The Benefits of Adding Streaming to Your Traditional TV Ad Buy

It would be easy to point at the surge of ad-supported streaming video options and assume this boom in ad inventories is why businesses should explore their options with streaming media buys.

For businesses already running ads on linear TV, streaming can be a powerful complement to this ad strategy—one that helps you optimize your overall advertising strategy while reaching your target audience in new, engaging ways. Read on to learn more about the benefits of using streaming and traditional ad campaigns together to drive better results.

The ROI Case for Combined Streaming and Traditional Ad Buys

It’s a misconception that streaming and traditional TV advertising is an either/or proposition. Some businesses assume that these channels overlap with one another in terms of the audience they reach and the advertising goals they can serve.

In reality, streaming and traditional TV advertising can be highly complementary of one another, working together within a larger digital strategy to deliver a stronger return on investment. TV ads, for example, tend to be most effective as a top-of-funnel channel to increase brand awareness among a local audience.

Since streaming ad buys can be more targeted and focused on niche audiences, they’re more valuable as a mid and bottom-of-funnel ad channel where more targeted messaging tends to be more effective – the scale and reach of TV, with the precision of digital. This collaborative approach has paid dividends for a wide range of businesses: according to Lead Forensics, a multi-channel strategy increases campaign ROI by an average of 24 percent, driving an average year-over-year revenue increase of 9.5 percent.

Optimizing Your Audience Engagement Strategy

A strong localized advertising strategy must choose ad channels that can reach a relevant audience and deliver the advertising outcomes your business is seeking. Your advertising goals, as well as your audience, must both be accounted for to position your campaigns for the best ROI possible.

Given the scale and diversity of audiences watching both streaming and traditional TV content, most businesses can find value in bringing these channels together in search of stronger returns. When you combine the 87% of Americans actively streaming content of all types with the 66% of US households subscribing to a pay TV service, the incremental reach of compounding traditional TV and streaming advertising can be incredibly impactful for your business. With these two mediums, your overall strategy benefits from the following:

• Flexibility to optimize your media mix for more cost-effective spending. The right media mix depends on the makeup of your audience, including where they spend their time between streaming and traditional TV, as well as the relative cost of those advertising options. By adding streaming to your digital ad strategy, your business can expand its options and create more favorable market conditions in its quest for better ROI.
• Holistic engagement across the customer journey. With streaming and TV advertising working together, your business can improve engagement throughout the marketing funnel, qualifying top-of-funnel leads to potentially improve your conversion rate.
• Increased engagement for your highest-value audience. Precise audience targeting can help you concentrate more resources on your top prospects, laying TV and streaming ads together for a more aggressive approach to engagement.
• Access to advertising around the biggest streaming and TV events. The rise of ad-supported TV is giving businesses the ability to place ads among popular content on streaming platforms. At the same time, traditional TV ads preserve your ability to advertise around live sports events, popular cable TV series, and other TV programming that draws a sizable, engaged audience. This multi-channel approach guarantees your business access to whatever video viewing experience offers the best fit with your advertising goals.

How to Easily Add Streaming to Your TV Ad Strategy

Planning out TV media buys is never easy—especially for local businesses with limited resources and time at their disposal. The challenge only gets steeper when adding streaming media buys onto this mountain of responsibilities.

Unless, of course, you partner with a small business marketing consultant that can handle this planning for you. Given the massive inventory and targeting options to consider through both traditional TV and streaming media buys, a strategic digital advertising partner can identify cost-effective media buys that help your business connect with its target audience.

With streaming solutions to meet different needs across premium inventory in and outside of the Cox Media footprint and a commitment to providing transparent reporting and optimization for your schedule and investment for success, Cox Media’s experts can do all of the heavy lifting in adding streaming video to your digital advertising strategy. Contact us today to get started.