Google TV ads are the latest addition to Google’s advertising ecosystem. The media monarch expanded beyond pay-per-click (PPC), Google Shopping, the Google Display Network (GDN), and YouTube advertising. Google TV is now accessible to advertisers through DV360 for U.S. campaigns. This new avenue offers a significant opportunity to reach audiences beyond mobile screens and into the living rooms of TV streaming viewers.

With 87% of U.S. households owning at least one Connected TV (CTV) device, such as Chromecast, Roku, Fire Stick, or Apple TV, advertisers face an enticing question: Should you explore Google TV advertising options?

Should You Choose Google TV Advertising Options for Your YouTube Campaigns?

Given that Google TV is relatively new, it’s natural to question whether your brand or client should opt-in to Google TV advertising options. Before you decide, consider these key advantages of expanding your advertising mix to include Connected TV, specifically the Google TV network.

1. Achieve Massive Reach with Connected TV Viewers on Google TV

If you’re already advertising within the Google Ads network, you’re aware of its extensive reach, thanks to Google’s 92% share in the search market. Here’s the current reach in the U.S. advertising market for the Google network:

In addition to the expansive advertising reach, incorporating Google TV advertising opportunities into your lineup presents access to over 125 built-in channels on the CTV ad platform. These channels include live sporting events, full-length television shows, and feature films, providing a diverse range of content for your advertising campaigns.

2. Ad Formats Available on the Google TV Network

Despite limited Google TV advertising formats, CTV advertising boasts impressive view completion rates (VCR) of up to 96%, as proven by our Quick-Service Restaurant (QSR) Case Study.

Google TV ad placements serve the following ad formats:

• 15-second non-skippable in-stream ads
• 6-second bumper ads
• Masthead ads

By default, Google Ads supports ads on Google TV for new “Efficient reach” or “Non-skippable” campaign subtypes. 

By placing ads within Google’s advertising network, you gain access to not only CTV (Connected TV) but also YouTube and YouTube TV. These platforms offer a broader range of ad formats and more versatile campaigns, allowing you to maximize your Google Ads reach beyond its Connected TV capabilities. This opens up opportunities for you to explore the video advertising niche powered by Google.

3. Increasing Popularity of CTV Viewership

As linear television audiences transition to Connected TV, cord-cutting becomes increasingly prevalent. TV streaming services replace traditional cable subscriptions, with an estimated 80 million US households expected to make the switch by 2026. This trend makes exploring Google TV advertising options essential to capitalize on the changing viewer demographics.

Additionally, research suggests incorporating Connected TV mediums like Google TV into paid social media advertising campaigns can yield optimal results.

The transition has been significantly influenced by a growing affinity for blending social media and Connected TV advertising. The driving forces behind this trend include:

• Ability to retarget audiences and drive them through a funnel
  • With a significantly high video completion rate for connected TV (CTV) ads, you can effectively raise brand awareness by crafting a captivating narrative and capturing viewers’ attention within a brief timeframe. This enhances the likelihood that when you target audiences through Google TV ads, they will recognize your brand.
  • Engagements, such as those resulting from YouTube ads, can guide potential customers further down the advertising funnel, ultimately leading them toward your sales funnel.

• Lower costs and higher efficiency
  • As demonstrated in our QSR case study, we highlighted the combined potential of YouTube’s Skippable TrueView In-Stream ads and Connected TV for increasing brand awareness. This strategy resulted in a 28% decrease in CPM and a 25% improvement in efficiency. Notably, Connected TV emerged as the more impactful medium in this campaign, proving its effectiveness in capturing audiences.
  • Strike Social’s team achieved this through strategic campaign pacing and daily optimization efforts. With 10+ years of experience in data science, we utilized our proprietary tool, Campaign Lab, to leverage powerful data science tools, ensuring optimal campaign performance.

4. Utilize Google’s Advanced Targeting Capabilities

In addition to its vast reach, Google’s advertising capabilities stand out for its comprehensive scope, making it another compelling reason to incorporate Google TV advertising options into your media buying strategy.

Because advertisers can utilize this carefully selected targeting, Connected TV ad viewers are 7% more likely to seek out related content. Furthermore, compared to linear TV ads, where the advertisements may be irrelevant to the viewer’s demographics and instead determined by the highest bid within a specific time slot, viewers are 8% more likely to take subsequent action related to the CTV ads they see.

5. Simplified Campaign Management with Google Ads and DV360

Google TV advertising options can be managed within the familiar platforms of Google Ads and DV360, eliminating the need to learn new ad managers and tools. This allows you to effortlessly manage your Google TV campaigns alongside your Google and YouTube Ads, and if you’re also using DV360 for your campaigns, Google TV ads can be managed within these platforms as well.

Since Google TV ads are set up through the Google Ads platform, you have real-time access to their performance, just like your Google and YouTube ads. Reporting for Google TV ads is available at the channel level in Google Ads and DV360. This allows you to monitor and measure the effectiveness of your Google TV ads in real time, helping you make informed decisions to optimize your campaigns.

Additionally, Google has integrated its Google TV inventory directly with DV360, allowing advertisers to conveniently access and manage their Google TV ad campaigns through the unified DV360 platform. Advertisers now have the flexibility to buy and oversee guaranteed and biddable CTV deals across various publishers, including Google TV, within the intuitive DV360 interface.

Furthermore, major channels are also becoming accessible through Google TV advertising options. In March, Google established a direct connection between DV360 and DRAX, Disney’s real-time ad exchange. This integration creates direct pathways to Disney’s streaming inventory, offering advertisers even more opportunities for expanded reach. 

Considering these advantages, the signs point to a ‘yes’ to expanding your CTV advertising to include Google TV.

Having a Trusted Google TV Advertising Partner

One potential concern when considering Google TV ads is not having a knowledgeable team to optimize and manage these campaigns effectively. Aside from being a certified Google Partner, Strike Social leverages over 10 years of historical data insights and successful ad campaigns through our proprietary tool, Campaign Lab. Using machine learning, Campaign Lab utilizes historical data to effectively target your intended audience through granular targeting while continuously optimizing campaigns 24/7. This comprehensive approach enhances the performance and success of your Google TV ad campaigns.

Here’s how we do it: