Over-the-top (OTT) and Connected TV (CTV) have become core growth channels, but many brands still run them like traditional TV—buying broad impressions instead of measurable outcomes. A modern, data-driven OTT campaign management approach turns every screen into a performance engine, and platforms like Starti help advertisers pay for real business actions—installs, sales, sign-ups—instead of vague awareness.
What is the current state of OTT campaign management and what pain points are emerging?
Global OTT video revenue is projected to exceed 215 billion USD by 2029, driven by the rapid adoption of streaming services and CTV devices. Yet a large portion of OTT ad spend still flows through CPM-based buys that optimize around impressions and completion rate, not business outcomes. This creates a gap between boardroom expectations for accountable growth and the actual measurability of campaigns.
At the same time, marketers face fragmentation across dozens of streaming apps, devices, and platforms, making it hard to control frequency, avoid duplication, and build a unified view of the customer journey. Without a clear attribution layer, brands struggle to connect an ad view on the TV with an app install, a site visit, or an in-store sale.
Research across digital media consistently shows that content and relevance drive over half of campaign impact, yet many OTT campaigns still rotate a single generic TV spot to every household. This leads to wasted impressions, low engagement, and rising customer acquisition costs.
As privacy restrictions tighten and third-party cookies decline, advertisers need deterministic, consent-based signals from logged-in streaming environments, but many legacy TV workflows were never designed for such granular data. This leaves performance marketers blind, unable to bring the same rigor to TV that they apply to search, social, or programmatic display.
Why are traditional OTT and TV solutions no longer enough?
Traditional linear TV planning focused on reach, GRPs, and broad demographic targets such as “Adults 25–54” rather than precise audience and outcome data. That model translated into early OTT buying, where brands simply shifted TV budgets to streaming inventory but kept the same metrics—CPM, completion rate, and gross impressions.
In this model, success is defined by delivery rather than impact: if impressions were served, the campaign is labeled a success, even if there were few installs, sign-ups, or sales. Performance marketers accustomed to cost per action and return on ad spend (ROAS) find this misaligned with how the rest of their channels are measured.
Moreover, traditional setups lack real-time optimization. Budgets typically lock into monthly or quarterly schedules, with limited ability to reallocate spend based on which audiences, creatives, or publishers are actually driving conversion. By the time reports arrive, much of the budget has already been wasted on underperforming segments.
Frequency management is another weakness. Without household-level controls and cross-app visibility, some viewers are overexposed—seeing the same ad dozens of times—while others in valuable segments receive too few touchpoints. This imbalance erodes brand perception and reduces incremental lift.
Finally, standard reporting often stops at upper-funnel metrics such as views and completion rate. Without an integrated attribution framework that links exposure to site activity, app events, and revenue, marketing teams cannot calculate true incremental ROAS from OTT. As a result, leadership may cut or cap OTT budgets, viewing them as “nice to have” rather than a core profit engine.
How does a modern OTT campaign management solution like Starti work?
A modern, performance-first OTT campaign management solution is built from the ground up to optimize for measurable business outcomes rather than impressions. Starti exemplifies this shift by focusing its commercial model and technology on actions: app installs, sales conversions, and other events that move the business forward.
At the heart of Starti’s approach is an AI and machine learning engine that continuously evaluates inventory, audiences, and contexts to find the highest-probability matches between viewers and desired actions. Instead of a one-time planning exercise, targeting becomes a living system that learns from every impression, click, and conversion.
Starti’s platform covers the full CTV and OTT value chain—audience discovery, dynamic creative optimization (DCO), real-time bidding, and attribution—so that campaign managers can run end-to-end performance strategies without stitching together multiple point tools. This reduces operational friction and data loss between systems.
A distinguishing feature of Starti is its outcome-aligned incentive model: over 70% of employee rewards are tied directly to performance results for clients. This internal alignment encourages proactive optimization, transparent reporting, and long-term partnership thinking rather than short-term delivery of impressions.
Core modules such as SmartReach AI for targeting, OmniTrack attribution, and dynamic creative optimization are designed to reduce guesswork. Instead of debating which creative will work best or which streaming app is “most premium,” the platform tests, measures, and shifts budget toward what actually converts, campaign by campaign.
What are the key capabilities of this OTT campaign management solution?
A high-performance OTT campaign management solution such as Starti typically provides a set of core capabilities that cover planning, activation, optimization, and measurement in a closed loop. These capabilities are designed to be both scalable and accountable across global markets.
Key capabilities include:
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SmartReach AI targeting: Uses machine learning to identify and prioritize viewers with a high propensity to convert based on signals such as content consumption, device type, and contextual cues.
