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Introducing New Research-Backed CTV Ad Enhancements

Buyers
3
minutes
Technical Level
November 18, 2023
3
minutes
November 2, 2022
Technical Level
Frank Maguire
VP, Insight, Strategy & Sustainability
We’re excited to announce the release of two new ad enhancements aimed at helping improve attention and retention of CTV ads: the Countdown Overlay and the Sports Ticker. In this post, we cover the research and results that led to the development of these enhancements, the features and benefits of the Countdown Overlay and Sports Ticker, and how to get started with using our new CTV ad enhancements.

The Ongoing Attention Problem

In a prior Sharethrough study, we discovered that 76% of viewers do not pay attention TV commercials, either by muting their TVs, checking their phones, or leaving the room entirely. We’ve since been researching ways to enhance CTV ad experiences that help draw consumers’ attention back to their TVs.

Next to our Dynamic QR Codes, we wondered if other enhancements like adding helpful content to the ad or a countdown clock to the start of a sale or launch would help improve consumers’ attention and retention of the ads. To test these theories we decided to develop product demos with which we could expose to real consumers and study their impact on metrics like attention and message retention. 

Researching the Impact of CTV Ad Enhancements

In our quest to create human-centric advertising that respects and improves the user experience, we surveyed 1,000 consumers who were exposed to multiple TV ads with and without a few variations of our enhancements, most notably a countdown clock and sports ticker.

Countdown Overlay Results

For the Countdown Overlay, our hypothesis was that adding a countdown clock would help reinforce the main point of those types of ads: making sure consumers know the start date. The results showed that when a countdown clock is added to a CTV commercial that counts down in real time to the start of the sale, promotion or launch date, viewers were 43% more likely to remember when the promotion starts. 

We tested CTV ads with and without a CTV Countdown Overlay on 1,000 consumers which were 43% more likely to remember the promotion start date when a countdown was present.

Sports Ticker Results

For the Sports Ticker, our hypothesis was that adding useful content below CTV commercials would help keep viewer attention on the TV screen instead of looking away or checking their phone. We showed sports fans ads with and without the scores of different major league games. The results revealed that sports fans were 91% more likely to pay attention to the ad and 14% more likely to comprehend the messaging with a sports ticker included.

We tested CTV ads with and without a CTV Sports Ticker on 1,000 sports fans which were 91% more likely yo pay attention with a sport ticker.

Positive results like that are always exciting, so we started building our new enhancements using what we learned from the research.

Introducing New CTV Ad Enhancements

We’re thrilled to announce the release of our new Countdown Overlay and Sports Ticker ad enhancements to help advertisers grab viewers’ attention by providing them with useful and relevant information.

Countdown Overlay

Our new Countdown overlay helps pull a viewer’s attention to limited-time offers, like product launches, sales and promotions or upcoming shows and events. Whether it’s New Year’s, launching a spaceship, or the next season of House of Dragon, consumers are drawn to a good countdown. Advertisers can simply set their desired date and time, and the Countdown overlay will automatically update based on the viewer’s timezone. And, when combined with our Dynamic QR Codes enhancement, a countdown can be turned into a call-to-action by allowing viewers to pre-purchase a new product or register early for discounted promotions. Best of all, this turnkey execution can be applied automatically within all major DSPs.

Sharethrough introduces CTV Countdown Overlay as part of its Enhancement Suite

Sports Ticker

Also available in all major DSPs, advertisers can easily add the Sports Ticker ad enhancement to display scores and upcoming games below their commercial. Furthermore, advertisers can customize which major sports they choose to include based on their target audience’s preferences.

Sharethrough introduces CTV Sports Ticker as part of its Enhancement Suite

Getting Started with CTV Ad Enhancements

To start using the Countdown overlay and Sports Ticker ad enhancements, simply contact a Sharethrough rep (or contact us here) with your DSP name, seat key and creative ID. Or we can do all the setup for you as managed service. There’s no additional cost to using our CTV ad enhancements since we believe both consumers and advertisers benefit from these.

Thinking Ahead

These new CTV ad enhancements are just the start. Our research results also revealed to us that consumers are 52% more likely to pay attention to CTV ads that have any useful content alongside it such as weather forecasts, news, stock ticker and more. Knowing this, we’re developing additional enhancements that provide consumers with useful information to help advertisers capture their attention. Stay tuned for more.

To view the free infographic, fill the form below.

We’re excited to announce the release of two new ad enhancements aimed at helping improve attention and retention of CTV ads: the Countdown Overlay and the Sports Ticker. In this post, we cover the research and results that led to the development of these enhancements, the features and benefits of the Countdown Overlay and Sports Ticker, and how to get started with using our new CTV ad enhancements.

