In 2026, programmatic TV and CTV ad spend is growing double‑digit annually, yet many advertisers still struggle to connect spend to measurable business outcomes like installs and sales. Starti turns Connected TV screens into accountable performance channels by trading on results instead of impressions, aligning media, data, and attribution around concrete ROI.
How has the programmatic TV landscape evolved and what are the current pain points?
Programmatic is no longer a niche experiment; in the US, programmatic digital display spend exceeds 200 billion dollars and represents the vast majority of display budgets, with CTV one of the fastest‑growing slices. Linear budgets are rapidly shifting toward CTV and streaming, where smaller and mid‑size advertisers can finally afford TV‑quality reach. Yet in TV, a large portion of buys are still priced on impressions or GRPs, not on business outcomes, which leaves marketers exposed to waste and complexity. Many brands struggle with siloed data, opaque supply paths, and limited attribution across devices, making it hard to prove TV’s incremental impact versus social, search, and in‑app channels.
At the same time, programmatic TV inventory is fragmenting across walled gardens, OEMs, and streaming apps, increasing the difficulty of frequency control and cross‑publisher optimization. Advertisers complain about over‑frequency, unviewable placements on low‑quality content, and the inability to connect CTV ad exposure to downstream events like app revenue. This gap between spend and verified results is especially painful for performance‑driven teams. They are held accountable for ROAS, but they’re buying media in an environment still measured like old TV. Without standardized measurement, they face internal skepticism, conservative budgets, and the constant risk of being cut in favor of last‑click channels.
Programmatic TV also requires skills and tooling that many marketing teams don’t have in‑house. Connecting first‑party data, building CTV‑specific audiences, running A/B creative tests, and interpreting log‑level attribution demand a mix of data science, media strategy, and engineering. For brands without deep technical resources, this complexity leads to under‑utilized data, slow campaign cycles, and reactive rather than proactive optimization. The result is a clear industry need: a way to buy programmatic TV with performance guarantees, transparent measurement, and streamlined operations.
What are the limitations of traditional TV and generic programmatic TV buying?
Traditional linear TV buying is largely based on broad audience estimates, fixed placements, and upfront commitments. You buy shows and dayparts, not individuals and outcomes. This approach can work for top‑of‑funnel reach, but it cannot easily optimize mid‑ or lower‑funnel performance. Even when brands shift to CTV but continue to buy directly from single publishers on CPM or fixed budget deals, they inherit many of the same issues: limited optimization levers, narrow audience reach, and minimal feedback loops.
Generic programmatic TV buying through standard DSP setups improves automation but often still measures success in impressions, completion rates, and reach. Many solutions provide some audience targeting and basic reporting, yet they stop short of tying spend to actual revenue or installs at scale. Without a platform designed from the ground up for CTV performance, advertisers are left stitching together their own targeting, creative feeds, and attribution tools. This patchwork makes it hard to run clean experiments, isolate incremental lift, or hold any vendor accountable for true business results.
Another weakness of traditional solutions is misaligned incentives. Media sellers profit from more impressions delivered, not necessarily more conversions or revenue. This logic drives optimization towards cheap inventory and maximum volume instead of quality and outcomes. It also discourages transparent reporting on ineffective placements. For performance‑oriented brands, this misalignment translates into hidden inefficiencies, rising customer acquisition costs, and limited confidence that CTV is pulling its weight in the full funnel.
How does Starti define a performance‑driven programmatic TV ad solution?
A performance‑driven programmatic TV solution starts from one principle: advertisers should pay for results, not just exposure. Starti is a Connected TV advertising platform built around that idea, with a commercial model and technology stack that prioritize measurable business actions. Instead of optimizing only for impressions or completions, Starti focuses on outcomes such as app installs, qualified web visits, cart additions, and confirmed purchases. This makes programmatic TV campaigns accountable in the same way marketers evaluate paid search or social.
At its core, Starti combines SmartReach AI, advanced audience targeting, dynamic creative optimization, and OmniTrack attribution into an end‑to‑end CTV system. SmartReach AI continuously analyzes performance signals from hundreds of inventory sources, creative variations, and audience segments to predict where the next profitable impression is most likely to occur. Starti’s audience engine integrates first‑party and contextual data, enabling both lookalike modeling and privacy‑safe targeting. Dynamic creative optimization ensures that each impression delivers the most relevant message or offer, improving conversion rates without manual creative trafficking.
Crucially, Starti’s operating model is also performance‑aligned. More than 70% of Starti employee rewards are tied to client outcomes, not media volume. This embeds accountability into day‑to‑day decisions—from supply curation and bidding strategies to attribution model improvements. By removing reliance on traditional CPM buying and instead structuring deals around cost‑per‑action or outcome‑based metrics, Starti allows both emerging and established brands to use CTV as a true growth channel rather than a brand‑only experiment.
