CTV Advertising: Brand Awareness and Donor Engagement for Nonprofits

Connected TV (CTV) advertising is digital advertising that uses video content shown on OTT (over-the-top) devices and platforms. It is similar in content and timing (15 sec, 30 sec, 60 sec) to terrestrial television ads.

OTT consists of:

• smart TVs
• smartphones
• streaming services, like Netflix and Hulu
• gaming consoles

In recent years, streaming services through OTT devices have become increasingly popular for consumers to view their favorite shows and movies.

CTV advertising provides a unique opportunity to build awareness for your nonprofit and reach a broader audience as the popularity of streaming services only continues to expand. 

It can reach new donors at a larger scale while engaging with your existing donor base. In addition, CTV advertising can reach your target audiences based on demographics, interests, and viewing habits.

For example, a nonprofit focused on hunger relief can target viewers who have recently watched documentaries about food insecurity. Targeting like this ensures CTV advertisements attract the audiences most likely to be interested and take action.

CTV advertising can also support and strengthen donor relationships. Integrating CTV into your marketing strategy can lead to greater donor engagement, brand awareness, and donations across multiple digital channels. CTV advertisements are an excellent addition to fundraising when combined holistically with other advertising efforts, such as paid social or search.

Let’s say a viewer is watching a new show about urban farming. While streaming the show, viewers get a CTV ad regarding a local food bank in this state. Then, later in the week, the viewer sees an ad for the same food bank while scrolling on social media. Eventually, the viewer takes action and looks up the food bank organization on a search engine, resulting in them visiting the website and making a generous donation.

It’s important to note that because CTV is an excellent top-funnel marketing strategy for outreach and awareness, using key performance indicators (KPIs) directly related to conversion are not useful. On the other hand, KPIs like Impressions and VTC (view-through-conversions) can confirm your CTV is working well as part of a holistic fundraising approach.

By combining CTV advertising with other digital marketing efforts, you can create holistic and effective marketing campaigns that increase your brand awareness, donor engagement, and support for your mission.

TrueSense Marketing has a variety of CTV providers accessible to us through our DSP, Basis. We can help you get started using holistic fundraising strategies that leverage CTV advertising services. Contact us to learn more.