Connected TV (CTV) is rapidly becoming a measurable, performance‑driving channel, and this Q&A with experts from our CTV Working Group explores how advances in cross‑device attribution, privacy‑safe audience frameworks, programmatic access, and attention‑based measurement are enabling advertisers to link big‑screen exposure to real outcomes. While fragmentation, shared‑device viewing, and inconsistent identifiers still complicate attribution, CTV is proving highly effective when used within coordinated omnichannel strategies that pair high‑attention storytelling with downstream retargeting and search lift. Looking ahead, the group expects CTV’s conversion role to strengthen as interoperability improves, attribution windows mature, and data connections deepen, positioning CTV as a hybrid brand‑plus‑performance channel within the modern media mix.
A big thank you to the following contributors for sharing their thoughts:
Ekaterina Vagner, Marketing Director - EMEA, Verve
Samir Chabab, VP Global Marketing, Ogury
Michael Möller, CTO, Visoon Video Impact, Digital Video Working Group Chair, BVDW
Andreas Hamdorf, Lead Strategic Partner Management, esome advertising technologies for BVDW
Todd Randak, SVP, Corporate Development & Strategy, DoubleVerify
Samir - "CTV is no longer just an awareness channel. It’s becoming a measurable, outcome-driven environment that can support real performance objectives. Advances in cross-device measurement have improved the industry’s ability to understand how audiences move across screens. Rather than depending solely on device-level identifiers, advertisers are increasingly working with privacy-safe audience frameworks that provide a more consistent view of exposure and outcomes. At the same time, planning approaches are shifting from individual tracking to broader audience cohorts. With the development of attention metrics, incrementality testing, and brand lift studies, CTV can now be assessed not just on reach, but on its measurable contribution to business results."
Ekaterina - "The biggest unlock has been measurement catching up with behaviour. Mobile Measurement Partners can now connect a CTV exposure to downstream app installs and actions using household-level signals and cross-device graphs. That makes CTV measurable in a way that looks far more like mobile attribution than traditional TV reporting. Programmatic access also changed the game. Buyers can transact impression by impression, optimise toward outcomes, and feed campaign data back into predictive models. Add better integrations across DSPs, OEMs, and measurement platforms, and CTV is no longer a blind spot. It is an addressable environment with traceable influence."
Todd - "CTV’s evolution from brand channel to performance driver is being powered by stronger measurement foundations and better ways to connect ad exposure to real-world outcomes. Advertisers can increasingly link a streaming ad viewed on a TV screen to actions taken later, such as website visits, app downloads, or purchases. Improvements in cross-device matching, combined with integration into broader measurement frameworks, are helping marketers understand CTV’s role alongside other channels. Just as importantly, impression-level verification ensures ads are delivered in quality environments, giving advertisers confidence that reported conversions are based on trusted media exposure. Together, these advancements allow CTV to prove impact with the rigour marketers expect from digital channels."
Andreas - "CTV can be purchased via DSPs and measured via ad servers or special measurement providers. This enables the connection of advertising contacts with website visits, app downloads, lead and conversion tracking, as we know them from digital advertising contacts. Some providers also offer the option of using data clean rooms to compare conversions on websites with advertising contacts on streaming services using hashed email addresses."
Michael - "With a clean measurement and tracking setup, CTV evolves from a pure awareness channel into a true performance driver. This requires cross-device attribution, search lift and conversion lift measurement, the use of QR codes or vanity URLs, and first-party data for precise audience targeting. Without this infrastructure, CTV remains positioned in the upper funnel. With it, however, CTV becomes measurable, optimisable, and performance-relevant."
Andreas - "Depending on how users view content on CTV, e.g., via FAST, BVOD, or AVOD, identifiers that enable clear attribution of the conversion to the advertising contact are not always available. A CTV big screen device, for example, is often located in a household where different people live. The person in front of the TV screen is not always the same person who operates the digital device used to make the purchase. As a result, many CTV conversion measurements are currently still based on IP addresses and ID matching using household graphs. In Germany, we also face the challenge that private IP addresses are constantly changing, which makes it even more difficult to assign identifiers that belong to different devices in the same household with a time delay."
Todd - "Despite advancements in measurement, attribution remains the primary friction point. Streaming ads are often viewed on shared household devices, while conversions typically occur on personal devices like smartphones or laptops. Limited cross-device visibility, restricted data sharing in closed platforms, and inconsistent standards make it difficult to see the full customer journey. Opaque buying paths can further reduce confidence in reported results. Attribution for CTV, just like all other channels, continues to be an imperfect science. But without transparency into where ads ran and how they were delivered, advertisers cannot confidently test, learn, and validate CTV’s true impact."
Samir - "The biggest challenge is fragmentation. Audiences move across platforms and devices, but measurement often remains siloed. Signals between CTV and other environments are not always consistent, and there is still no universal standard for attribution or performance metrics. As a result, it can be difficult to connect reach and attention on the TV screen with measurable conversion outcomes. Many advertisers struggle to build a clear, end-to-end view of performance across screens. Addressing this requires more unified audience approaches and privacy-safe measurement frameworks that can operate consistently across environments. Without that coherence, CTV risks being measured in isolation rather than as part of the broader consumer journey."
