Connected TV Advertising: Planning Considerations

Connected TV (CTV) advertising places ads within streaming content viewed on internet-connected televisions. For an agency, planning begins with the role that viewing environment should play in the campaign—not a general promise that a newer channel will outperform an established one.

This guide develops the planning questions raised in our May 2024 article. Historical market examples should not be treated as current inventory commitments or early-access opportunities.

Understand the Viewing Environment

CTV describes the television viewing context. It does not mean that all television advertising, all online video or every streaming placement has the same characteristics.

Google's 2024 NewFront discussion illustrates how streaming buying can involve different publishers and buying arrangements. A platform announcement is useful context, but it does not establish which placements a particular agency can access.

Questions to Resolve Before a Campaign

What Is the Objective?

State the business question and the intended role of CTV. Introducing a brand and generating a defined response involve different expectations and evidence.

What Inventory Is Actually Available?

Establish the publisher, placement context, buying arrangement and restrictions relevant to the plan. Do not infer access from a platform logo, a market announcement or a previous campaign.

Is the Creative Appropriate?

Review the video, brand identification and next action for the viewing environment. Confirm the actual placement requirements before building creative around an assumed duration or interactive feature.

How Will Delivery Be Managed?

Discuss timing, budget, frequency expectations and responsibilities. A plan needs to explain the decisions it can control and the areas that depend on the inventory or buying platform.

Measurement and Limitations

Agree which measures will be available and how they will be interpreted. Impressions, completed plays and attributed actions describe different things.

A completed video does not prove attention, and an attributed conversion does not by itself demonstrate an incremental sale. Comparisons should use compatible reporting periods and clearly stated definitions.

Reporting and analytics can help an agency frame its measurement questions. The objective should guide the analysis rather than allowing an available dashboard metric to become the objective by default.

Build for Learning

A longer-term approach does not require assuming a particular publisher will always be the best choice. Document why a placement belongs in the plan, what the team expects to learn and which evidence would support a change.

Further Reading

Explore ATD Partners' CTV service for the commercial context. Read the separate Google DV360 announcement overview as historical product context, not a current feature list.