CTV Creative Best Practices

Mixing the visual impact of TV with the interactive potential of digital advertising, CTV might be the best thing to happen to brands since, well, customers. Here’s how you can stand out in 2023.

Does strategy matter?

You’re damn right it does. CTV goes well beyond linear TV, so consider (or reconsider) your goals. Traditional TV campaigns were aimed at general awareness, but the measurement and targeting capabilities of CTV allow for much more specific efforts. Who knows, maybe a performance marketing user acquisitions campaign is in your future.

Speaking of campaigns…

Tell a good story. Don’t get so excited about the crazy impact of CTV that you forget to create a clear and compelling narrative. Your customers are people, too, so the sooner you create content that resonates with them, the sooner you’ll be pointing to giant line graphs with arrows pointing up.

Eye candy.

You might have the best USP in the business but if your ads look like crap, nobody will listen. CTV is highly visual, so for your message to land it needs to be flying in on some compelling imagery and killer colors. That doesn’t mean you need to go all tie-dye, just make sure it’s not vanilla.

Size matters.

Get your mind out of the gutter, we’re talking about your content.

That being said, let’s see how yours measures up.

• Size Ratio | 16:9, 1920×1080
• Length | 30 seconds max, 15 or 30 second slots
• File Format | .mp4 or .mov
• File Size | Max size 200MB
• Frame Rate | Must be constant; 23.98, 25, or 29.97 FPS
• Bit Rate | Greater or equal to 2500 KBPS

Audio Specs

• Overall Mix Level | 10db to -14db
• Dialogue | -12db to -15db
• Music | -18db to -22db
• Sound Effects | -10db to -20db with occasional spikes up to -8db

Juuuuust right.

Goldilocks knew what was up. And so do your customers. Make sure to set frequency capping with your supply-side platform (SSP) to manage the number of times your ad can be viewed by a particular user. Too high can lead to fatigue, too low can result in underexposure. And just right can mean a happy ending for all.

Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 3

Test early and test often. Take advantage of the performance channel capabilities of CTV and begin running tests at each stage in the creative process. Leverage your learnings to maximize your impact and minimize your costs. No brainer, right?

Alright, grasshopper. Now that you know the ropes, get out there and start kicking some a**.