Sean Takes a Victory Lap

I’ve been thinking a lot about B2B recently. It’s not just that I’ve had to wear that hat in my business development role; it’s that there are a lot of signs and trends pointing the B2B industry toward CTV (as Google Trends data shows). So I wanted to share something I wrote earlier this year before diving into a few of the drivers of the recent surge of B2B interest.

Quick Hits

Streaming Reaches Tipping Point, Beats Broadcast/Cable For First Time In May — Again, the time is now to get on board the CTV train. Linear was never a B2B playground, but CTV’s targeting makes the medium a much stronger proposition — and now we know the eyeballs are there.

LinkedIn Gets Serious About CTV — A reaction piece from me. LinkedIn targeting + CTV storytelling has serious promise.

Google Forces Industry To Rethink Impressions, CTRs, Remake KPIs — GEO is the new SEO, and clicks aren’t what they used to be. Taking the focus off of a super-shaky metric will lead marketers to reconsider impressions, brand lift, and more — which CTV delivers better than any other digital channel.

Roku And Amazon’s New Deal Will Target 80% Of US CTV-Watching Households — *** Predator movie handshake meme ***

Streaming Reaches Tipping Point, Beats Broadcast/Cable for First Time in May

Wayne Friedman - MediaPost

Some of this news was unsurprising, at least to me. Streaming was going to overtake Linear (Broadcast + Cable) at some point very soon. Also, YouTube + Netflix being the top two matches is what I expect. But the one bit of actionable news is the increase of FAST channels, with Tubi specifically called out along with what is called “Other Channels” (defined as mid-level streaming platforms).

If fraud is a concern, it is certainly from the hundreds of FAST channels and random platforms that have popped up. (Think ads potentially being shown even when TV is off.) This is where a good partner comes into play. If you aren’t already looking at inventory reports (like site/app reports in typical programmatic campaigns) along with day/time data, you should be. As always, if you need help with that, feel free to send me a message and I can help!

LinkedIn Gets Serious About CTV

Sean Nowlin - LinkedIn

Many people I have talked to recently were surprised to learn LinkedIn offered a CTV option. It was largely below the radar since it being introduced a year ago. But under the radar no more! This is a very nice update to LinkedIn Ads capabilities. It’s still too early to tell, but it feels like large Mid-Market and Enterprise brands will see the biggest impact. SMBs might still need help to get the most out of B2B CTV advertising.

Google Forces Industry to Rethink Impressions, CTRs, Remake KPIs

Laurie Sullivan - MediaPost

The SEO & PPC game has changed forever. At SpotlightIQ, we have been thinking about content marketing through the lens of Generative Engine Optimization, or GEO (UH OH, NEW MARKETING ACRONYM DROPPED). There have been many recent conversations on LinkedIn bemoaning the drop in traffic from search results. We are seeing the same thing: an increase in impressions in Google Search Console but without an accompanying increase in clicks.

Here’s what that means: You really need to be thinking about awareness in other channels.

Wouldn’t it be great to reach your customer AND show them a highly impactful 30- second ad they have to watch? Brand awareness lift, anyone?

Roku and Amazon’s New Deal Will Target 80% of US CTV-Watching Households

Victoria McNally - AdExchanger

The big keep getting bigger! Honestly though, great news for Amazon DSP advertisers. Roku can be a great source of CTV impressions. But the most important part of this partnership? Tying Amazon IDs to Roku IDs. This is about as direct as you can get in the current privacy-forward environment.

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