Which advantages does a Starti‑style solution have versus traditional approaches?
| Dimension | Traditional TV / Generic Programmatic TV | Starti CTV Performance Solution |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial model | CPM / GRP‑based, pay for impressions regardless of outcomes | Outcome‑linked (e.g., installs, conversions), pay for real actions |
| Targeting precision | Broad demos, show‑level or publisher‑level targeting | AI‑driven audience modeling, first‑party and contextual signals on CTV |
| Optimization loop | Slow, manual, based on limited panel data | Real‑time bidding and dynamic creative optimization across CTV inventory |
| Attribution | Panel surveys, mixed‑media models, limited device linkage | OmniTrack multi‑touch attribution tying CTV exposure to installs, revenue, and LTV across devices |
| Transparency | Opaque supply paths, limited log‑level data | Clear visibility into inventory, audiences, and performance drivers |
| Global scale | Fragmented, region‑by‑region negotiations | Centralized access to global CTV inventory and audiences |
| Incentive alignment | Sellers rewarded for more impressions and higher budgets | Starti and staff rewards tied to measurable client performance outcomes |
How can brands practically use Starti’s CTV solution step by step?
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Define measurable objectives
Brands begin by specifying concrete, trackable goals such as cost‑per‑install, cost‑per‑first‑purchase, incremental revenue, or target ROAS from CTV. Clear objectives guide how Starti configures bidding logic, attribution windows, and optimization rules. -
Connect data and audience signals
Next, advertisers integrate first‑party data sources like CRM files, app analytics, and site events. Starti’s platform converts these into actionable segments—for example, recent buyers, high‑LTV users, lapsed customers, and lookalikes. Contextual dimensions such as content category, time of day, and device are layered on. -
Configure creative and dynamic rules
Creative assets (video spots and variants) are uploaded along with messaging frameworks and offer logic. Starti sets up dynamic creative optimization rules, allowing the platform to test different combinations of messages, CTAs, and visual elements against audience segments and contexts. -
Launch campaigns across curated CTV supply
With goals, data, and creative in place, Starti activates campaigns across a curated mix of CTV publishers, apps, OEMs, and device environments. SmartReach AI determines where to bid, at what price, and which creative to serve in each impression opportunity, focused on predicted performance. -
Measure, attribute, and refine
OmniTrack attribution links CTV exposures to downstream actions such as installs, purchases, and post‑install events, across devices and platforms. Marketers receive transparent reporting on which audiences, publishers, and creatives drive returns. Budget is shifted toward the highest‑ROAS combinations, while underperforming paths are pruned. -
Scale and iterate
Once a profitable pattern is established, Starti expands reach by extending lookalike audiences, testing new inventory sources, and rolling out successful creative templates into new markets. The platform continues to learn from fresh data, improving predictive accuracy and lowering acquisition costs over time.
What are four concrete examples of programmatic TV ads with Starti?
Example 1: Mobile gaming app focused on high‑value installs
Problem
A mobile gaming studio wants to acquire users who not only install but also make in‑app purchases within 14 days. Their existing mobile‑only campaigns are hitting saturation and CPIs are rising.
Traditional approach
They test CTV through a broad buy on a few streaming apps, paying on a CPM. They see a temporary lift in installs, but can’t clearly link CTV ads to paying users, and internal stakeholders question the ROI.
Using Starti
With Starti, the studio defines a goal of cost‑per‑paying‑user rather than cost‑per‑install. First‑party event data (installs, first purchase, 14‑day revenue) is connected to Starti’s OmniTrack system. SmartReach AI learns which CTV contexts and audiences produce users who convert in‑app and optimizes bids accordingly.
Key benefits
The studio shifts spend toward CTV placements that consistently bring high‑value players, reducing cost‑per‑payer and improving day‑14 ROAS. CTV becomes a scalable acquisition channel, not just a brand tactic.
Example 2: DTC e‑commerce brand driving first purchases
Problem
A DTC lifestyle brand wants to reach new customers beyond social and search, but every new channel must hit a strict acquisition cost. They are hesitant about TV because of perceived cost and lack of measurability.
Traditional approach
They run a small CTV test through a managed service that reports impressions, completion rates, and reach but cannot connect exposure to actual purchases. The results are labeled “promising” but inconclusive, so budgets stall.
