How CTV is shaping the future of targeted advertising in India

The advertising landscape in India is experiencing a seismic shift with Connected TV (CTV) gaining significant momentum, reflecting global trends as consumer behaviour leans towards on-demand and digital experiences.

CTV, which includes smart TVs, gaming consoles, and OTT (over-the-top) streaming services, is transforming targeted advertising by blending traditional television’s mass reach with digital precision. The rise of CTV in India, a country with one of the world’s largest and youngest consumer markets, is setting new standards for targeted advertising, creating exciting opportunities for advertisers and reshaping the ad tech industry.

The Growth of CTV and Changing Consumer Behavior in India

India's digital landscape is evolving, with nearly 900 million internet users expected by 2025. Indian consumers are rapidly embracing OTT platforms, with platforms like Disney+ Hotstar, Amazon Prime Video, and Netflix experiencing steady growth. The Indian OTT audience universe has grown 14% year-on-year to 547.3 million users, translating to a penetration of 38.4%, as per The Ormax OTT Audience Report: 2024, which is based on a sample size of 12,000 across urban and rural India, largely driven by affordable data plans, smart TV penetration, and a young, tech-savvy population.

The decline in pay-TV households in India reflects a shift towards connected TV (CTV) and free-to-air (FTA) television. CTV, the newest segment in India's television market, includes internet-enabled devices like smart TVs, which support content streaming. With rapid advancements in digital media, the CTV ecosystem now extends beyond smart TVs alone; a standard television can become a CTV with the use of external devices such as connected set-top boxes, gaming consoles, or streaming tools like Amazon’s Fire TV Stick.

Around 48 million Indian households now own CTVs, and an increasing number are cutting the cord on traditional cable and satellite services. Advertisers are witnessing a robust increase in engagement on CTV platforms, where viewers actively choose content, resulting in a more attentive audience. For marketers, this is an unparalleled opportunity to reach specific, highly-engaged segments with precision, especially as they can leverage data-driven insights to tailor ads to viewer behaviors, preferences, and demographics.

Enhanced Targeting Precision with CTV

One of CTV’s most promising features is its ability to deliver targeted ads based on user insights. Unlike traditional TV, which broadcasts to a broad audience, CTV empowers advertisers to segment audiences with great precision, enhancing the relevance of advertising. With programmatic CTV, advertisers can reach specific demographics, geolocations, and interest-based groups using automated, real-time ad buying.

For example, brands targeting Indian users aged 25+ with incomes above ₹6 lakh ($7,500) annually can reach this group through targeted CTV ads, optimizing their ad spend and maximizing impact. CTV platforms track various behavioral data, including:

• Demographics: Ads can target specific age, gender, and income groups, reaching audiences with higher relevance.
• Geolocation: With hyper-local targeting, advertisers can target metro cities like Mumbai, Delhi, and Bengaluru or Tier 2 cities where CTV adoption is surging.
• Behavioral Data: Viewing habits and preferences allow brands to serve ads to audiences based on interests, enhancing engagement.
• Device Targeting: Ads can be delivered across devices to ensure consistent reach, from smartphones and tablets to smart TVs.

CTV’s ability to personalize ad delivery makes it an invaluable tool in a diverse market like India, where preferences vary widely. This precision targeting ultimately boosts return on ad spend (ROAS), allowing brands to optimize their campaigns based on performance.

The Role of First-Party Data in CTV Advertising

In India, where data privacy is gaining importance, first-party data has become essential. With impending data regulations and the potential phase-out of third-party cookies, first-party data is a valuable asset for advertisers looking to ensure privacy compliance. Through CTV apps and OTT platforms, advertisers gather first-party data directly from users, including viewing habits, preferences, and engagement metrics. This data allows brands to retarget engaged audiences and create lookalike audiences, creating a consistent user journey across multiple platforms.

For instance, an advertiser could identify users who watched an entire season of a specific show on an OTT platform and deliver tailored ads based on this insight, enhancing ad relevance. CTV enables seamless integration of data across digital channels, allowing for cross-device attribution and creating more comprehensive user profiles.

Addressable TV in India: Blending Traditional and Digital Targeting

CTV has catalyzed the emergence of addressable TV, enabling advertisers to deliver different ads to different households watching the same program. This innovation merges traditional TV’s reach with digital’s precision and allows brands to reach Indian households at scale while personalizing ad experiences.

In India, addressable TV holds immense potential for brands aiming to reach large audiences with tailored messaging. For example, two viewers watching a popular Indian show on the same CTV platform could receive different ads based on their preferences, location, or demographics. Addressable TV helps advertisers, especially in a diverse market like India, achieve high engagement while optimizing ad spend.

Higher Engagement and Measurable Results

CTV ads deliver high engagement levels, particularly in India’s mobile-first market, where consumers actively participate in streaming. CTV ads are often unskippable, making them more effective for brands seeking viewability. Moreover, interactive ad formats, such as shoppable ads, allow users to make purchases directly from the screen, bridging the gap between engagement and conversion.

CTV provides advertisers with real-time data, allowing them to measure and optimize campaigns based on viewability, completion rates, and conversions. This constant feedback loop ensures that campaigns are adjusted to achieve optimal results, driving higher ROI.

Challenges in CTV Advertising in India

While CTV advertising offers numerous advantages, it comes with challenges that must be addressed for optimal results:

1. Ad Fraud: As with global markets, India faces issues with invalid traffic and fraudulent impressions on CTV. It is critical to work with trusted CTV platforms that use fraud detection technologies, ensuring advertisers receive transparent and accurate metrics.
2. Brand Safety: Advertisers must ensure that ads appear in brand-safe environments, especially on platforms with a mix of user-generated content. Partnering with reputable platforms that prioritize content moderation is essential for maintaining brand integrity.
3. Fragmentation: India’s diverse OTT ecosystem poses challenges for advertisers who want a cohesive presence across platforms. Standardizing metrics and tools will be essential to unify campaign measurements across multiple CTV channels, improving consistency and reach.

CTV’s Future in India’s Targeted Advertising Landscape

Connected TV is revolutionizing India’s adtech industry by combining the extensive reach of traditional TV with the precision and personalization of digital marketing. With CTV ads offering unique opportunities to target diverse and highly engaged audiences, brands in India are increasingly incorporating CTV into their marketing strategies. The growth of first-party data collection on CTV platforms also gives advertisers an edge, particularly as data privacy regulations become more stringent.

While challenges such as ad fraud, brand safety, and fragmentation remain, they can be mitigated through strategic partnerships and standardized tools. With continued growth in CTV adoption, India is poised to see CTV become a dominant force in the digital advertising space, reshaping the way brands connect with consumers across the country.

The author is the Founder and CEO of Globale Media, a leading mobile and web advertising platform dedicated to helping advertisers and agencies with user acquisitions and engagement by ensuring 100% direct traffic over web, mobile, and OEMs.

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not in any way represent the views of exchange4media.com.