CTV advertising, short for connected TV advertising, is video advertising that plays during streaming shows, movies and live content on internet-connected TVs.
Think of a smart TV, a Roku or Amazon Fire Stick plugged into the living room set, a gaming console or a set-top box. When someone streams through one of those devices, an ad can run before or during their content, just like a commercial break. The difference is how the ad gets there. Instead of buying a time slot and hoping the right people are watching, CTV ads are bought digitally and served to households that match the audience you choose.
You get the visual impact of television with the targeting and reporting of digital marketing. For a deeper primer, read our guide What Is CTV Advertising?
CTV is one service. Location-based mobile ads are another. If you want to reach people at a physical place, see our geofencing advertising page.
Traditional TV asks you to pay for everyone watching a channel. CTV flips that. You decide who should see the ad, and the budget goes to those households.
People stream in a relaxed, lean-back setting, usually on a large screen with fewer distractions than a phone or laptop. Ads are woven into the content they chose to watch, and some streaming platforms do not let viewers skip them. That is a strong place for a brand story to land.
Because the buy is digital, you can start with a single metro area, prove it out and expand, rather than committing to a broad TV schedule up front.
Reach households by geography, demographics, interests, behaviors and viewing habits instead of buying a channel and hoping.
Track impressions, views, completion rates and conversions as the campaign runs, not weeks later from estimates.
Programmatic buying usually makes CTV more cost-effective than traditional airtime, and you can adjust spend as results come in.
Use in-stream video, interactive and overlay ads. A QR code on screen lets viewers act right away from their phone.
Reinforce the TV ad on mobile and desktop with retargeting so the message carries through to the next step.
Tell us your market, audience and goals. We will map out reach, targeting and a plan that fits your budget.
Get a free CTV quoteGeofencing reaches people on their phones at your store, a competitor or an event. It pairs well with CTV.
Explore geofencingCall our team to talk about whether streaming TV is a good fit for your business right now.
Call 877-877-0542With a broadcast spot, a home builder in one county pays to reach viewers across the whole market, including people who will never buy a home there. CTV lets us draw the audience first. We can focus on specific zip codes, cities or regions, then layer in demographics, interests, behaviors and viewing habits.
The result is fewer wasted impressions. Your ad runs in the homes that look like your customers, and the rest of the budget stays in your pocket. Campaigns can stay hyper-local for a single location or scale up to a national audience when you are ready.
After someone sees the ad, we can keep the conversation going on their other devices with retargeting and mobile advertising, so the TV spot is the start of a journey rather than a one-off impression.
Get a free CTV quoteCTV ads run inside ad-supported streaming content: movies, series, news, live sports and free streaming TV. Viewers watch through apps on a smart TV or a connected device such as a streaming stick, gaming console or set-top box. Many households have cut the cord entirely, which means a traditional TV buy may never reach them at all.
Most CTV inventory is bought programmatically. Ads are bought and sold through automated real-time bidding, so placements are data driven rather than locked into a fixed schedule. Dynamic ad insertion can tailor what each household sees, which helps the ad feel relevant instead of generic.
Both put your brand on a television screen. They differ in how the ad is delivered, who sees it and what you learn afterward. We cover this in more depth in CTV or Traditional: What’s the Best TV Advertising Strategy?
Traditional TV still reaches more people overall, especially older viewers who stream less. If your buyers skew that way, we will tell you, and CTV may work best alongside other channels rather than replacing them. Ask us what fits your audience.
The most common worry about TV is that you cannot tell what it did. CTV changes that. Every campaign reports impressions, views and completion rates, and we connect that activity to what happens next, such as site visits, calls and form fills.
To close the loop, we set up web analytics so streaming traffic shows up properly, and call tracking so phone leads are tied back to the campaign. A QR code on screen gives viewers a quick path from the couch to your site, and it gives you one more signal to measure.
You get clear reports in plain language, along with what we plan to change next and why.
Get a free CTV quoteEvery campaign follows the same seven steps, so you always know what is happening and what comes next. Our U.S.-based team handles the work in-house, from planning to reporting.
Already running search ads? CTV can build awareness that makes your PPC campaigns work harder. If you are not sure your current ads are pulling their weight, start with a PPC audit.
Get a free CTV quoteWe learn your audience, goals, competitors and budget, then build a plan around what success looks like for you.
We pick the markets, zip codes and audience segments most likely to become customers.
We help produce or adapt video creative so it looks right on a large screen and fits the platforms you run on.
Your ads go live across streaming apps and devices, with consistent messaging everywhere they appear.
We watch delivery, completion rates, site visits and conversions as they come in.
We refine targeting, creative and spend based on what the data shows, not on guesswork.
You get regular reports that explain results and the next steps in plain language.
CTV suits any business whose customers watch streaming TV and make considered decisions. Here is how it fits some of the industries we serve.
Do not see your industry? See all industries and locations we serve or browse our case studies.
Our Google Premier Partner status reflects strict standards for certification, ad spend and results.
No outsourcing. The people who plan your campaign are the people who manage it.
From impressions and completion rates to conversions, you always know how the campaign is doing.
We follow current privacy guidelines while still delivering precise targeting.
CTV builds awareness at home. Geofencing reaches people on their phones near your location, a competitor or an event, and measures who walks through the door. Together they cover both sides of the decision.
CTV also works well alongside social media advertising, mobile advertising and newer channels like AI advertising. We plan the mix around where your customers spend their time.
Get a free CTV quote built around your market and audience. Prefer email? Contact us instead.
CTV ads play on smart TVs and on TVs connected to the internet through a device such as a Roku, Amazon Fire Stick, gaming console or set-top box. The ad appears during streaming content the viewer chose to watch.
OTT, or over the top, describes video delivered over the internet instead of through cable or satellite. CTV refers to the television screen that content plays on. A CTV ad is a streaming ad shown on a TV, as opposed to a phone or laptop.
Ad avoidance is less common on CTV than on traditional TV because ads are built into the content people choose to stream, and some platforms do not allow skipping at all.
We can target households by geography, such as zip codes, cities or regions, and layer in demographics, interests, behaviors and viewing habits. That keeps your budget focused on likely customers.
Yes. CTV works for a single town or metro area as well as for a national audience, so a local business can use it without paying for a whole broadcast market.
It depends on your market, audience size, campaign length and goals. CTV is generally more cost-effective than traditional TV because programmatic buying avoids paying for viewers outside your audience. We build a quote around your situation. Request a free CTV quote.
We report impressions, views, completion rates and conversions, and we connect streaming activity to site visits, calls and form fills using web analytics and call tracking. Learn more about call tracking.
No. If you already have video, we can adapt it for streaming placements. If not, creative development is part of our process, and we will help you produce something that works on a large screen.
We prioritize viewer trust and follow current privacy guidelines. Targeting is built around audience segments such as location, interests and viewing habits.
They are separate services that work well together. CTV builds awareness in the home, while geofencing reaches people on their phones near a physical location and can measure store visits. See our geofencing services.
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