The news: Scrollable connected TV (CTV) ads vastly outperform other CTV ad formats in engagement, per our Industry KPI data provided by BrightLine, revealing a valuable format for marketers to tap into as they invest more in reaching CTV consumers.

• Scrollable CTV ads in 2023 had a 1.4% engagement rate, more than double the rates of “dynamic” ads (0.7%) and “expandable” ads (0.5%).

Why this matters: CTVs are among the fastest-growing digital advertising sectors alongside retail media, and are contributing to record overall ad spending growth. We expect US CTV advertising to reach $28.75 billion this year, up 18.8% year over year. US CTV households will make up 86% of households this year, growing to 89.4% by 2028.

• CTV’s strong growth and US penetration makes it an invaluable channel for advertisers, but it’s still a relatively nascent format that the industry is still learning how best to leverage. Several streaming services like Disney and Hulu are opening up CTV ad inventory, which will likely lead to more marketers breaking into the sector.
• An increase in competition means advertisers will have to use every tool in their arsenal to stand out. BrightLine’s data shows that scrollable ads are one way to do just that. Other popular CTV ad formats, like QR codes, struggle due to an extra layer of friction, per a January LG Ad Solutions report.
• Consumers have to use a secondary device to engage with the ad, leading to issues like 21% of consumers saying they fail to scan codes in time, 10% not understanding how to use QR codes, and 13% saying their mobile device wasn’t on hand.
• Scrollable ads have an advantage due to being baked into the CTV format. Rather than requiring users to operate an external device or visit a secondary platform, scrollable ads are easier to engage with because they meet consumers where they are without extra wrinkles.

Our take: CTVs have rapidly become a well-established ad channel with formidable reach, but there’s still experimentation to be done. Advertisers looking to maximize impact now should consider investing in scrollable ads, and platforms should learn from the success of baked-in formats to develop new channels.