The Ongoing Attention Problem

In a prior Sharethrough study, we discovered that 76% of viewers do not pay attention TV commercials, either by muting their TVs, checking their phones, or leaving the room entirely. We’ve since been researching ways to enhance CTV ad experiences that help draw consumers’ attention back to their TVs.

Next to our Dynamic QR Codes, we wondered if other enhancements like adding helpful content to the ad or a countdown clock to the start of a sale or launch would help improve consumers’ attention and retention of the ads. To test these theories we decided to develop product demos with which we could expose to real consumers and study their impact on metrics like attention and message retention. 

Researching the Impact of CTV Ad Enhancements

In our quest to create human-centric advertising that respects and improves the user experience, we surveyed 1,000 consumers who were exposed to multiple TV ads with and without a few variations of our enhancements, most notably a countdown clock and sports ticker.

Countdown Overlay Results

For the Countdown Overlay, our hypothesis was that adding a countdown clock would help reinforce the main point of those types of ads: making sure consumers know the start date. The results showed that when a countdown clock is added to a CTV commercial that counts down in real time to the start of the sale, promotion or launch date, viewers were 43% more likely to remember when the promotion starts. 

We tested CTV ads with and without a CTV Countdown Overlay on 1,000 consumers which were 43% more likely to remember the promotion start date when a countdown was present.

Sports Ticker Results

For the Sports Ticker, our hypothesis was that adding useful content below CTV commercials would help keep viewer attention on the TV screen instead of looking away or checking their phone. We showed sports fans ads with and without the scores of different major league games. The results revealed that sports fans were 91% more likely to pay attention to the ad and 14% more likely to comprehend the messaging with a sports ticker included.

We tested CTV ads with and without a CTV Sports Ticker on 1,000 sports fans which were 91% more likely yo pay attention with a sport ticker.

Positive results like that are always exciting, so we started building our new enhancements using what we learned from the research.

Introducing New CTV Ad Enhancements

We’re thrilled to announce the release of our new Countdown Overlay and Sports Ticker ad enhancements to help advertisers grab viewers’ attention by providing them with useful and relevant information.

Countdown Overlay

Our new Countdown overlay helps pull a viewer’s attention to limited-time offers, like product launches, sales and promotions or upcoming shows and events. Whether it’s New Year’s, launching a spaceship, or the next season of House of Dragon, consumers are drawn to a good countdown. Advertisers can simply set their desired date and time, and the Countdown overlay will automatically update based on the viewer’s timezone. And, when combined with our Dynamic QR Codes enhancement, a countdown can be turned into a call-to-action by allowing viewers to pre-purchase a new product or register early for discounted promotions. Best of all, this turnkey execution can be applied automatically within all major DSPs.

Sharethrough introduces CTV Countdown Overlay as part of its Enhancement Suite

Sports Ticker

Also available in all major DSPs, advertisers can easily add the Sports Ticker ad enhancement to display scores and upcoming games below their commercial. Furthermore, advertisers can customize which major sports they choose to include based on their target audience’s preferences.

Sharethrough introduces CTV Sports Ticker as part of its Enhancement Suite

Getting Started with CTV Ad Enhancements

To start using the Countdown overlay and Sports Ticker ad enhancements, simply contact a Sharethrough rep (or contact us here) with your DSP name, seat key and creative ID. Or we can do all the setup for you as managed service. There’s no additional cost to using our CTV ad enhancements since we believe both consumers and advertisers benefit from these.

Thinking Ahead

These new CTV ad enhancements are just the start. Our research results also revealed to us that consumers are 52% more likely to pay attention to CTV ads that have any useful content alongside it such as weather forecasts, news, stock ticker and more. Knowing this, we’re developing additional enhancements that provide consumers with useful information to help advertisers capture their attention. Stay tuned for more.

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About Behind Headlines: 180 Seconds in Ad Tech—

Behind Headlines: 180 Seconds in Ad Tech is a short 3-minute podcast exploring the news in the digital advertising industry. Ad tech is a fast-growing industry with many updates happening daily. As it can be hard for most to keep up with the latest news, the Sharethrough team wanted to create an audio series compiling notable mentions each week.

We’re excited to announce the release of two new ad enhancements aimed at helping improve attention and retention of CTV ads: the Countdown Overlay and the Sports Ticker. In this post, we cover the research and results that led to the development of these enhancements, the features and benefits of the Countdown Overlay and Sports Ticker, and how to get started with using our new CTV ad enhancements.

The Ongoing Attention Problem

In a prior Sharethrough study, we discovered that 76% of viewers do not pay attention TV commercials, either by muting their TVs, checking their phones, or leaving the room entirely. We’ve since been researching ways to enhance CTV ad experiences that help draw consumers’ attention back to their TVs.