Ekaterina - "CTV does not behave like click-based media, and treating it that way leads to frustration. The user journey is longer, often spanning several days, which means short attribution windows miss real impact. Signal density is also lighter. Bid requests carry limited identifiers, so optimisation leans on modelling rather than deterministic tracking. Many brands still overvalue contextual signals meant for brand safety rather than performance outcomes. Then there is fragmentation. Not every platform integrates cleanly with measurement stacks, creating partial visibility unless the tech ecosystem is carefully aligned from the start."
Michael - "Realistically, CTV is rarely a last-click hero. Its strength lies in acting as a demand generator that improves the efficiency of downstream performance channels. Many performance teams observe increasing ROAS in search, decreasing CPAs due to stronger pre-qualification, and measurable brand lift. CTV therefore does not operate in isolation but functions as a multiplier within a holistic media mix."
Samir - "CTV tends to be most effective when it plays a defined role within a broader omnichannel strategy. The big screen is powerful for driving awareness and consideration through high-impact storytelling, while other digital environments often support retargeting and conversion. It works particularly well when messaging and audience strategy are aligned across screens. When exposure on CTV is reinforced through complementary digital touchpoints, brands can guide consumers along a more coherent path from discovery to action. Rather than acting as a standalone conversion channel, CTV proves most effective when it contributes to a coordinated, full-funnel approach that connects brand impact with measurable outcomes."
Andreas - "CTV is suitable for conversion campaigns when promoting a product or offer that users can easily remember, or that is highly relevant to the viewer. Some users pause the stream and may respond briefly to a QR code or other call to action. But the majority of users need to remember the commercial, which must be relevant to them. They then visit the provider's website at a later time, or ideally while streaming on their smartphone or tablet.
The less the ad competes for users' attention, the greater the chance of ad recall and impact. That's why we recommend CTV providers to our customers who currently have a relatively low number of commercials in an ad block and whose ad blocks are no longer than 120 seconds."
Michael - "CTV generates particularly highlevels of attention due to the large screen and lean-back viewing environment. This level of attention often translates into downstream user action, such as branded search volume increases, direct traffic rises, app installs grow, and conversions occur later on mobile or desktop devices. Many performance teams observe increasing ROAS in search, decreasing CPAs due to stronger pre-qualification, and measurable brand lift."
Todd - "CTV is proving most effective as a conversion platform when it’s activated as a true full-funnel channel. A well-targeted, contextually relevant streaming ad can build brand equity while simultaneously driving consideration and action, particularly as interactive and shoppable formats gain traction. Retail, direct-to-consumer, and app-based brands are seeing strong performance when CTV is integrated into broader cross-screen strategies and measured against outcome-based KPIs. However, success depends on consistent cross-funnel measurement. When advertisers can verify media quality and connect exposure to real results, they no longer have to choose between brand impact and performance–they can achieve both."
Todd - "For years, CTV earned its place as a premium brand-building environment. What will define its next phase is the industry’s ability to scale existing technology and apply content-level data to consistently connect on-screen exposure to measurable business outcomes with transparency. As marketers shift from reach and frequency toward metrics like sales and customer acquisition, channels that can demonstrate incremental impact will win performance budgets. That requires clearer cross-channel measurement, stronger data connections between devices, and greater transparency into how and where ads are delivered. CTV has the audience quality and engagement to drive results, providing that impact with rigour and transparency will shape its role moving forward."
Ekaterina - "Execution discipline will matter more than innovation hype. The winners will be those who align supply paths, measurement frameworks, and creative specifically for performance goals instead of repurposing brand playbooks. Expect better standardisation of integrations, longer and more realistic attribution models, and closer collaboration between buyers, DSPs, and supply partners to curate inventory around outcomes. As more mobile first advertisers test and scale, CTV will settle into a hybrid identity. Not replacing brand advertising, but operating alongside it as a measurable, programmatic channel that drives both attention and acquisition."
Samir - "Over the next 12–24 months, CTV’s role will be defined by merging brand and performance measurement within privacy-first frameworks. Persona-based planning, consistent cross-screen activation, and attention-driven metrics will allow advertisers to evaluate the quality of engagement. Programmatic accessibility and improved interoperability between CTV, mobile, and desktop will further reduce fragmentation. With budgets shifting from linear TV to digital environments, CTV will increasingly operate as both an upper- and mid-funnel driver, capable of generating measurable consideration and conversion signals while sustaining long-term brand impact."
Andreas - "If we manage to define a uniform basis of identifiers that we can use to link advertising contacts on the CTV big screen with subsequent purchases on the website or in the app, measurability and thus demand for conversion campaigns will increase. The use of data clean rooms may also be an option, provided that CTV providers and advertisers are willing to match their conversion data on such a platform. However, this will only be relevant for CTV providers who have user data from subscriptions themselves."
Michael - "Compared to traditional linear TV, CTV offers significant advantages: granular household and audience targeting, frequency control, real-time optimisation, and clearer conversion measurability. Strategically, CTV sits between traditional TV, which primarily delivers reach, and performance channels such as paid social and paid search, which are optimised for efficiency and direct response. CTV therefore does not operate in isolation but functions as a multiplier within a holistic media mix."
Explore more of our CTV work on our Knowledge Hub and reach out to Marie-Clare Puffett at puffett [at] iabeurope.eu to learn how you can participate, contribute, and share your expertise in the Working Group.
