• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, December 9, 2019

Exponential Interactive launched a new division, VDX.tv, in October in an effort to support media buyers and consumers across connected television.

Danielle Cravatt, VDX.tv's SVP of client partnerships, said the new division and its name will become the focus for the company in the United States.  

VDX.tv creates and executes personalized, video-driven advertising campaigns for brands across screens. It begins with a brand’s TV video ad message and creates a dynamic advertising experience that brands can customize.

Before serving an ad, Cravatt said, the company’s technology relies on three data sources to understand a consumer -- “consumers who have not been to your site, loyalists, and how consumers cross-shop on different platforms,” she said. “We’re also looking at articles people read on publisher sites to understand a person’s buying habits.”

Performance and search play a role in understanding the shift to how consumers interact and use connected television, she said.

eMarketer forecasts that U.S. advertisers will spend nearly $7 billion this year on connected television (CTV) ads, reaching $14.12 billion by 2023.

More than 75% of consumers own a smart or connected TV, and they are increasingly watching TV content on their personal devices, Cravatt said, citing data from an OTT consumer report.

The study, conducted in 2018 by OpenX and Harris Poll, suggests that while nascent, OTT ads have proven effective. Seventy-two percent of those participating in the study recalled seeing an ad, and 40% of those paused the content either to make a purchase or learn more about the product.

OTT media buyers, similar to those working with search, social, video and other media, need to become more accountable for their budgets. The data gives them the ability to do this.

Advertisers face challenges when it comes to tying their budget to performance marketing.

“Where search may have limitations, because there’s so much they can invest in without seeing diminishing return on investments, it allows them to deliver return on investments and scale with messages that resonate,” she said. “People use connected TV with the understanding of the right user, right time, but the user tends to move right past the message.”

VDX.tv, she said, is looking to eliminate any disconnects between creative, video and data, so the message the consumer views always resonates.