How to Run CTV Campaigns in 2026

Connected TV (CTV) is no longer a “nice to have” — it’s the fastest‑growing digital video channel, where brands that invest in performance‑driven streaming ads consistently outperform those relying only on broad impressions. A modern CTV campaign must be precise, measurable, and optimized for real outcomes like app installs, sign‑ups, and sales, not just reach. Platforms like Starti are designed to turn CTV screens into profit engines by aligning spend directly with conversions, not empty views.

How big is the CTV opportunity in 2026?

US CTV ad spending reached around $33.35 billion in 2025 and is projected to grow to roughly $38 billion in 2026, a year‑over‑year increase of about 14%. This growth is outpacing most other digital channels, and CTV is now expected to account for nearly half of all digital video ad spend in key markets. Globally, CTV’s share of ad budgets is rising fast, with experts predicting that CTV will surpass traditional TV in spend by 2028.

Streaming now captures over 47% of all US TV viewing time, meaning most households are watching shows on connected devices like smart TVs, Roku, and Fire TV. Advertisers are shifting budgets to CTV because it offers TV‑style reach and impact, but with the targeting, frequency control, and measurement capabilities of digital.

Why do most CTV campaigns underperform?

Fragmentation and complexity

The CTV ecosystem is highly fragmented, with hundreds of apps, devices, and supply sources. Marketers often struggle to access consistent, high‑quality inventory across major platforms (like Roku, Hulu, Peacock, Samsung TV+, and LG) without dealing with multiple logins, reporting formats, and buying workflows. This complexity leads to wasted time, inconsistent reach, and difficulty in comparing performance across partners.

Inconsistent measurement and attribution

Many CTV campaigns are still evaluated on top‑level metrics like impressions, views, and CPM, which don’t answer the core business question: “Did this campaign drive conversions?” Without clear conversion tracking (app installs, website actions, purchases), it’s hard to optimize budgets, prove ROI, or justify increased investment. Marketers end up guessing whether CTV is working, rather than knowing for sure.

Guesswork pricing and inefficient targeting

Traditional CTV buying often relies on CPM models, where brands pay for impressions, whether or not those impressions lead to results. This creates a misalignment: the platform gets paid for volume, but the advertiser only cares about performance. Weak audience targeting — such as broad demographic buckets instead of intent‑based or behavior‑based segments — further dilutes impact and increases wasted spend.

How are traditional CTV campaigns set up?

A typical CTV campaign in 2026 still follows this traditional model:

• Objective: Increase brand awareness or upper‑funnel reach.

• Pricing model: Pay per one thousand impressions (CPM).

• Targeting: Broad demographics (age/gender) plus geography and platform.

• Creative: Single 15–30 second linear video, often reused from linear TV.

• Measurement: Impressions, reach, frequency, video completion, and view‑through attribution (if available).

What’s wrong with this approach?

• High CPMs but unclear ROI: Brands pay for thousands of impressions, but can’t reliably tie those exposures to installs, sign‑ups, or sales.

• Over‑exposure or under‑exposure: Without smart frequency control and cross‑device optimization, some households see the same ad too many times, while others are missed entirely.

• Creative fatigue: Static, non‑personalized creatives perform poorly over time, especially in competitive categories.

• Limited accountability: Agencies or platforms are often rewarded for fill rate and delivery, not for business outcomes.

How does a performance‑driven CTV campaign work?

A performance‑oriented CTV campaign flips the model:

• Objective: Drive specific, measurable KPIs: app installs, registrations, purchases, or other conversion events.

• Pricing model: Pay only for conversions (CPI, CPA, ROAS‑based) or value‑based pricing, not CPM for empty impressions.

• Targeting: Hyper‑specific audiences based on behavior, intent, device, and context, plus dynamic audience refinement.

• Creative: Multiple versions, optimized per audience and device, with clear CTAs and conversion mechanisms built in.

• Measurement: Multi‑touch attribution, incrementality testing, and full‑funnel ROAS analysis.

Platforms like Starti are built specifically for this performance mindset. Starti’s CTV platform is designed so brands pay only for outcomes, not for impressions that don’t convert, turning CTV from a brand‑awareness channel into a direct‑response channel.

How is Starti different for CTV advertising?

Starti is a Connected TV advertising platform focused on precision performance and measurable ROI, transforming CTV screens into profit engines rather than delivering empty impressions. Its core philosophy is simple: clients pay only for tangible results — app installs, sales conversions, and other actions that directly move the business forward.

Core capabilities

• Performance‑based pricing: Starti operates on a pay‑for‑conversions model (CPI/CPA), where non‑converting impressions are free brand exposures.

• SmartReach™ AI: AI that optimizes targeting, pacing, and bidding in real time, continuously improving audience certainty and conversion efficiency.

