Connected TV: Hype, Reality, and the Very Interesting Bit in Between
Connected TV, or CTV, has gone from “interesting media experiment” to one of the most talked-about spaces in advertising. A few years ago, it still felt like a channel for brands with bigger budgets, bigger screens, and bigger awareness goals. Nice to have, perhaps. Exciting, definitely. But not always central to the media plan.
Today, that has changed. Streaming is now a normal part of how people watch entertainment, live events, news, and culture. Platforms are growing. Inventory is opening up. Programmatic buying has become more advanced. And advertisers are asking much sharper questions.
Can CTV do more than build awareness?
Can it actually drive performance?
And how much of the buzz is real?
In a recent conversation, Megan Price, Director, Programmatic Strategy and Planning at M+C Saatchi Performance, sat down with Mark Raymond Dela Cruz, Associate Director, Ad Operations APAC at Smadex, to unpack where CTV stands today, where it is heading, and how marketers should think about it without getting swept away by the hype.
Watch the full episode on YouTube.
On the go? Listen to the episode on Spotify.
CTV has moved beyond the “big screen awareness” box
CTV brings together the emotional impact of television with the precision of digital. Brands still get the premium viewing environment, but now they can layer in audience targeting, frequency control, retargeting, and better measurement.
That is why CTV is having such a big moment. It is no longer just a brand-awareness channel. It is becoming a full-funnel media opportunity.
The appeal is easy to understand. CTV gives advertisers a bigger canvas for storytelling, while also offering more accountability than traditional TV. It allows brands to think about who they are reaching, how often they are reaching them, and what happens after exposure.
The real promise is smarter media, not just more reach
One of the biggest misconceptions around CTV is that its value comes only from being “premium”.
Yes, the premium environment matters. People are often watching on a bigger screen, in a more focused setting, with fewer distractions than they may have on mobile. That gives brands a stronger space to tell their story.
But the real promise of CTV is bigger than that. It is about combining quality inventory, stronger targeting, better frequency control, and measurable outcomes. Instead of simply asking, “How many people can we reach?”, marketers can ask, “Are we reaching the right people, in the right environment, with the right message?”
That last part matters.
CTV may give a brand the screen, but the creative still has to do the work. The best campaigns are not built on media placement alone. They happen when media strategy and creative strategy work together. A premium environment can get attention. Strong creative turns that attention into interest, memory, and action.
CTV is not a magic button
Brands need to avoid treating CTV as something they should automatically add to the plan simply because it is growing. The more important question is whether it has a clear role within the overall media mix.
That role could be awareness. It could be consideration. It could be app growth. It could be search demand. It could be supporting performance across other channels. The point is that the role needs to be defined.
Without a clear objective, CTV can quickly create noise. Brands may invest in the channel, see activity across multiple touchpoints, and still struggle to understand what actually worked. That is especially true when measurement frameworks are not set up properly from the start.
CTV has become much more measurable in recent years, but measurement still requires careful planning. Brands need to know what they want CTV to drive, how they will measure it, and how they will evaluate its impact across the wider media mix. Otherwise, the channel gets blamed for a strategy problem.
The Multi-Screen Halo Effect
Most viewers are not only watching the big screen. They often have a phone or tablet nearby. That second screen changes the role of CTV.
A viewer might see an ad on CTV, then search for the brand, visit the website, download an app, scan a QR code, or continue the journey on mobile. The big screen creates attention, while the small screen gives people an immediate path to action.
That is where CTV becomes powerful. It can act as a bridge between brand and performance. It builds emotional impact through video, while also influencing measurable behaviours across search, social, app, and site activity.
The funnel is no longer as neat as it used to be. Awareness, consideration, and conversion can happen much closer together, sometimes in the same moment. CTV fits into that messy, modern journey.
Where CTV performs best today
CTV still works well for top-of-funnel reach. That has not gone away. But its growing strength is in the middle and lower parts of the funnel. CTV is becoming a performance engine with the emotional resonance of traditional TV. That is especially true because of multi-screen behaviour. When viewers have their phone in hand, the gap between watching and acting becomes much smaller.
This is why CTV is increasingly being used to drive site visits, app installs, search activity, and even sales. It may not drive a direct click in the same way a banner ad does, but it can drive intent that shows up elsewhere. And that is the important bit. CTV should not be measured only by whether someone clicks immediately. It should also be measured by the actions it influences after exposure.
Who should be using CTV?
Historically, TV advertising was dominated by categories like FMCG, automotive, and pharmaceuticals, especially in mature markets like the US. But CTV has opened the door to a wider range of advertisers. App-first brands, in particular, have seen strong value in recent years. With cross-device capabilities and second-screen behaviour, these brands can use CTV to create awareness on the big screen and then guide users toward action on mobile.
That said, not every brand should enter CTV in the same way. Brands need to look at market maturity, audience behaviour, budget, creative readiness, and measurement capabilities. In some markets, CTV is already a natural part of the media mix. In others, it is still emerging and needs to be tested more carefully.
The US remains one of the most mature CTV markets, while other Tier 1 markets are continuing to grow. For brands in emerging CTV markets, the opportunity is real, but the approach needs to be thoughtful.
Measurement needs a layered view
Measurement is where a lot of the CTV debate happens. One common mistake is expecting CTV to behave like a direct-response display ad. A 65-inch screen is not built for clicking. But that does not mean it cannot drive action.
First, look at quality. Did the campaign reach the right household or audience?
Second, look at digital signals. Did exposed users later engage on another device, visit the website, search for the brand, or download the app?
Third, look at the halo effect. Did CTV improve the performance of other channels? Did search demand increase? Did social or paid media costs become more efficient while CTV was running?
This layered approach gives a more honest view of CTV’s impact. Looking at only one metric can either overstate the channel’s power or undervalue its role. CTV rarely works in isolation. Its value often shows up in how it supports the rest of the media mix.
Programmatic buying has made CTV more flexible
CTV has changed a lot in recent years. More publishers and platforms have opened up. Targeting capabilities have improved. Curated supply has become more important. And advertisers now have more options in how they plan, buy, and optimise CTV campaigns.
This gives brands more control, but it also raises expectations. More control means brands need to be more deliberate. They need to think about supply quality, audience strategy, creative formats, frequency, and measurement before launching. The channel may be more agile than before, but agility still needs direction.
The future will be interactive, shoppable, and still messy
Looking ahead, CTV is likely to become much more interactive. In five to ten years, ads that are not interactive or shoppable may feel outdated. The idea of a TV ad being only for passive viewing will start to feel old. Watching and buying will become much more connected.
Viewers may be able to interact with ads, explore products, scan, shop, or take action directly from the viewing experience.
But one thing may not change as quickly: measurement.
Even with better technology, measuring true impact across platforms, devices, and media environments will remain complicated. Marketers may get shinier tools, but they will still need to ask hard questions about attribution, incrementality, and real business outcomes.
So, is CTV hype or reality?
The answer is both. The hype exists because CTV is genuinely exciting. It brings together the best parts of TV and digital. It gives brands the space to tell richer stories, while also giving advertisers better ways to target, optimise, and measure what happens next.
But the reality depends on how smartly brands use it. CTV is not a shortcut. It is not a magic fix. And it should not be added to a media plan just because it is trending. Its value comes from having a clear role. For some brands, that role may be building reach. For others, it may be driving consideration, supporting app growth, lifting search demand, or strengthening the wider media mix.
The brands that win with CTV will be the ones that know what they want it to do, measure it properly, and connect it with the rest of their marketing strategy.
Because CTV’s biggest strength is not just that it puts brands on the big screen. It is that it can connect the big screen to what people do next.
