Understanding CTV ad measurement and KPIs

Connected TVs (CTV) are emerging as the device of choice globally, swiftly replacing traditional television. With the number of people canceling their linear cable subscriptions in favor of subscription-based streaming services and apps on the rise, CTV is one of the most popular marketing channels today. To put that in perspective, CTV viewership is set to hit 55 million in 2024 with strong projected growth in 2025!

The CTV audience is distributed across various devices and streaming platforms. As traditional TV viewership declines, advertisers are skipping the broad demographic targeting practices of linear TV and switching to CTV advertising for potentially higher engagement. CTV empowers advertisers to zero in on their ideal customers based on key parameters like demographics, interests, viewing habits, and purchase history. 

CTV measurement - Why is important 

Access to the right data helps advertisers understand how campaigns are performing and gathering insights to optimize ads for better results. Unlike traditional TV where viewers can easily switch channels during commercials, CTV ads are harder to skip but less disruptive, leading to higher view-through rates. The process of tracking and analyzing video ad campaigns on connected TV channels is crucial to CTV measurement. CTV measurement enables seamless tracking, ad podding, and performance analysis of advertising campaigns to understand how effectively ads are reaching the target audience, incrementality, and achieving campaign goals.

Marketers plan their campaigns having specific objectives in mind, and the correct definition of measurement and ad exposure enables them to evaluate the success of those objectives. CTV measurement is essential to identify if the ad investment is reaching the right viewers, timings, and to understand the ROI through conversion/site tracking and other relevant metrics involved. Just as important as ROI Measurement, it is also crucial to help identify suspicious activity and ensure budgets are reaching real viewers.

What are the CTV KPIs?

To evaluate the performance of a campaign or strategy, these are the KPIs that are most commonly tracked by advertisers:

• • Reach: How many unique viewers have seen an ad.
  • Impressions: How many times has an ad been displayed on a viewer's screen.
  • Viewability: What percentage of ad impressions were seen by a viewer for 50% of the ad's duration or more. On platforms like Connected TV (CTV), where ads typically occupy the entire screen, viewability rates are generally very high
  • Completion Rate: What percentage of viewers watched the ad until the end.
  • Conversions: How many viewers take a desired action after seeing an ad. For example, make a purchase or sign up for a newsletter.
  • Cost per Completed View (CPCV): A key revenue metric, what is the average cost paid by an advertiser for each time someone watches an entire ad.
  • View through rate: How many people visited the site after viewing the ad. 
  • Incrementality: What was the incremental reach from one initiative. 

These metrics help advertisers understand if the results match the goals and objectives of the campaign, make adjustments, and determine if the ad messaging and videos align with the right audience and resonate with them. 

How is CTV advertising success measured?

From an overall visibility and campaign exposure perspective to the frequency of an ad display, the number of unique views, and conversions; key metrics help advertisers analyze campaign performance. Beyond the core ad engagement numbers, consequences and combined impact are also closely tracked. 

The cumulative effect of a CTV ad campaign reflects on website traffic and the lead pipeline. Website visits, time spent on site, bounce rate, lead form submissions, share of voice across marketing channels, and overall brand awareness are key areas that see consequential effects and help determine the impact created by a CTV advertising campaign. 

An in-depth analysis across these KPIs and impact areas helps advertisers uncover who viewed the ads, how often and for how long, and what actions they performed after viewing the ad, to evaluate how the results tie back to the campaign goals. 

Explore ​​Seedtag Contextual TV, our comprehensive approach to navigating the Connected TV (CTV) landscape and measuring success.