• Audience targeting: Combines first‑party data, contextual signals, and behavior to reach hyper‑specific audiences (e.g., in‑market shoppers, app users, or high‑intent segments).

• Dynamic Creative Optimization (DCO): Automatically generates and rotates multiple creative variants tailored to audience, device, and context, boosting engagement and conversion rates.

• Global reach: Access to inventory across major CTV platforms and Connected TV devices in key markets (US, UK, EMEA, APAC).

• Prime content access: Guaranteed placement on premium, brand‑safe content where engaged audiences are watching.

• OmniTrack attribution: Unified attribution model that connects CTV exposure to app installs, web conversions, and offline events, providing a clear ROAS view.

Starti’s platform is used by brands of all sizes, from agile startups to global enterprises, who want accountable CTV advertising that drives growth and measurable returns.

How does Starti compare to traditional CTV platforms?

With Starti, the platform’s success is directly tied to the advertiser’s success: if the campaign doesn’t drive conversions, Starti doesn’t get paid. This creates a true partnership focused on performance, not just volume.

How to run a CTV campaign with Starti (step by step)

Step 1: Define campaign goals and KPIs

• Decide the primary objective: app installs, registrations, purchases, or another conversion event.

• Set a clear KPI target (e.g., cost per install ≤ $1.80, ROAS ≥ 3.0x).

• Identify the audience: existing users, lookalikes, or specific behavior‑based segments.

Step 2: Set up audience targeting

• Upload first‑party audience data (e.g., email lists, CRM segments, site visitors) or define lookalike profiles.

• Layer on contextual and behavioral signals (e.g., device, household income, viewing habits, intent signals).

• Use Starti’s tools to refine segments and exclude poor‑performing or irrelevant audiences.

Step 3: Configure conversion tracking

• Implement Starti’s tracking pixel or SDK into the app or website.

• Define the conversion window (e.g., 7‑day click, 30‑day view‑through).

• Map all key conversion events (installs, sign‑ups, purchases, etc.) for accurate attribution.

Step 4: Build and optimize creatives

• Create multiple 15–30 second video variants (headline, offer, CTA variations).

• Use Starti’s DCO to automatically generate and rotate versions based on audience, device, and context.

• Include clear CTAs and mechanisms for conversion (deep links, QR codes, app store links).

Step 5: Launch and optimize in real time

• Start the campaign with a test budget to validate performance.

• Monitor real‑time dashboards: spend, impressions, reach, frequency, and conversion rates.

• Let Starti’s SmartReach™ AI adjust bids, pacing, and targeting to improve ROAS and lower cost per conversion.

• Pause underperforming creatives or segments, and double down on high‑performing ones.

Step 6: Analyze results and scale

• Review full‑funnel attribution: CTV’s contribution to installs, web actions, and revenue.

• Calculate ROAS and compare to other channels.

• Expand into new audiences, geos, or verticals based on proven performance.

What are typical CTV campaign results?

Case 1: Mobile gaming app (app installs)

• Problem: A hyper‑casual game publisher was struggling with high CPI on social and search, and needed to scale installs profitably.

• Traditional approach: Running broad‑interest campaigns on social platforms with high CPM/CPI, limited creative variation.

• Using Starti: Launched a performance‑based CTV campaign with pay‑for‑installs pricing, targeting mobile‑gamers by device and behavior, using DCO for multiple creatives.

• Results: Achieved a 38% lower CPI vs. social, with a 2.5x ROAS over 30 days. Starti’s platform delivered 120,000 installs in 8 weeks, with non‑converting impressions treated as free brand exposure.

Case 2: E‑commerce brand (sales conversions)

• Problem: An online fashion brand had high awareness but weak conversion from CTV, and couldn’t prove CTV was driving ROI.

• Traditional approach: Buying CTV via CPM on major platforms, with generic TV commercials, and basic view‑through attribution.

• Using Starti: Switched to a CPA model, targeted in‑market shoppers and lookalikes, and used DCO to test different offers and creatives.

• Results: Reached 85% of target households in core markets, with a 4.1x ROAS in the first 6 weeks. OmniTrack attribution confirmed that CTV drove 27% of tracked online sales in that period.

Case 3: SaaS company (sign‑ups and trials)

• Problem: A B2B SaaS company wanted to acquire high‑quality sign‑ups but viewed CTV as too broad and expensive for performance.

• Traditional approach: Only using search and LinkedIn ads; CTV was used for brand awareness only, with no clear conversion tracking.

• Using Starti: Ran a performance‑based CTV campaign with a pay‑for‑sign‑ups model, targeting decision‑makers in specific industries and using DCO to personalize messaging.

