobile marketing efforts, from tracking conversions to improving your cross-device campaigns.

Whether you’re new to CTV or looking to enhance your current strategy, these insights will help you make the most of this exciting channel.

What is CTV and why should mobile marketers care?

CTV refers to television sets connected to the internet, allowing them to stream content online rather than through traditional broadcast, cable or satellite services. This connection provides new opportunities for advertisers to deliver targeted ads based on viewer data. On CTV, ads are usually dynamically inserted based on different targeting and frequency criteria, which makes the ad units potentially more relevant than linear TV.

Why should mobile marketers care?

1. Targeted Advertising: CTV allows for highly targeted advertising, which means you can reach specific audiences with precision. This capability is especially valuable for app marketers who want to ensure their ads are seen by the right users.
2. High Engagement and Recall: Ads on CTV tend to engage viewers more effectively and have higher ad recall compared to other platforms. This is because CTV delivers ads in a non-skippable, high-quality, full-screen format, which captures more attention.
3. Performance Insights: CTV offers robust measurement and targeting options, helping marketers track and optimize their campaigns effectively. You can purchase CTV ads through real-time bidding or direct deals, allowing for dynamic ad placement based on viewer behavior.
4. Diverse Ad Formats: There are various ad formats available on CTV, including pre-roll, mid-roll, post-roll, and interactive ads. Each format provides different ways to engage with viewers, giving you flexibility in how you present your ads.

Data from Adjust, the measurement and analytics company owned by our parent company, AppLovin, found that mobile marketers have massively increased the number of ads being served on CTV devices to promote mobile apps — with 12 billion ad impressions served year to date, including 4 billion in July. That’s an increase of 79% year over year.

Impressions tracked per month

That growth is continuing to accelerate. Between January and June of 2024, the number of CTV impressions measured by Adjust increased by more than 300%. This reflects a huge increase in the marketing budget allocated to CTV.

A key trend we’re noticing is that — in addition to capturing key attention in the living room — marketers are looking for consistent touch points across devices.

Dr Gijsbert Pols, Director of Connected TV & New Channels at Adjust, said; “This is part of a strategy to ensure they have coverage across all the devices in the home: mobile, tablet, PC, and television. Our feedback from the market is that user acquisition campaigns targeting multi-device households are key to maintaining market share.”

How to measure mobile app campaigns on CTV effectively?

Measuring the effectiveness of campaigns on Connected TV (CTV) can be challenging, especially when compared to traditional linear TV. In the past, lower funnel metrics on linear TV relied on methods like ‘spike’ analysis, where marketers observed activity above a baseline around the time of the ad. These methods are even more complex on CTV due to the programmatic nature of ad purchases and the difficulty in pinpointing exact ad placements and timings.

Tracking Conversions on CTV

One advantage of CTV is the ability to track conversions that occur on mobile devices simultaneously with the ad broadcast. This phenomenon, known as ‘dual screening,’ is common as viewers often use their mobile devices while watching TV. For industries like food delivery apps and mobile games, this dual interaction makes it easier to track conversions directly influenced by CTV ads.

Assisted Conversions

For longer customer journeys, tracking across both CTV and mobile platforms is crucial. This allows for a deeper understanding of how users interact with ads at different stages of their decision-making process.

Assisted installs are a key metric in this context. An assisted install occurs when a user sees an ad on one channel (e.g., CTV) and then later converts on a different channel (e.g., mobile). The initial channel is credited with the ‘assisted’ install because it played a role in the user’s consideration phase.

Adjust provides tools to track and attribute activity from CTV to mobile, CTV to CTV, and QR code campaigns. Data from Adjust highlights that CTV can significantly influence conversions on other channels. For instance, a study found that 29% of installs were assisted by CTV impressions, demonstrating its impact throughout the entire funnel.

Dr Gijsbert Pols, Director of Connected TV & New Channels, Adjust, said: “Connected TV is rapidly transforming from a new channel for mobile marketers to a central channel, and the central hub of the home. Marketers that aren’t investing in CTV simply won’t be finding the best users, or meeting them where they are.”

How can mobile app marketers run performance campaigns on CTV?

Running performance campaigns on Connected TV (CTV) can be highly effective for mobile app marketers, and leveraging the strengths of both CTV and mobile can lead to impressive results. Here’s how you can optimize your performance campaigns on CTV:

1. Leverage the Power of Cross-Device Engagement

CTV and mobile devices complement each other exceptionally well. With over 75% of users multitasking on their phones while watching TV, marketers have a prime opportunity to engage users across multiple screens. CTV’s broad reach combined with mobile’s precision targeting enables marketers to create a seamless user experience that drives action.

2. Utilize Creative Storytelling and Broad Reach

CTV offers extensive creative possibilities and a wide audience reach, which can enhance mobile campaigns. By using CTV’s engaging ad formats and storytelling capabilities, you can capture users’ attention and guide them towards your app. This broad exposure helps support down-funnel activities that lead to conversions.

3. Implement Cross-Device Tracking

Effective cross-device tracking is crucial for understanding the impact of your campaigns. According to the Data & Marketing Association (DMA), integrating CTV with mobile campaigns can boost conversion rates by 20% and provide better visibility into the customer journey. Make sure to track user interactions across devices to gauge the full effect of your CTV ads.

4. Test and Optimize in Real-Time

One of the biggest advantages of mobile performance marketing is the ability to quickly test and refine strategies. Apply this approach to your CTV campaigns as well. Real-time feedback allows you to continuously optimize your ads based on performance, driving incremental growth and improving overall campaign effectiveness.

AppLovin, one of the leading platforms with a proven track record in performance marketing, provides unique insight into how marketers can make CTV work as a performance channel. By taking the template of mobile performance marketers, we can learn about CTV’s effectiveness as a robust performance marketing channel across any industry.

Mobile marketing on CTV: a success story

Picsart, a leader in digital creativity tools with over 150M monthly active users and more than 1B downloads, successfully expanded its app’s user base through a campaign powered by AppDiscovery, AppLovin’s UA platform, which ran across mobile and CTV.

This multichannel approach, coupled with AppDiscovery’s AI-based advertising engine, enabled Picsart to expand its reach and acquire net-positive users at a competitive cost per install (CPI), helping it become the #1 top grossing photography app and maintain its status as the second-most downloaded photography app. Picsart’s success allowed them to triple their investment into CTV as a companion to their mobile campaigns.

Andrey Kazakov, VP of Demand at AppLovin said: “Consumer businesses are now harnessing the combined power of mobile marketing and CTV through a performance buying model, transforming how they reach and engage their audiences. This approach allows app marketers to target users that deliver ROI at scale which is complimented by CTV that reaches a broader audience which elevates performance for the whole channel portfolio.”

For more information on how Wurl, Adjust and AppLovin can help your brand to succeed on CTV across the full funnel, check out our guide.

This guide provides an introduction to the state of CTV and its pivotal role in modern marketing, addressing both opportunities and challenges.

• Market overview: Insights into the key trends, including the surge in ad spending due to events like the Olympics and elections.

As well as tips for how to develop a full-funnel strategy:

• Awareness stage: Techniques for growing positive attention and making an impact with CTV advertising.
• Consideration stage: Strategies to keep your brand top of mind with innovative ad formats and enhanced targeting.
• Decision stage: Tactics to drive conversions, leveraging CTV’s unique capabilities for performance marketing.

Read the full ungated guide here.