Connected TV (CTV) advertising has become the fastest-growing way to reach audiences when they’re most comfortable and attentive: casually enjoying their favorite streaming programs.

With viewability and average completion rates of up to 96% on Paramount+ (Paramount, USA, 2024), CTV ads can easily eclipse results from mobile and desktop video ads, according to a 2023 study by Integral Ad Science. But if you think slapping your existing TV ads onto a CTV campaign and hoping for the best will cut it, you’ll want to keep reading.

Success with CTV takes careful, strategic planning—from setting the right benchmarks to targeting smartly to creating ads that actually make people do something. But getting it right can result in maximizing the benefits of this powerful, high-growth advertising channel—without wasting your budget (or audience’s attention).

In this blog, we’ll take a closer look at the following:

• Setting up your campaigns for success, from tracking to budgeting
• Smart audience targeting that drives results
• Best practices for building CTV creatives that drive action

Your Strategy for Effective CTV Campaigns

Winning with CTV starts long before your ads ever hit a screen. The tactical decisions you make around setup, targeting, and creative—and how tightly those decisions are aligned to your actual goals—are all critical considerations.

1. Tactical Setup

Think of your CTV campaign like building a house—you wouldn’t start painting or moving furniture until the foundation was poured.

Similarly, before you even *think *about creative or audience targeting, you’ll need to lock down the basics: how you’ll measure success, how much you can invest, and how long you’ll let the campaign run.

Skip these steps, and even the best-looking ads won’t get you anywhere.

Measurement

Clear measurement is the bedrock of any effective CTV campaign. Before you launch, establish specific and measurable key performance indicators (KPIs) tied to your broader marketing objectives—whether it's brand awareness, website visits, lead generation, or direct conversions.

Implement tracking as soon as possible—e.g., with a tool like Paramount Ad Manager’s Pixel—to track the real-time performance of your campaigns.

Related: Learn about Paramount Ad Manager’s measurement solutions.

Budget

A smart budget isn't about spending more—it's about spending with intention.

That means aligning your budget directly to your campaign goals and your audience size. For example, if you're aiming for broad brand awareness, you'll need the reach and frequency to stay top-of-mind. Too often, campaigns fall flat because budgets are set arbitrarily, without enough resources to generate meaningful impressions or sustain momentum.

Related: See where your ad budget can take you with our pricing calculator.

Timeline

One of the most common mistakes with CTV campaigns is rushing the schedule. But as with any strategic marketing investment, real results take time to build—and consistency pays off.

CTV ads should run over a deliberate period—long enough to reach, engage, and *re-engage *your target audience. Campaigns that align with broader marketing efforts—like paid social, search, or promotions—amplify your brand’s visibility across multiple touchpoints, making every dollar work harder.

2. Audience Targeting

When it comes to CTV, it's better to think broad—at least at first.

Unlike traditional digital channels, where personal devices allow for hyper-precise targeting, CTV is a shared screen. Multiple people are often watching together, and the data available to advertisers isn’t necessarily fine-grained enough to make deep cuts into audience segments.

In other words: even if you're targeting a 35-year-old viewer, you might also be reaching their spouse, kids, roommates, or friends sitting nearby.

Because of this, we recommend starting with broader audience criteria—focusing first on geography and getting that fine-tuned before you explore and layer in other targeting parameters. While it may seem intuitive and logical to refine by age, gender, and income—we recommend holding off on this for your first couple of campaigns, unless the situation requires it or your audience understanding is extremely precise. Starting too narrow and basing it on assumptions can limit your reach and leave valuable impressions on the table.

Most importantly, unless you have hard, campaign-driven data to validate specific targeting moves, broader strategies tend to perform better. You can always refine later, based on performance signals like view-through rates or engagement metrics.

Audience precision can be powerful—but only when it's backed by real insight, not guesses.

3. High-Quality Creatives

At the risk of stating the obvious, creative quality can make or break the success of your CTV campaigns.

While AI tools can help streamline the ad creation process, it’s critical to do quality control *before *you launch. Ultimately, to achieve the best results, you’ll need to make sure your ad is not only eye-catching but also matches the tone and vibe of your brand.

Before you go live, run through a quick checklist:

• Tone: Is your ad's tone aligned with how your brand presents itself? (Serious? Helpful? Casual? Professional?)
• Visuals: Are the images relevant and reflective of your business, or do they feel like random stock photos?

For example, if you’re an HVAC company known for great service and friendly technicians, an ad full of generic stock images or placeholder copy isn’t going to match your brand—or resonate with viewers. If you’re starting with a basic AI-generated template, consider enhancing it with brand-specific voiceover, sharper imagery, or a customer testimonial—anything that helps the final creative actually sound and feel like your business.

In addition to brand fit, it’s important to give your audience clear direction on what action you want them to take. Best practice is to display your website URL or call-to-action (CTA) on the screen, say the action out loud during the ad, and include a QR code to make it easy for viewers to move from TV to device.

Create Your Next Campaign on Paramount Ads Manager

Effective CTV advertising starts with a clear, strategic foundation—and it’s all about making smart decisions early on.

• Start broad with your targeting, and refine your approach as real campaign data comes in.
• Focus on geographic areas first to ensure you’re reaching the right regional audiences.
• Use age and gender targeting selectively—only when it directly supports your product or service goals.
• Understand the limits of data accuracy across different channels, especially with co-viewing and privacy restrictions on CTV.
• Leverage CTV’s strength as a brand awareness powerhouse, helping you reach broader audiences in premium, high-attention environments.

Paramount Ads Manager makes it simple to build, launch, and optimize your CTV campaigns—all from a single, intuitive platform. With easy access to advanced targeting tools, performance tracking, and creative support (including free AI ad generation), Paramount Ads Manager helps you get the most out of your CTV investment.

Create your next CTV ad campaign with confidence!