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- Tuesday, Aug 27
Tuesday, Aug 27
B2B Business Marketing Opportunity
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Hey guys,
“Sales are contingent upon the attitude of the salesman - not the attitude of the prospect.'‘
— W. Clement Stone
5 utmost crucial factors for DTC Success.
Ibrahim’s Nuggets: Should you be trying TV ads in 2024? (Part-2)
Top 3 Latest News: Temu: High Revenue Growth Not Sustainable Amid eCommerce Competition and more…
Let’s get into it👇
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Sai - DTC Paid Ads Specialist
5 utmost crucial factors for DTC Success.
We all know Nik Sharma for his extensive ideologies and marketing strategies.
And in his tweet, he shares some really fascinating nuggets for DTC Brand success.
The 5-steps to DTC success
Step 1: Don't start a brand broke
Step 2: Only focus on what matters
Step 3: Sell what's hot
Step 4: Find your customers
Step 5: Scale to $1M+
— Nik Sharma (@mrsharma)
3:30 PM • Aug 30, 2023
IBRAHIM’S NUGGETS
![](https://media.beehiiv.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,quality=80/uploads/asset/file/ac5ea9a6-0a8d-4b51-b366-67c7436e4470/Ibrahim_s_DP.png?t=1712050181)
Heyy!
Yesterday, I shared the Part-1 regarding a few questions I’ve been thinking about when it comes to TV, so we’ll talk about the Part-2 today!
Here’s how the questions look, again:
Part-1 (Click here to read yesterday’s issue):
How much does it cost to create and run a TV ad?
When and how should I start with TV?
What is the targeting on TV actually like?
How’s the attribution?
How should I approach creative?
Part-2 (We’ll cover this today
What’s the difference between “Linear TV” and “Connected TV”?
Does having a celebrity in my commercial matter?
Is streaming the same as “OTT” or “CTV”?
What are the average CPMs?
How do I actually buy a TV ad in 2024?
How are other top DTC brands approaching the channel today?
How should I approach creative?-
On TV, you have a choice between running 15, 30, and 60-second spots. The format is 1920x1080 horizontal. Remember, you’re selling on the big screen.
When it comes to the creative element, you should do these 3 things:
Look at your top 5 ad creatives in Meta over the last 6-12 months. What can you learn about the assets, the angle, the copy, the colors, or the call to action that might work for TV? Use these ads as your starting point to come up with new story-driven concepts for the big screen.
Try multiple concepts and angles. I was pretty surprised to hear that a Founder I spoke to had tested 15 creative concepts when they first started experimenting with TV. They ran high-production value assets, lower production value assets, direct response commercials, brand awareness ads and more. Since they were new to TV, they wanted to test a bunch of different concepts to see what worked. After 2-4 weeks of data, they were able to double down on the ads with the best conversion rates and CPMs for their brand.
Try a “founder story” ad. One thing that worked incredibly well for some of these brands was the “founder story” creative ads. As I’ve said for years, people like people, not brands, and they want to hear from and trust the person that they are buying from. Starting with the founder explaining why they started the company and what problem their product solves always seems to work well. Best part? It’s not expensive either to make such videos since the Founder itself is making it.
What’s the difference between linear TV and “Connected TV”? And Is streaming the same as “OTT” or “CTV”?
Here, I’m going to answer a few questions in one:
First, “Streaming” is the umbrella term for any programming that’s delivered via the internet
In contrast, cable TV is anything that’s delivered by a cable set-top box
OTT means “Over the top” and includes streaming and streaming devices like the Roku or the Amazon Fire Stick. It literally means devices that are “over the top of the cable box”
Smart TVs or Connected TVs are just a way to access streaming programming. They are TVs with WiFi or Ethernet capabilities built-in and typically have some kind of TVOS or “TV Operating System” that allows you to access all of your favorite apps natively on the TV
Linear TV is the traditional television format where viewers watch shows at specific times set by the broadcasters. It's the opposite of on-demand viewing!
