Connected TV Advertising Explained: A Practical Guide for Brands

For years, TV advertising was out of reach for most growing brands. You needed a large budget, a media agency and a lot of patience to find out whether it worked. Connected TV has changed that. You can now put an ad on the big screen, aim it at the households you care about and start with a test budget.

This guide explains what connected TV is, how it's bought and how to judge whether it's working.

What connected TV actually is

Connected TV, or CTV, means TV content streamed over the internet to a television. That includes smart TVs, streaming sticks and boxes, and games consoles. When someone watches a broadcaster's streaming service or the ad-supported tier of a streaming platform on their TV, the ads they see are CTV ads.

You'll also hear OTT (over the top), which covers streamed video on any device, including phones and laptops. In practice, people often use the two terms loosely. For advertisers, the key point is that these ads are delivered one household at a time, over the internet, rather than to everyone watching a channel at once.

Why brands use it

Targeting. Instead of buying a programme and hoping the right people are watching, you can target by location, audience interests, household data and viewing context.

Lower entry costs. You don't need a national campaign. A regional test with a modest budget is possible.

Attention. TV ads are usually watched full screen, with sound, and often can't be skipped. Completion rates tend to be far higher than for online video.

Measurement. Because delivery is digital, you get reporting on impressions, completion rates and reach, and you can link exposure to website visits and sales in ways traditional TV can't.

How it's bought

There are two main routes.

Directly from broadcasters and platforms. You agree a campaign with the broadcaster or streaming service. This usually means higher minimum spends, but access to premium content and sometimes better placement.

Programmatically, through a DSP. A demand-side platform lets you buy CTV inventory from many publishers at once, set targeting and budgets, and adjust in real time. It's the more flexible route and the one most performance-focused brands start with. Our guide to programmatic advertising and DSPs explains how the buying works.

Deals range from open auctions to private marketplaces, where a publisher offers selected inventory to invited buyers at agreed floor prices. For brand safety, private deals and curated inventory lists are usually the safer place to start.

What you need before you launch

A TV-ready ad. Most CTV ads are 15 or 30 seconds. They need to work without a click, because there's nothing to click on. A clear brand, a simple message and an easy next step, such as a memorable web address or search term, matter more than clever effects.

Clearance, where required. In the UK, broadcaster platforms usually require ads to be cleared by Clearcast before they run. Build that time into your plan.

A plan for measurement. Decide before launch how you'll judge success, not after.

How to measure CTV

Nobody clicks a TV ad, so last-click reports will always make CTV look weak. Better ways to judge it:

• Reach and frequency. How many households saw the ad and how often. Too few views and it won't be remembered. Too many and you're wasting budget.
• Completion rate. The share of ads watched to the end.
• Site visits and search lift. Increases in direct visits and brand searches in the areas and times the ads ran.
• Household matching. Some platforms can match households that saw the ad to later site visits or purchases, with privacy safeguards.
• Test and control areas. Run the campaign in some regions and not in similar ones, then compare sales. It's the most reliable way to see what CTV really adds.

Where CTV fits in your plan

CTV works best as part of a joined-up plan. It builds awareness and trust at the top of the funnel, then paid search, retargeting and affiliates capture the demand it creates. Brands that run CTV alone and judge it on direct sales usually give up too early. Brands that measure the lift across all channels are often surprised by how much it contributes.

If you're thinking about testing TV for the first time, see how we plan and buy connected TV and DSP-led media, or start a conversation.