• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, April 14, 2023

While still relatively small, connected TV (CTV) is making some headway as a component in direct-to-consumer (D2C) and direct-to-business marketer strategies, according to the latest  survey conducted for performance media platform Digital Remedy.

The survey of 251 marketers (52 who sell directly t to consumers only, 199 who sell directly to consumers and businesses) was conducted by online research firm Dynata in December.

Search and social, mobile apps and digital display continue to be these marketers’ preferred channels.

However, this year’s survey participants reported dedicating 22% of their media dollars for the first half to search and social, on average — down from the 25% reported by participants in last year’s survey probing 1H 2022 allocations (chart above). Digital display and mobile app allocation shares are each up by a few percentage points, while print is down a couple of points.

Meanwhile, CTV’s average share is flat, at 10%, versus last year’s 1H survey.

But that’s a bit higher than digital out-of-home and linear TV (each at 9%).

And 52% of the 171 marketers with 2023 plans that call for using any CTV/OTT in the first half said they will spend more on the channel than they did during the same period last year —versus 43% of marketers surveyed last year who said the same. (Among the new survey’s 52 D2C-only marketers, 30 are using CTV in 1H and 17 plan to allocate more to it than in 1H 2022.)

The 206 marketers with budgets of $100,000 and over reported a higher average CTV allocation — 11% — for this year’s first half, and just 19% for search/social. In contrast, the 88 with budgets under $100,000 averaged just 5% for CTV, and are significantly more reliant on search/social, at 29%.

Most of the 56 marketers investing in CTV for the first time in 1H 2023 plan to shift funds from search/social, mobile and digital display.

More than two-thirds who have used CTV in the past said they employ insights from that channel to influence their linear strategies and target key metrics at the household level, while avoiding oversaturation of messaging.

As for what would motivate direct marketers to increase their CTV spend, 40% of D2C-only marketers cited access to higher-quality inventory, and slightly lower percentages cited brand lift measurement capabilities, performance-based metrics/reporting, and real-time channel performance reporting.

All in all, this latest research seems to indicate some moderate movement toward CTV among D2C marketers.