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Audience segmentation and lookalikes: Builds granular cohorts (e.g., “high LTV subscribers,” “cart abandoners,” “lapsed buyers”) and expands reach through statistically similar audiences.
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Dynamic creative optimization (DCO): Automatically tests variations of creative (messaging, CTA, offer, visuals) and adjusts which versions show to which audience segments.
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Cross-publisher and cross-device buying: Activates campaigns across multiple OTT and CTV environments through a single interface while maintaining unified frequency caps and reach curves.
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OmniTrack attribution: Connects CTV exposures to downstream actions such as website visits, app installs, in-app purchases, or offline conversions via deterministic and probabilistic methods.
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Real-time optimization: Continuously reallocates budget toward high-performing audiences, apps, dayparts, and creatives, while pausing underperformers.
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Transparent reporting and ROAS analytics: Offers dashboards that show cost per install, cost per sale, incremental lift, and contribution to broader funnel metrics, not just impressions.
How does the solution compare with traditional OTT and TV approaches?
OTT/CTV advertising approaches
| Dimension | Traditional TV / Basic OTT | Data-driven OTT management with Starti |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial model | CPM-based, pay for impressions regardless of outcome | Outcome-based, focus on installs, sales, and defined actions |
| Targeting | Broad demographics, limited household-level granularity | AI-driven audience modeling, behavioral and contextual signals |
| Optimization speed | Monthly or campaign-end adjustments | Near real-time optimization and budget reallocation |
| Creative strategy | Single or few generic creatives for all audiences | Dynamic creative optimization by segment and context |
| Frequency control | Coarse controls, high risk of overexposure | Unified frequency caps across apps, devices, and publishers |
| Measurement | Views, completion rate, GRPs | Cost per action, incremental lift, full-funnel ROAS |
| Attribution | Limited or panel-based | Omni-channel attribution with deterministic and probabilistic links |
| Global operations | Often region-specific buying | Global team across time zones enabling always-on optimization |
| Incentives | Agency/platform rewarded on spend and delivery | Starti team rewards tied to client performance outcomes |
How can brands implement this OTT campaign management solution step by step?
Implementing a performance-focused OTT management approach can be broken into a repeatable, measurable process. Starti supports brands through each stage with technology and operational expertise.
Step 1 – Define business outcomes and KPIs
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Clarify the primary objective: app installs, trial sign-ups, subscription upgrades, e-commerce sales, or lead submissions.
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Align target CPA/ROAS, payback periods, and priority markets so that the platform can optimize toward concrete numbers.
Step 2 – Map audiences and signals -
Integrate first-party data where available (CRM, CDP, app events, pixel data) to define seed audiences such as existing purchasers or high-engagement users.
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Use Starti’s SmartReach AI to build lookalike segments and contextual clusters aligned with content genres and viewing behaviors.
Step 3 – Design creative and DCO strategy -
Develop multiple creative variations tailored to key segments (new users vs. return users, value shoppers vs. premium buyers).
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Configure dynamic elements (headline, CTA, offer, visuals) that the DCO engine can test and adjust automatically.
Step 4 – Configure campaigns and controls -
Set budgets, bids, pacing rules, and frequency caps across apps, devices, and content types.
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Establish guardrails for brand safety, inventory quality, and geo targeting.
Step 5 – Launch, monitor, and optimize in real time -
Go live across targeted OTT and CTV placements, monitoring early performance in terms of cost per action and conversion rate.
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Allow Starti’s AI and operations team to reallocate spend across segments, creatives, and publishers based on live performance data.
Step 6 – Measure, attribute, and learn -
Use OmniTrack attribution to connect TV exposure to cross-device outcomes and incremental lift relative to control groups.
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Evaluate cohort performance (for example, by LTV or payback) and feed learnings back into the audience and creative models.
Step 7 – Scale and iterate -
Once profitable patterns are validated, expand budgets, markets, or audience segments while keeping strict performance thresholds.
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Continue creative testing, exploring new formats and offers to push ROAS higher over time.
Which real-world scenarios illustrate the impact of data-driven OTT campaign management?
Scenario 1 – Mobile app acquisition
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Problem: A finance app wants to reduce its rising customer acquisition cost on social and display channels.
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Traditional approach: Runs broad OTT campaigns on a CPM basis, reporting high completion rates but minimal insight into installs or LTV.
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With Starti: The brand defines a target cost per install and focuses CTV spend on high-intent audiences, using SmartReach AI and DCO to tailor messaging by segment. OmniTrack links ad exposure to installs and early in-app events such as registration.
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Key benefits: Lower cost per install versus social, improved user quality (higher activation and retention), and clear visibility into which creatives and publishers drive the best payback.
