Connected TV is no longer the new kid on the block in the advertising ecosystem. It has matured into a channel that demands both brand-level storytelling and measurable performance.
In our recent webinar, “The Evolution of CTV: Why Brands are Moving Beyond Awareness,” PebblePost’s Head of Product, Amit Nigam, shared his perspective on how CTV is changing and what performance marketers should be doing to unlock its full potential.
Here are 10 of his hot takes:
1. CTV isn’t linear. Your strategy shouldn’t be either.
Too often, marketers treat CTV as an extension of traditional linear TV. In reality, CTV offers more capabilities than linear ever could, but only if marketers treat it as a distinct channel.
“CTV is not linear. It behaves totally differently, so the expectation needs to be different than linear.”
2. Brand awareness alone won’t cut it anymore.
The days when CTV could get by as an “upper-funnel only” play are over. Today, marketers need proof that their campaigns generate more than reach.
“CTV is more than just an awareness driver. The amount of scrutiny on marketing budgets keeps going up. Every dollar has to work harder and tie to a performance outcome.”
3. Performance CTV owns the full funnel.
The strongest CTV campaigns connect emotional storytelling with measurable action. They’re not mutually exclusive.
“Performance CTV bridges brand and performance goals. It will have an impact on awareness, consideration, all the way down to conversion and performance.”
4. Scale is the secret weapon of CTV performance.
For CTV to deliver meaningful outcomes, you need a broad enough audience while still ensuring you’re reaching the right people. That tipping point has finally arrived.
“Scale is such a critical part of driving performance in any channel. In the early days, we had a relatively small population of cord-cutters, and now 90% of the population of the United States has a connected TV device in their household.”
5. Addressability is CTV’s real power move.
Marketers are moving beyond broad demographics and demanding far more targeted approaches to CTV.
“The focus is shifting from demographics to addressable buying. This is no longer about reaching a broad group; it’s about targeting specific people most likely to buy your product.”
6. Ad-supported streaming is back in a big way.
Subscription fatigue has opened the door for ad-supported streaming. Viewers are open to ads when they provide value and preserve the experience.
“Over the last two to three years, there has been a shift in consumer acceptance of ad-supported models. There’s an unspoken deal between viewers and publishers: we’re okay with ads, as long as you do it in a way that’s healthy and thoughtful. Scale has been increasing in CTV as a result, and when there’s scale, there’s opportunity to deliver performance.”
7. Proxies are out. Outcomes are in.
Marketers can’t afford to optimize toward surface-level metrics that don’t tie to business outcomes. True performance comes from measuring what matters, not what’s easy to measure.
“Stop optimizing to proxy metrics like site visits or completion rates. They don’t link directly to purchase behavior. Optimize for sales, the outcome you’re hoping to accomplish. If you’re not looking at transactions, then you’re never going to train your models on the right output.”
8. Without transaction data, you’re flying blind.
Accurate performance measurement requires a comprehensive view of consumer transactions across all sales channels.
“The role of transaction data is critical in Performance CTV. How do you resolve audiences? How do you build audiences? How do you score conversion propensity? Without a real understanding of your brand’s full transaction footprint—online and offline—it’s very difficult for anybody to say this was the performance impact.”
9. Incrementality is the new north-star metric.
As CTV measurement evolves, incrementality is becoming the defining metric. Marketers need to demonstrate that their campaigns actually moved the needle.
“More marketers are saying incremental performance is the expected outcome of their CTV campaigns. You have several touchpoints across other channels where you’re reaching and engaging consumers. So let’s set a baseline: These people were going to convert at a certain rate, no matter what. What did your CTV ads do, above and beyond that rate?”
10. CTV partners make or break performance.
CTV performance hinges on finding a partner with the right tools, approach, and commitment to measurable results. The wrong partner can mean missed opportunities and wasted budget.
“Performance CTV success requires the right partner. If they don’t have the tools available to actually drive outcomes, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. Look for deterministic audience construction, incremental measurement, and the use of online and offline transaction data.”
Rethinking What CTV Can Do
For too long, CTV has lived in the shadow of its potential. It has been framed as a channel for brand awareness only—an expensive but unmeasured investment. No more.
Today, CTV has the reach, addressability, and data sophistication to deliver measurable, incremental outcomes. The question is, are you using the channel to its full potential?
Watch the webinar to delve deeper into what’s shaping the future of CTV and how you can activate performance-driven campaigns.
Want better scale, precision, and performance? Let’s chat about how PebblePost’s Performance CTV delivers incremental outcomes at scale.
