As retailers recognize the value connected TV can bring in targeting specific audiences, they’re investing in the channel—and some are looking for the most economical ways to do so.

CB2, the furniture chain that counts Crate & Barrel as a sister brand, recently began working with Spaceback, a tech company based in San Francisco that uses AI to automate ads for different media platforms. The strategy is helping the retailer save time and be as efficient as possible with its resources, it said.

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In the pilot program, which the Chicago-based retailer began three weeks ago, Spaceback’s “Social CTV” program turns social media ads created by CB2 into ads that are compliant with the CTV format. For example, a new fall campaign created by the brand’s in-house creative team was originally on Instagram but the same ads are now on CTV—specifically on Paramount+, Max, Discovery+ and CBS Interactive—in an extension of the push. The streaming ads can also show real-time social media data, such as likes and views. 

“It’s been a resource and a save on our end, because it enabled us to expand our reach and bring in a new channel with zero lift,” said Tobin Schiller, VP of marketing at CB2.

Without the tool, CB2 would have had to craft new creative specifically for the CTV channel, he added. “This has let the team stay very focused on really moving forward with business and we can then take their work and not have to add on an extra layer to get into a whole other channel.”

CB2 has run ads on CTV before but not recently, according to Schiller, who joined the retailer earlier this year. “This was a good way to retest into the space,” he added. CB2 also advertises in print and in its stores, he said.

While the pilot is still in its early stages, Schiller said streaming TV viewers are already watching the ads and not skipping through. The retailer may expand the test into other formats such as shoppable TV via QR code, a tool that Spaceback also offers. Spaceback is also working with the direct-to-consumer drinkware brand Corkcicle.