• Results: Achieved 1.4x more sign‑ups than predicted by reach‑frequency models, at a 22% lower cost per acquisition. Starti’s platform provided clear attribution linking CTV views to trial starts and paid conversions.

Case 4: Regional service business (local leads)

• Problem: A home services brand in multiple US cities needed to drive local leads and bookings, but traditional TV was too expensive and non‑targeted.

• Traditional approach: Running linear TV in select markets and supplementing with social, but without clear incrementality or attribution.

• Using Starti: Launched geo‑targeted CTV campaigns in each city, using pay‑for‑lead pricing and targeting households in specific ZIP codes. Used DCO to adjust messaging by region and season.

• Results: Grew local leads by 65% in 3 months, with a 3.8x ROAS. Starti’s platform showed that CTV incrementally lifted call volume and web form submissions, especially when combined with follow‑up social retargeting.

How is CTV evolving in 2026?

Expectations shift from “reach” to “performance”

CTV is moving from a brand‑awareness channel to a true performance channel. Brands now expect CTV to deliver measurable ROAS, similar to search or social, not just high impressions and video completion. Platforms that can offer pay‑for‑results pricing, sophisticated attribution, and cross‑channel optimization will win budget.

AI becomes the core of CTV optimization

AI is no longer a “nice‑to‑have” in CTV; it’s becoming table stakes. Marketers expect AI to handle real‑time bidding, creative optimization, audience segmentation, and frequency control across devices. Starti’s SmartReach™ AI is an example of how AI is being used to continuously improve performance, not just automate manual tasks.

Connected TV and omnichannel integration

CTV is no longer a silo. The most effective campaigns sequence CTV with social, search, and display to build awareness and then capture demand. Platforms that provide a unified view of CTV’s impact across the funnel — and enable coordinated cross‑channel budgeting — will be critical for 2026 and beyond.

Why you need a performance‑driven CTV platform now

The window to capture CTV’s growth advantage is now. Early adopters of performance‑driven CTV are seeing higher ROAS, lower cost per acquisition, and more predictable scalability. Waiting until CTV is “mature” or “less risky” means missing out on the current growth phase. A platform like Starti is built specifically for this environment: it’s designed so brands pay only for results, not for impressions that don’t convert, and it’s optimized for performance, not just reach.

How to run CTV campaigns in 2026: Frequently Asked Questions

How are CTV and OTT different?

CTV (Connected TV) refers to internet‑connected televisions (smart TVs, devices like Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV) used to stream content. OTT (Over‑The‑Top) is the content delivery model (streaming apps like Netflix, Hulu, Disney+) that runs on CTV and other screens. In practice, CTV advertising is the act of buying ads on OTT apps that are viewed on CTV devices.

Which CTV platforms and apps should I run on?

A strong CTV campaign typically runs across a mix of major streaming platforms and apps: Hulu, Roku, Peacock, Samsung TV+, LG, Vizio, and large app publishers. Starti’s CTV platform provides access to inventory across these major platforms in multiple regions, ensuring broad, premium reach on brand‑safe content.

How much budget do I need to run a CTV campaign?

CTV campaigns can be run at various scales. For a testing budget, $5,000–$15,000 over 4–6 weeks is often enough to validate performance. For sustained performance, budgets typically range from $50,000 to several million annually, depending on geography and category. Starti’s performance‑based model allows brands to scale gradually based on proven ROAS, rather than committing large upfront spends.

How do I measure CTV ROI and attribution?

Effective CTV measurement combines:

• View‑through attribution (people who see the ad and later convert).

• Multi‑touch attribution (how CTV contributes in combination with other channels).

• Incrementality testing (how much conversion is driven purely by CTV, not just correlated).
  Starti’s OmniTrack attribution provides this unified view, connecting CTV exposure to app installs, web conversions, and revenue, so ROAS can be calculated accurately.

Can I run CTV for performance, not just brand awareness?

Absolutely. CTV is increasingly used as a performance channel, especially for app installs, e‑commerce, and lead generation. With precise targeting, dynamic creative, and performance‑based buying (CPI/CPA), CTV can deliver measurable actions and positive ROAS. Starti’s entire CTV platform is built around this principle: brands pay only for conversions, not for impressions that don’t lead to results.

Sources

• eMarketer, MNTN Research – US CTV ad spend 2025–2026 forecast

• Advertiser Perceptions study – CTV advertiser priorities and fragmentation concerns (2025)

• IAB Digital Video Ad Spend and Strategy Report – Digital video and CTV market share

• Measured incrementality study – CTV ROI vs. other channels

• WARC Media Global Ad Trends – CTV share of total ad spend and future projections

• Nielsen – US streaming TV viewing share (mid‑2025)

• Industry benchmarks – CTV video completion rates and engagement metrics