And while we’re here, let’s also cover Programmatic TV and Remnant TV:
Programmatic TV is the algorithmic sale of television ad space in real-time. Instead of the traditional method of buying TV ad slots through direct negotiations between advertisers and networks or cable providers, programmatic TV leverages data and algorithms to make the process more efficient and automated!
Remnant TV refers to the unsold inventory of TV ad slots that networks or cable providers offer at deeply discounted rates shortly before the air time
Sweet, now we’re all caught up on the glossary terms for TV. Now, we can all sound smart when we say “OTT” in our marketing convos next year :)
Does having a celebrity in my commercial matter?
Obviously, it’s not a requirement to have known actors or a celebrity in your TV commercial, but it can certainly help.
When I think about celebrities, I think about building trust, and earning the right for viewers to want to watch more. When you are trying to get someone’s attention (AKA interrupt the precious hours of their day), putting a familiar face on screen helps you earn the right to share more.
The interesting thing about commercials is that unlike Meta, a winning creative can literally last for years, so sometimes splurging to go above and beyond for TV makes sense because the lifespan of a great TV ad can be a very, very long time.
What are the typical CPMs for TV?
The interesting thing about CPMs on TV is that the creative and category doesn’t affect the CPM price. A 15 second ad for cookware, flavored water, jewelry, etc. will all be the same if it’s on the same network and channel at the same time of day.
That said, here’s what does affect TV CPM prices that you should know about:
Time of Day: Prime time slots (usually 8 pm - 11 pm) tend to have higher CPMs because more people are watching. Conversely, off-peak hours (like late night or mid-day) generally have lower CPMs
Day of the Week: Weekend spots might have different CPMs than weekday spots, depending on the programming and target audience
Type of Show: Premium shows with high viewership or shows that target a specific, valuable demographic can demand higher CPMs
Market Size: Larger markets, like major metropolitan areas, often have higher CPMs than smaller rural markets
Live Events: Live broadcasts, especially major sporting events, award shows, or other high-viewership events, can command very high CPMs
Channel: Premium or national networks usually have higher CPMs compared to local channels or less popular cable networks
Seasonality: Certain times of the year, like the holiday season, might see increased CPMs due to higher demand from advertisers
To provide specific numbers:
National prime time TV spots in the U.S. might have CPMs ranging from $25 to $50 (or even higher for top-rated shows or events)
Non-prime time national spots can range between $10 and $20
Local TV spots (depending on the market size) can have CPMs as low as $5 to upwards of $25 depending on the demo
From what I’ve seen inside Vibe’s platform, most CPMs range from $10-35 depending on the inventory you are trying to buy.
How do I actually buy a TV ad in 2024?
This is the fun part. It used to be that you’d have to have a direct relationship with the network or channel or a third-party broker to buy a TV ad. Now, you can use a platform like Tatari or Vibe that makes planning, buying, and measuring TV easier than ever before.
Inside their ad buying platform, you can browse inventory among dozens of networks/streaming providers and hundreds of shows. You can see real-time CPMs and bid directly in the platform to fill inventory. The goal with their dashboard is to make it as easy as Meta does to buy and measure digital but for TV.
How are other top DTC brands approaching the channel today?
US TV ad spend is a 60BN/yr industry.
It’s a MASSIVE demo, and the biggest brands in the world still spend a TON of money on US TV. Incredible DTC and omni-channel brands like Hexclad, Fabletics, Tecovas, and Ro have seen amazing results with TV. I also know for a fact that smaller brands like Moonpod have crushed it with TV as well.
As brands continue to exhaust their paid social audiences and want to diversify their ad spend, I think TV is going to be the next best place to look.
Alright folks, that’s it for today!
What do you think about these issues I’ve been writing? Please let me know here, so it helps me understand if it’s helping. And if you have questions, feel free to ask using the same form.
Zaymo
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IN THE NEWS
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Digital Commerce 360, B2B Ecommerce Association announce 2024 award winners
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