How to know which CTV advertising platform works best for you

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TV advertising has historically been reserved for large brands with bigger budgets and dedicated media teams. Self-serve CTV platforms are changing that by giving businesses the ability to launch, target, and measure TV campaigns just like their paid social campaigns but on the big screen.

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Why TV advertising matters right now:

• TV outperforms paid social ads for trust and recall. A full-screen, non-skippable ad next to a show someone chooses to watch brings something that a scrollable social ad does not.  
• Self-serve ad platforms make TV accessible to brands of all sizes. You no longer need an agency or six-figure minimum to get your brand on premium TV.  
• You can reach your desired audience like you do on paid social. TV gives you a massive reach that connects with audiences most likely to engage.  

How to know which platform works best for you?

1. Where does your ad actually run? Some platforms are streaming only while others include linear TV too.  
2. Are there spend minimums? If you’re new to TV advertising, a five-figure monthly minimum is a hard way to start. Self-serve options that let you test are a great starting point.  
3. How much setup does getting on TV require? Some platforms require an onboarding process while others get a self-serve account live in minutes.
4. Do you have a commercial ready to run? If not, find out whether the platform offers creative support, and at what cost.  
5. What does the pricing actually include? Platform fees, markups and ad-serving charges can add up on top of what you think you’re paying.  

There’s a growing set of self-serve and managed-service platforms such as Vibe.co, MNTN, TVScientific and StackAdapt, each with a different focus and price point.

Universal Ads compared to typical CTV platforms  

Universal Ads is Comcast’s self-serve platform for premium TV advertising.  Here’s what sets it apart from the others.

Fees: Some platforms add markups or platform fees on top of media spend. With Universal Ads, 100% of your media spend goes towards media. No platform fees or markups!

Contracts: Some platforms require contracts or long-term commitments. With Universal Ads you can start, stop or pause without any commitments.

Inventory and Reach: Universal Ads offers Linear and Streaming TV inventory and can reach up to 90% of U.S. households through premium publishers.

Creative: No creative? No problem. Universal Ads offers creative support services to help you create a TV-ready ad at no additional media cost.

Set-up: This can range from self-serve to a full onboarding process. The Universal Ads self-serve ads manager is as easy as launching on paid social.

Universal Ads combines premium publisher inventory with a self-serve platform built for brands of any size. In-platform reporting and integrations make it easy for brands to build, launch and scale campaigns with no added platform fees. If you’ve been buying social and search and want to know what TV advertising can do for your business, start your first campaign with Universal Ads.