CTV/OTT
What Is Connected TV? And How CTV Advertising Works (2025)
Ankitesh Thakur
CTV Advertising has quickly emerged as a key player in digital advertising’s fast-evolving landscape, revolutionizing how audiences consume content.
In this article, we explore what Connected TV is and how it impacts television viewing habits..
Additionally, we discuss its mechanics and advantages for advertising purposes in 2024 – emphasizing its role as part of future digital strategies.
Connected TV (CTV) is a television that connects to the internet and streams digital video content. This can be done using smart TV features or external devices like streaming sticks, gaming consoles, or set-top boxes. It allows viewers access to more diverse forms of media beyond traditional broadcast channels, such as streaming services, on-demand videos and internet applications, making CTV an essential element of modern entertainment.
| CTV Ad | OTT Ad |
| Display on internet-connected TVs. | Appear on any device streaming content over the internet. |
| Target viewers through smart TVs or streaming devices. | Target users on smartphones, tablets, and computers. |
| Offer a more immersive viewing experience on larger screens. | Reach viewers on various screen sizes. |
| Measured using TV-based metrics. | Tracked with digital metrics similar to online ads. |
| Integrate with traditional TV viewing habits. | Align with on-demand, internet-based viewing preferences of users. |
Linear TV runs ads during scheduled broadcasts. CTV streams online, offering advanced targeting and measurement for precise audience-focused advertising.
TV advertising with connected television sets brings many advantages, which more advertisers realize daily.
CTV enables marketers to target specific demographics, interests, and behaviors, making ads more relevant and effective. CTV targets audiences using data like age, gender, and behavior, unlike traditional TV which relies on broad, program-based demographics.
IP-based targeting in CTV ads helps marketers deliver personalized messages to viewers in specific locations using connected device IP addresses.
Geotargeting in CTV advertising benefits local businesses by improving audience precision, boosting engagement, and reducing wasted ad spend significantly.
CTV advertising typically achieves higher completion rates due to user behavior associated with television viewing. Users engage more with content on CTV and minimum skip ads compared to digital platforms due to its relaxed and long-form viewing experience.
CTV marketing tracks ROAS, traffic, revenue, and more in near real-time, ensuring accurate and transparent campaign performance analysis. CTV attribution tools like Verified Visits™ track user conversions across devices, linking CTV views to actual website actions with precision.
Optimization has become a buzzword within the industry, yet not all forms of automation are created equal. Some CTV ad solutions use media buyers or low-CPM inventory, balancing reach and quality based on campaign needs and goals.
MNTN optimizes CTV campaigns in real time, aligning spend and reach goals using automated bidding and verified performance-driven ad delivery.
MNTN helps you retarget site visitors and launch campaigns on CTV to reach new audiences, ensuring you target the right demographics.
First-Party Data: Monetize website traffic by using CTV ads to target specific visitors with television screens displaying high-impact CTV advertisements for existing customers and prospects.
Upload customer email lists directly into CRM systems so your current customers are prominently displayed with high-impact CTV advertisements that reach high audiences on television screens.
Third-Party Data: Utilize third-party data sources to reach new audiences, such as personas, interests, demographics, age groupings, income sources and household sizes to target. Use attributes like personas and demographics to target specific subpopulations of consumers who may represent new prospects or markets for your offerings.
Frequency Caps: Deliberate the frequency with which ads are served to individual users to prevent ad fatigue and ensure positive user experiences.
IP Targeting: Reach specific audiences by targeting entire households or devices directly without using cookies that could interfere with serving ads effectively.
Connected TV uses traditional digital marketing metrics and KPIs, such as impressions, to measure the success of advertising on CTV. Below are critical indicators for CTV advertising campaigns: Impressions: These refer to how many ads were served per viewer during your campaign’s duration, indicating its scale of scope.
Connected TV marketing combines digital targeting and measurement tools with TV’s immersive and engaging qualities for maximum impact. To leverage its full potential, follow these best practices for connected television marketing:
Connected TV advertising is revolutionizing digital ad delivery. By offering precision targeting, high engagement rates, and advanced measurement capabilities .CTV provides marketers with a powerful tool for reaching specific target audiences while meeting advertising goals.
By understanding its mechanism and best practices, advertisers can take full advantage of CTV to craft compelling campaigns in this ever-evolving digital environment.
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