Are Shoppable Ads CTV’s Next Evolution?

Impulse buying is becoming just as easy on CTV as it is on social media. 

Shoppable advertising on CTV is not a new industry topic. Adoption by consumers, and arguably marketers as well, has been slow. But, with Disney’s recent announcement integrating shoppable and gaming ads into its Disney+ platform, the next CTV innovation could finally gain traction in the second half of ’24 and heading into ’25.

Given the popularity of in-game purchases on every sort of gaming device, Disney’s new “advergaming formats” are not unprecedented. What’s most surprising is that they’re on CTV, a platform with underutilized interactive capabilities. But that’s changing, and consider Amazon Prime Video, which now features three more shoppable ad units. You might not have realized that they already offer shoppable ads on their Thursday Night Football games.

The effort appears to be gaining steam. AdExchanger reports that “interactive ads for Amazon product listings drive 10 times more product page views and conversions than their non-interactive counterparts.”

Why are these ad units clicking now?

The technology that drives interactive CTV ad units frequently includes QR codes (dubbed “scan to shop” for phone shopping) and visual cues that prompt viewers to interact with buttons or voice commands. These link to product landing pages, online stores and interactive experiences. This is stable technology, familiar to many people who purchase goods and services via social channels. 

What’s new is that the interactive CTV campaigns — highlighted by “advergames” on Disney, Hulu and ESPN — are gaining traction. KORTX reports that “in the last year, interactive CTV campaigns drove a 5.42% engagement rate, compared to a rate of 0.97% for mobile and PC.” KORTX contends that interactive CTV “merges storytelling with interactivity to create a personalized, immersive, user-driven experience.”

Marketers want the technology to succeed because it removes the lag time between viewers seeing and acting upon an advertising message. According to The Drum, “Audiences are also increasingly keen to see shoppable ads — 51% of CTV users wish they could shop online using their TV, and 29% already do.” 

Advertisers and streaming networks have worked to eliminate any possible friction in the interactive purchase process, focusing on speeding up the checkout process and improving top-of-the-funnel sales content. 

Of course, there’s a right and a wrong way to manage these interactive initiatives. Suffice it to say that poor CTV measurement can lead to inefficient, underperforming campaigns.

Viant’s CTV measurement capabilities enable marketers to plan and track their interactive CTV campaigns. Campaign reporting, available directly within the Viant DSP, can help advertisers better understand their customers and optimize their campaigns as needed to drive measurable business outcomes.

With Viant’s DSP, marketers can plan, execute, manage and measure campaigns holistically to understand how their media dollars are performing. Between the Summer Olympics and the fall election season, this is a busy summer or CTV ad inventory. New interactive ad units may help satisfy heightened demand. 

Reach out to your Viant rep to get your interactive CTV campaign strategy off to a fast start, or get started with Viant.