LinkedIn introduces CTV ads for B2B campaigns

LinkedIn today introduced CTV ads, allowing marketers to include ads on CTV platforms in their B2B campaigns.

Advertisers can add CTV to their LinkedIn campaigns through a network of partners including Paramount, Roku and Samsung Ads.

In addition to LinkedIn’s self-service Campaign Manager, the company also has a managed offering, LinkedIn Premiere via its partnership with NBCUniversal.

Why we care. CTV is a growing channel for many marketers, including B2B businesses. As part of the rationale for introducing CTV, LinkedIn cited a study from Demandbase that found 90% of B2B marketers who used it in 2023 believed it helped reach customers.

Building on video. “LinkedIn CTV, including LinkedIn Premiere in partnership with NBCUniversal, builds on our suite of video solutions that help our customers reach their key audiences across our community of 1 billion members,” according to a LinkedIn representative. “Since only 5% of buyers are in market for a new purchase at any given time, it’s important for B2B marketers to consistently engage with their audiences to ensure their brand is memorable when it’s time to buy. We launched LinkedIn CTV to help our customers continue to reach and engage new audiences across streaming television content.”

Dig deeper: The B2B CEO’s social media checklist

Getting started. Marketers who have created a video ad simply log into Campaign Manager and choose an objective. They can either select a CTV-only campaign or launch a multichannel campaign to boost brand awareness.

Marketers can then choose a target audience among English-speaking decision-makers in the U.S. and Canada found on LinkedIn. Advertisers can choose attributes for their target like company size, seniority and interests.

Advertisers then set a budget for their campaign and determine when they want it to run.

Measurement. In addition to native reporting on the site, LinkedIn partnered with Kantar for objective lift studies and with iSpot to provide advanced audience measurement.

• The iSpot partnership allows B2B marketers to measure campaign effectiveness across platforms, including on linear and CTV.

Driving results. “Customers can use native reporting in Campaign Manager, like Performance Summary Report, Revenue Attribution Report, Conversions API and our new CTV Brand Lift test to measure their success using metrics like reach, conversion rates and video completion rates,” said a LinkedIn representative. “Additionally, customers can retarget members who viewed their video ad with additional campaigns and formats, like lead gen forms and Document Ads, to drive measurable results at any stage throughout the purchase cycle.”

Live Event Ads. LinkedIn also introduced Live Event Ads to help B2B marketers promote live events. This global offering allows marketers to boost registration and engage prospects before, during and after live virtual events.