Next to our Dynamic QR Codes, we wondered if other enhancements like adding helpful content to the ad or a countdown clock to the start of a sale or launch would help improve consumers’ attention and retention of the ads. To test these theories we decided to develop product demos with which we could expose to real consumers and study their impact on metrics like attention and message retention. 

Researching the Impact of CTV Ad Enhancements

In our quest to create human-centric advertising that respects and improves the user experience, we surveyed 1,000 consumers who were exposed to multiple TV ads with and without a few variations of our enhancements, most notably a countdown clock and sports ticker.

Countdown Overlay Results

For the Countdown Overlay, our hypothesis was that adding a countdown clock would help reinforce the main point of those types of ads: making sure consumers know the start date. The results showed that when a countdown clock is added to a CTV commercial that counts down in real time to the start of the sale, promotion or launch date, viewers were 43% more likely to remember when the promotion starts. 

We tested CTV ads with and without a CTV Countdown Overlay on 1,000 consumers which were 43% more likely to remember the promotion start date when a countdown was present.

Sports Ticker Results

For the Sports Ticker, our hypothesis was that adding useful content below CTV commercials would help keep viewer attention on the TV screen instead of looking away or checking their phone. We showed sports fans ads with and without the scores of different major league games. The results revealed that sports fans were 91% more likely to pay attention to the ad and 14% more likely to comprehend the messaging with a sports ticker included.

We tested CTV ads with and without a CTV Sports Ticker on 1,000 sports fans which were 91% more likely yo pay attention with a sport ticker.

Positive results like that are always exciting, so we started building our new enhancements using what we learned from the research.

Introducing New CTV Ad Enhancements

We’re thrilled to announce the release of our new Countdown Overlay and Sports Ticker ad enhancements to help advertisers grab viewers’ attention by providing them with useful and relevant information.

Countdown Overlay

Our new Countdown overlay helps pull a viewer’s attention to limited-time offers, like product launches, sales and promotions or upcoming shows and events. Whether it’s New Year’s, launching a spaceship, or the next season of House of Dragon, consumers are drawn to a good countdown. Advertisers can simply set their desired date and time, and the Countdown overlay will automatically update based on the viewer’s timezone. And, when combined with our Dynamic QR Codes enhancement, a countdown can be turned into a call-to-action by allowing viewers to pre-purchase a new product or register early for discounted promotions. Best of all, this turnkey execution can be applied automatically within all major DSPs.

Sharethrough introduces CTV Countdown Overlay as part of its Enhancement Suite

Sports Ticker

Also available in all major DSPs, advertisers can easily add the Sports Ticker ad enhancement to display scores and upcoming games below their commercial. Furthermore, advertisers can customize which major sports they choose to include based on their target audience’s preferences.

Sharethrough introduces CTV Sports Ticker as part of its Enhancement Suite

Getting Started with CTV Ad Enhancements

To start using the Countdown overlay and Sports Ticker ad enhancements, simply contact a Sharethrough rep (or contact us here) with your DSP name, seat key and creative ID. Or we can do all the setup for you as managed service. There’s no additional cost to using our CTV ad enhancements since we believe both consumers and advertisers benefit from these.

Thinking Ahead

These new CTV ad enhancements are just the start. Our research results also revealed to us that consumers are 52% more likely to pay attention to CTV ads that have any useful content alongside it such as weather forecasts, news, stock ticker and more. Knowing this, we’re developing additional enhancements that provide consumers with useful information to help advertisers capture their attention. Stay tuned for more.

About Calibrate—

Founded in 2015, Calibrate is a yearly conference for new engineering managers hosted by seasoned engineering managers. The experience level of the speakers ranges from newcomers all the way through senior engineering leaders with over twenty years of experience in the field. Each speaker is greatly concerned about the craft of engineering management. Organized and hosted by Sharethrough, it was conducted yearly in September, from 2015-2019 in San Francisco, California.

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Frank Maguire
VP, Insight, Strategy & Sustainability

About the Author

Frank has spent over a decade at Sharethrough conducting research to better understand how humans respond to advertising to help brands and agencies adapt their unique advertising challenges to ever-evolving media consumption behaviors. In order to accelerate sustainability initiatives at Sharethrough and across the advertising industry, he recently completed his “Sustainability in Business” certification from Harvard Business School. He has also led multiple sustainability initiatives, including helping to launch the ad industry’s first Green Media Product “GreenPMPs,” hosting the advertising industry’s first Green Media Summit and speaking at Climate Week NYC. He is a digital advertising industry veteran, beginning his career working for clients including Nestle, Pfizer and Wyndham on the agency side and then opening up and growing Sharethrough’s East Coast headquarters in NYC.

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