Connected TV: The Affordable, Targeted Alternative to Traditional TV Advertising

Advertising is a significant investment for most dealerships, relying on campaigns to deliver strong returns to justify the spend. Traditional TV advertising, while high-performing and a favorite for years, can be particularly costly. Marketers must purchase untargeted, channel-wide inventory through TV network agreements, which often come with minimum buy requirements reaching six figures or more. This bulk-buy model quickly drives up costs and leaves dealers spending much of their budget on wasted impressions on uninterested viewers.

Fortunately, there’s a newer cost-effective alternative that reaches engaged viewers on the largest screen in the house—without the high cost of traditional TV.

Bulk inventory agreements once made sense when traditional TV dominated viewership. But those days are over. Since July 2022, streaming has been the #1-way Americans watch professional video content, beating out both cable and satellite. Not only is streaming on Connected TV more popular, but it’s also a far more affordable advertising option.

Connected TV is the solution automotive advertisers have been waiting for. It allows you to reach highly engaged, in-market car buyers as they enjoy the shows they choose, with ads purchased per impression. CTV advertising targets your dealership’s specific audience and isn’t confined to one channel, finding the right individuals across popular streaming apps like Peacock, Hulu, and Disney+ and bidding on impressions in real-time. Plus, CTV campaigns are fully measurable, allowing dealerships to see exact, deterministic conversions attributed to their streaming campaigns—offering a clear picture of true ROI. Traditional TV lacks this level of digital precision, leaving dealers to estimate how their campaigns performed.

These capabilities make campaigns both cost-effective and highly impactful, reaching only those most likely to be in the market for a vehicle.

Now, dealerships of all sizes can buy TV ad inventory programmatically without breaking the bank. With CTV impressions sold individually, marketers are free from minimum buy requirements that previously exceeded their budgets. This opens doors for smaller-market dealerships to participate in streaming advertising without daunting buy-ins, while dealerships in larger markets can spend less while reaching more car buyers.

CTV advertising delivers the highest impact for the lowest investment. Dealerships no longer need to compromise; CTV provides hyper-cost-efficiency on a highly engaging channel and delivers impressive conversion outcomes. While traditional TV will always hold value, CTV’s targeting, affordability, and popularity are hard to ignore.

EMG’s streaming advertising solution on CTV allows dealerships to connect with highly targeted viewers and ensure every ad dollar is spent on a meaningful impression. We develop custom proposals that calculate the exact investment needed to increase market share for any dealership, anywhere in the country. Thanks to EMG’s exclusive and extensive partnerships, our clients benefit from priority bidding and first-look access to ad inventory on nearly all ad-supported streaming apps, allowing us to consistently secure premium placements at the most competitive rates.

With EMG, your dealership achieves maximum results for the most efficient cost. To save on TV advertising, choose the preferred platform and request your custom streaming proposal today.