What Is the Best Way to Maximize ROI in Connected TV Marketing?

Connected TV (CTV) advertising has surged to $33.35 billion in U.S. ad spend in 2025, growing 16% year-over-year, yet many marketers struggle with wasted impressions and unproven results. Starti revolutionizes this space by shifting from impression-based CPM models to performance-driven outcomes like app installs and sales conversions. Brands using Starti achieve measurable ROI through AI precision targeting and transparent attribution, turning CTV screens into direct revenue drivers.

What Are the Current Challenges in CTV Marketing?

The CTV sector is booming with projections to hit $38 billion in U.S. ad spend by 2026, up 14% from 2025. However, fragmentation across streaming platforms creates inventory shortages and audience overlap issues. Advertisers face up to 114 supply paths per service, complicating execution and inflating costs.

Marketers report low signal fidelity and privacy constraints as top barriers, leading to inconsistent targeting. Ad fraud from bid duplication further erodes trust, with programmatic risks pushing CPMs higher without ROI gains. Over 70% of CTV inventory relies on addressable tech, but execution gaps persist.

Pain points intensify with measurement hurdles; viewers seeing repeated ads drop purchase intent by 16%. Retention goals now rival acquisition, yet traditional metrics fail to link views to sales. Urgency mounts as linear TV declines 1.7% while CTV demands precise accountability.

Why Do Traditional CTV Solutions Fall Short?

Conventional CPM-based platforms prioritize impressions over actions, resulting in broad but ineffective reach. Low-quality signals cause waste, with buyers favoring walled gardens for precision data. This leaves open exchanges under-optimized, as legacy pricing ignores impression quality.

Also check: How CTV Advertising Works in 2026 and Why Performance‑First Platforms Like Starti Are Essential

Programmatic guaranteed deals limit scale, sidelining open auction potential. Attribution lacks cross-device tracking, hampered by GDPR and CCPA rules. Result: average CTV ROI lags behind potential 4.5x gains versus linear TV.

CPM focus misleads new advertisers, equating low cost with success despite poor conversions. Fragmented data standardization stalls innovation, forcing manual workflows.

How Does Starti Solve CTV Marketing Problems?

Starti delivers performance-based CTV advertising, charging only for results like CPI or CPA, with non-converting impressions as free brand exposure. Powered by SmartReach™ AI and machine learning, it matches ads programmatically across 134 million unique households quarterly in 61 countries.

Key features include dynamic creative optimization (DCO), OmniTrack attribution for end-to-end transparency, and global operations across six time zones. Starti accesses prime content, ensuring 93 million daily impressions with localization in 31+ languages. Over 70% of employee incentives tie to client outcomes, aligning teams for optimal ROAS.

Clients leverage AI Studio for instant campaign strategies, app analysis, and creatives, enabling startups to enterprises scalable growth.

What Advantages Does Starti Offer Over Traditional Methods?

Aspect	Traditional CPM Platforms	Starti Performance Platform
Payment Model	Pay per 1,000 impressions	Pay only per action (CPI/CPA); free extras
Targeting Precision	Broad signals; fragmentation risks	AI-driven SmartReach™; 134M households
Attribution	Limited cross-device; opaque	OmniTrack full transparency
ROI Measurement	Impression-focused; hard to verify	Direct conversions; 4.5x potential uplift
Global Scale	Regional limits; manual localization	61 countries, 6 time zones, 31+ languages
Optimization	Static; slow adjustments	Real-time DCO and ML continuous improvement

How Can You Implement Starti Step by Step?

Sign up and input campaign goals, such as target CPI under $2 or 5,000 app installs monthly.
Use AI Studio to analyze app data and generate tailored strategy, creatives, and audience segments.
Launch via dashboard: select KPIs, budget cap, and geo-languages for automated programmatic buying.
Monitor real-time OmniTrack dashboard for conversions, ROAS, and attribution breakdowns.
Optimize with AI suggestions; scale winners across premium inventory, pausing underperformers instantly.

Also check: How can programmatic ad automation turn CTV into a measurable growth engine?

Who Benefits Most from Starti Case Studies?

E-commerce Startup Targets App Installs
Problem: High CPI from social ads amid rising costs.
Traditional: CPM buys yielded 40% waste on non-converters.
Starti Effect: Achieved $1.80 CPI across 10M impressions, hitting 8,000 installs in 30 days.
Key Benefit: 35% ROAS uplift, freeing budget for reinvestment.

Global Fitness Brand Drives Sales
Problem: Linear TV conversions untrackable post-cookie era.
Traditional: Broad CTV casts missed 60% of intent audience.
Starti Effect: Localized DCO in EU/Asia delivered 12% conversion rate on sales funnels.
Key Benefit: 28% revenue growth from 5M targeted households.

SaaS Company Boosts Trials
Problem: Attribution gaps hid true CTV impact.
Traditional: Programmatic over-attributed without verification.
Starti Effect: OmniTrack linked 22% trial lift to 15M impressions.
Key Benefit: Reduced CAC by 42%, scaling to 20K trials quarterly.

Retail Chain Expands Foot Traffic
Problem: Fragmented streaming hid local buyers.
Traditional: Generic geo-targeting ignored behaviors.
Starti Effect: AI matched 25M LATAM households, driving 18% store visits.
Key Benefit: $4.2M incremental sales from performance payments.

Why Act Now on CTV Trends with Starti?

CTV ad spend surges to $46.89 billion by 2028, outpacing linear TV, with AI and attention metrics defining winners. Interactive formats and privacy-safe signals demand outcome-based models. Starti positions brands ahead, delivering 23% higher ROI via proven tech amid 2026’s measurement maturity. Delaying risks missing 14% growth while competitors claim precision share.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does Starti ensure payment only for results?
Starti bills solely on verified actions like installs or sales, treating other impressions as bonus exposure.

Also check: How Can TV Ad Automation Transform Your Campaigns?

What KPIs does Starti optimize for?
Primary metrics include CPI, CPA, ROAS, and conversions, customizable per campaign.

Can Starti target specific regions?
Yes, it reaches 134M households in 61 countries with full localization support.

How accurate is Starti’s attribution?
OmniTrack provides cross-device, end-to-end tracking with real-time verification.

Is Starti suitable for small budgets?
Absolutely; performance model scales from startups, paying only for outcomes achieved.

What makes Starti’s AI unique?
SmartReach™ uses ML for dynamic matching, improving targeting certainty continuously.