Industry Insights from Simpli.fi OTT/CTV Ad Spend Report

23
Oct
2020
10/23/2020

Industry experts predicted strong growth in OTT/CTV advertising at the start of 2020, projecting a 40% boost in year-over-year spending. In fact, U.S. advertisers were expected to spend $5 billion on OTT/CTV in 2020. It is no surprise that OTT/CTV advertising has become a major player in the programmatic space, as businesses of all sizes look to achieve the impact of television ads with the precision of digital advertising.

So, how have specific verticals adopted OTT/CTV advertising throughout the course of 2020, and how are they incorporating this advanced targeting tactic into their media mix? We recently analyzed data and analytics from thousands of advertisers across our platform to see the overall performance of OTT/CTV campaigns and how different verticals utilized the solution.

 

OTT/CTV Advertising Spend Overview

Overall, Simpli.fi has seen a positive growth in OTT/CTV advertising this year. By the end of September, spend grew 145% since the start of 2020, and 166% year-over-year (YOY). The Simpli.fi platform also saw a 40% YOY growth in the number of advertisers including OTT/CTV campaigns in their advertising strategies, resulting in a total of 7,160 advertisers implementing OTT/CTV ads year-to-date (YTD). In addition, there was a 44% YOY increase in the number of OTT/CTV campaigns implemented this year, resulting in a total number of 25,853 OTT/CTV campaigns YTD.

Additionally, Simpli.fi partners have used OTT/CTV ads to reach consumers across both large and small screens in a single household. Spend on small screens, such as mobile and tablet devices, increased by 77% in September, a 214% YOY increase. Advertisers also increased spend on large screen connected TVs by 39% in September, a 108% YOY increase. The surge in both large and small screen spending indicates advertisers are creating as many touch points as possible to stay top-of-mind.

 

Vertical Stats and Analysis

Knowing that this year has been unlike any year in the past, we analyzed nine of Simpli.fi’s top-performing verticals to see how Simpli.fi partners were embracing OTT/CTV advertising throughout the course of this year:

  • Healthcare
  • Home & Garden
  • Automotive
  • Food & Beverage
  • Finance
  • Real Estate
  • Education & Training
  • Attorneys & Legal
  • Arts & Entertainment

Below, see how overall OTT/CTV ad spend breaks out by vertical.
 

 
Overall Industry Performance

Simpli.fi’s top performing verticals experienced a positive growth in OTT/CTV advertising throughout 2020. While a few verticals experienced a slight negative growth in the first couple of months, spend quickly increased as the year progressed. The growth of OTT/CTV advertising throughout 2020 shows advertisers across all verticals are able to reach the right consumers at the right time using OTT/CTV campaigns.

Highlights by Industry

  • Real Estate Vertical: Real estate advertisers utilized OTT/CTV ads to reach consumers interested in purchasing homes, increasing OTT/CTV advertising spend by 269% by the end of September compared to spend in January. Real Estate advertisers increased spend on OTT/CTV ads as the year progressed, ending September with a growth of 643% increase compared to January.
  • Home and Garden Vertical: As interest in home projects rose, home and garden advertisers steadily allocated spend towards OTT/CTV ads to target consumers, increasing spend by 189% YTD by September. And as more consumers took on home projects, home and garden advertisers utilized OTT/CTV ads to notify them of different services and projects they could be interested in. The vertical ended September with a 913% increase compared to spend in January 2020.
  • Food and Beverage Vertical:Advertisers in the food and beverage vertical initially decreased their spend on OTT/CTV ads at the beginning of 2020. They then allocated more dollars towards OTT/CTV ads as the year progressed, increasing spend to 85% YTD by the end of September.
  • Attorneys and Legal Vertical:Legal advertisers also initially slowed their spend on OTT/CTV advertising during the first three months of 2020. They quickly ramped up their spend as more consumers sought legal advice, growing spend by 72% at the end of September compared to the beginning of January.
  • Healthcare Vertical:Healthcare advertisers steadily invested in OTT/CTV advertising throughout the year to educate consumers about healthcare services, increasing spend 545% by the end of September.
  • Finance Vertical:Financial advertisers quickly invested in OTT/CTV advertising within the first few weeks of the year. The financial vertical continued its growth in OTT/CTV ads, increasing by 1092% YTD at the end of September.

Simpli.fi advertisers across all verticals have increased their OTT/CTV spend this year compared to 2019, targeting both large and small screens in a single household to reach consumers across all video streaming devices. This growth is expected to continue as advertisers finish out the last quarter of the year with OTT/CTV advertising in mind. Due to its precision and scalability, OTT/CTV ads will be a must-have in advertising strategies for years to come.

Interested in learning more? Check out our full report on OTT/CTV Ad Spend here. To begin utilizing Simpli.fi’s industry-leading OTT/CTV advertising solution, reach out to us at hi@simpli.fi.