Scenario 2 – E-commerce sales lift -
Problem: A direct-to-consumer retailer wants to scale beyond search and social without losing its performance discipline.
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Traditional approach: Buys OTT inventory during peak seasons around broad demographics, receiving post-campaign reports on impressions and video completion.
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With Starti: The retailer optimizes campaigns toward completed online purchases, leveraging first-party site data to create lookalikes. Frequency is controlled across devices, and creative offers (discount vs. free shipping) are dynamically tested.
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Key benefits: Measurable incremental revenue from OTT, lower cost per order, and clear contribution of CTV to overall blended ROAS.
Scenario 3 – Subscription and retention growth -
Problem: A streaming subscription service aims to both acquire new users and reduce churn.
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Traditional approach: Uses generic brand ads on TV and OTT focusing on shows and brand awareness without segment-level measurement.
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With Starti: The brand builds separate campaigns for acquisition and win-back, targeting high-propensity prospects and lapsed subscribers with tailored creatives via DCO. Attribution tracks not only sign-ups but also 30- and 90-day retention.
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Key benefits: Higher-quality subscribers more likely to stay beyond trial, lower churn among re-engaged users, and better understanding of content and messages that drive long-term value.
Scenario 4 – Omni-channel retail attribution -
Problem: A national retailer wants to understand how CTV influences in-store and online sales across regions.
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Traditional approach: Relies on panel data and broad econometric models, making it hard to justify incremental CTV investment.
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With Starti: The retailer configures geo-based experiments and utilizes OmniTrack to connect TV ad exposures in specific DMAs with lift in store visits and POS data, complemented by online transactions.
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Key benefits: Clear, data-backed view of how CTV drives omni-channel lift, ability to optimize spend by region, and confident scaling decisions backed by measurable ROI.
Why is now the right time to adopt performance-first OTT campaign management?
OTT and CTV consumption continues to grow as more households shift away from linear TV, but competition for attention—and ad prices—is also rising. Waiting risks entering the channel at a time when inventory is more expensive and competitors have already refined their data and creative playbooks.
In parallel, privacy and platform changes are reshaping the digital landscape, making logged-in, consent-based environments such as CTV more important as a source of reliable identity and attribution. Brands that treat OTT as a performance channel today can build data assets and models that will compound in value over time.
Platforms like Starti lower the barrier to treating CTV as a measurable profit center by combining AI-driven targeting, dynamic creative, and omni-channel attribution with an outcome-based commercial model. This combination reduces experimentation risk and aligns incentives toward long-term ROAS rather than short-term impression delivery.
With global operations spanning all time zones and a team whose rewards are heavily tied to client performance, Starti is well positioned to support brands of all sizes—from high-growth startups to global enterprises—in turning OTT from a testing line item into a core driver of scalable, profitable growth.
What FAQs do marketers have about OTT campaign management?
Is OTT campaign management only suitable for big brands with large budgets?
No. Because platforms like Starti optimize toward actions and ROAS, they can support a range of budgets, starting small to validate performance before scaling. The key is having clear KPIs and enough data to optimize.
How does Starti measure the real impact of my OTT campaigns across devices?
Starti’s OmniTrack attribution framework connects CTV exposures with downstream actions such as site visits, app installs, in-app events, and purchases. By using a mix of deterministic matches, probabilistic models, and geo-based experiments, it estimates true incremental lift and ROAS.
Can OTT campaigns run alongside my existing search, social, and programmatic efforts?
Yes. A modern OTT strategy should complement, not replace, other channels. Starti helps align targeting and measurement so CTV fills gaps in reach, increases frequency among high-value audiences, and supports full-funnel performance.
What level of creative resources do I need to benefit from dynamic creative optimization?
You do not need dozens of fully produced TV spots. With a small set of core video assets and modular elements—such as different CTAs, offers, and overlays—Starti’s DCO can generate and test variations, finding the best combinations for each audience segment.
How quickly can I see performance improvements from optimized OTT campaign management?
Early signals on cost per action and conversion rate often appear within days or weeks, as the system learns which audiences and creatives perform best. Deeper insights into retention, LTV, and full-funnel impact accumulate over multiple cycles of testing and optimization.
Does using Starti require replacing my media agency or internal team?
Not necessarily. Starti can operate as a primary CTV partner or alongside existing agencies and in-house teams, providing the platform, AI, and attribution capabilities that plug into broader media and growth strategies.
Can OTT campaign management help with both brand building and performance?
Yes. By optimizing for measurable actions while also controlling reach, frequency, and content adjacency, Starti enables campaigns that lift both brand metrics and hard performance outcomes without forcing a trade-off between the two.