Connected TV (CTV) is mainstream in ad land. What was once reserved for experimental test budgets has now become a mainstay in advertisers’ ad strategies. And the streaming channels are only creating more opportunities for advertisers to find their audience. “The market looks considerably different than it did five years ago,” EMARKETER senior analyst Ross Benes observed recently. Today, “marketers can choose from several options when investing in CTV services with scaled audiences.”

Now that everyone is streaming—and advertising on streaming—the real trick will be standing out from the crowd. Having video creative that follows best practices and tells an engaging story is an easy way to win on the TV screen. Here are some of MNTN’s favorite creative tips to make sure your ads stand out from your competitors’ and drive real results.

To be memorable, be persistent

There are a lot of ways to make a great ad. While CTV makes it easy to test and learn, you’ll want to take simple steps upfront to make the biggest splash right from the jump:

• A persistent logo and URL: Display your logo and URL to ensure that audiences know whose ad they’re watching (regardless of when they come back from the kitchen).
• Include a CTA: The TV screen isn’t clickable; be sure to prompt your audience with a call to action (both visual and audio) at the end of your ad.
• Capture attention upfront: Audiences are exposed to a lot of ads so be sure to capture their attention within the first few seconds of your ad; this is the key to hooking an engaged audience.
• Don’t be boring: This one speaks for itself, but just to be clear; no one wants to sit through a boring ad. Put yourself in the shoes of your audience—is the creative you’re producing something you would find compelling?

Keep it fresh

Ensuring your creative follows these best practices is great, but that’s just step one. No matter how well-received your ad is, you’ll always be battling the onset of ad fatigue. Ad fatigue sets in when your audience has seen your ad enough times that they stop paying attention. The best way to combat this? A creative refresh. A refresh doesn’t mean that you have to overhaul your videos entirely. It can mean making small adjustments, such as updating your end cards and testing a new call to action. CTV’s robust data also makes it easy to A/B test various creatives to see what’s driving engagement from your target audience so you can make educated updates to your videos.

Make it easy to manage

The good news is that CTV makes it easy to manage creative swaps across multiple campaigns. Unlike linear TV, the right CTV platform will allow you to easily upload new assets and set them live that same day or pause them when needed. You can easily upload multiple videos to A/B test, or create a variety of campaigns to encapsulate your various audiences and targeting strategies.

With everyone streaming—even advertisers—having a strong creative strategy that includes best practices and regular refreshes is essential to standing out among competitors and capturing your audience's attention. Start the year off strong with impactful video creative right out of the gate.

For more CTV insights, check out MNTN’s Performance TV Content Resources.