CPG brands shifting to connected TV more than any other category

Connected TV devices now account for more than half of online video impressions for consumer packaged goods advertisers, overtaking mobile and desktop devices, according to research from converged TV and measurement platform Innovid.

CTV accounted for 52% of CPG video impressions last year, up from 44% the year prior and overtaking mobile (which accounted for 37% of the industry’s impressions) and desktop (with 11%). The growing role of e-commerce and availability of shoppable formats and use of QR codes in CTV ads has driven much of the shift, according to Stephanie Geno, chief marketing officer of Innovid.
 

CPG advertisers shifting money from linear TV to CTV to improve reach among people, generally younger audiences, that can’t be reached on linear also likely played a role, she said. Innovid research has found only about a 30% overlap between linear and CTV audiences, she said.

“The eyeballs are shifting, and we know that inventory and dollars often follow eyeballs,” Geno said.

CPG advertisers had good results in reaching unduplicated audiences on CTV, she said. CPG brands advertising across more than six CTV publishers had a duplication rate of just 12%.

CPG’s shift to CTV has been faster than other industry segments, Geno said, but varies widely by category within CPG. Pet supply brands led all advertisers, moving 70% of their online video impressions to CTV, followed by beauty and household cleaning, both at 62%, and food at 61%. Some segments clearly lagged—including over-the-counter medications and alcohol—which Geno attributed to concerns over regulatory issues and targeting audiences.

Despite the uptick in spending on CTV, CPG advertisers still reached only 12% of Innovid’s 95 million CTV households on average, leaving plenty of room for growth, Geno said. And data from this year so far suggests the shift of CPG money to CTV has continued. That’s in line with Pathmatics data that showed CPG advertisers hiked spending on over-the-top TV in the second quarter compared to the prior quarter and passed all other industry verticals in OTT spending.

CPG, which historically has been seen as lagging trends in media, appears to be leading this one.

“Certainly CPG is leading the charge in taking advantage of the CTV opportunity,” Geno said.

While CTV accounted for 46% of all advertising impressions counted by Innovid last year, that was below the 52% rate for CPG, and even before the second-quarter surge measured by Pathmatics.