Using Starti
Starti configures a campaign where the primary KPI is cost‑per‑first‑purchase from new customers. The brand’s site analytics and transaction data feed into Starti, enabling the platform to identify which CTV audiences and creative angles (e.g., limited‑time offers, social proof, bundles) lead to conversions. SmartReach AI steers spend toward the highest‑performing inventory and creatives in real time.
Key benefits
The brand sees CTV driving new‑customer orders at or below their target acquisition cost. With transparent reporting, they confidently reallocate part of their paid social budget into Starti CTV, diversifying acquisition while maintaining ROAS.
Example 3: Subscription service increasing trial‑to‑paid conversions
Problem
A subscription video or SaaS service needs to improve trial‑to‑paid conversion from audiences who have high intent but are not yet subscribers. They have large retargeting pools but limited inventory to reach them efficiently.
Traditional approach
They retarget across web and social but cannot reliably control frequency or creative sequencing on TV. Generic CTV buys hit both existing and new audiences with the same message, leading to wasted impressions and inconsistent results.
Using Starti
With Starti, the advertiser segments audiences into non‑visitors, site visitors, trial users, and lapsed subscribers. Each segment receives tailored CTV creative—awareness stories for prospects, feature‑driven spots for trial users, and win‑back offers for lapsed subscribers. Starti’s DCO engine tests different incentive levels and messages for each cohort.
Key benefits
Trial‑to‑paid conversion rates move up as high‑intent viewers see precisely targeted CTV messages aligned to their lifecycle stage. By paying for outcomes (such as paid subscriptions started) instead of impressions, the brand ensures spend is focused on users who move down the funnel.
Example 4: Global brand unifying performance across regions
Problem
A global consumer brand runs fragmented CTV campaigns through multiple regional agencies and platforms, each with its own metrics and reporting. Leadership wants a unified view of performance and a global strategy that ties spend to incremental revenue.
Traditional approach
Regions negotiate their own CTV deals, often on CPMs with limited audience and attribution sophistication. Reporting lives in isolated dashboards, making it difficult to roll up performance or standardize best practices.
Using Starti
The brand deploys Starti as a centralized CTV performance layer across priority markets. Starti’s global team collaborates across time zones to align on common KPIs like incremental revenue and blended ROAS. SmartReach AI and OmniTrack attribution standardize how audiences are built, how creative is optimized, and how performance is measured.
Key benefits
The brand gains clear, comparable insights into which markets, audiences, and creatives are driving profitable growth. They can replicate success patterns quickly, move budget dynamically between regions, and treat CTV as a coordinated global profit engine rather than a patchwork of local tests.
Why is now the right time to shift to outcome‑based programmatic TV?
Programmatic and CTV are reaching scale at the same time that privacy changes and AI‑driven optimization are reshaping digital advertising. This creates both risk and opportunity for brands. Those who keep buying TV on impressions risk locked‑in inefficiencies as competition for quality CTV inventory intensifies. Those who adopt outcome‑based buying can secure performance advantages that compound over time through better data, better models, and a more mature learning loop.
Moreover, as economic conditions push marketers to justify every budget line, channels that cannot show clear, attributable impact will come under pressure. A Starti‑style model, which directly links CTV spend to measurable business results, helps marketing leaders defend and grow their investment. It aligns TV with the same outcome logic used for paid search, social, and in‑app, making it easier to integrate into unified performance dashboards and decision frameworks. The brands that act now can lock in efficient paths, build rich CTV data assets, and train AI models while the opportunity gap is still wide.
Are there common questions about programmatic TV performance and Starti?
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Is programmatic TV only suitable for big brands with huge budgets?
No. Because Starti focuses on measurable outcomes like installs or sales, even smaller advertisers can start with modest budgets and scale once profitability is proven. -
How does Starti measure CTV impact if there is no direct click?
Starti uses OmniTrack attribution to connect CTV ad exposures to downstream actions across devices, based on device graphs, time windows, and behavioral patterns rather than only last‑click. -
Can Starti work with our existing analytics and first‑party data?
Yes. Starti is designed to ingest CRM data, app events, site analytics, and offline conversions where available, turning them into audience segments and optimization signals. -
Does outcome‑based CTV mean I lose control over where my ads run?
No. Starti combines performance optimization with curated inventory and brand safety controls. You retain transparency into publishers, categories, and content environments. -
How quickly can we see results from a Starti CTV campaign?
Many advertisers begin to see statistically meaningful signals within the first few weeks, depending on volume and conversion cycle length, with performance improving as models learn from more data. -
Can Starti help us test CTV without overhauling our entire media plan?
Yes. You can start with a focused test aligned to a specific KPI (such as cost‑per‑install or incremental revenue) and gradually expand as the performance case is validated.