Advertise on CTV

The 2025 Guide to Connected TV Marketing Services

Have you ever wondered “How do they advertise on CTV?” Connected TV (CTV) advertising is reshaping how brands connect and engage with modern audiences. As streaming services continue to dominate, CTV offers a powerful blend of precision targeting and immersive storytelling—allowing you to deliver the right message to the right viewers at exactly the right time. This guide walks you through what CTV marketing is, why it matters, and how Marketing Doctors helps brands thrive in this evolving space.

What is CTV Marketing?

Connected TV marketing represents the convergence of traditional television’s broad reach with digital advertising’s precise targeting. By delivering ads through internet-connected televisions, marketers can serve personalized creative to viewers based on demographics, interests, and real-time behavior. This hybrid approach marries TV’s immersive experience with programmatic efficiency, yielding measurable outcomes—such as completion rates and on-screen conversions—that align with modern performance metrics.

CTV fills a critical gap: while 82% of U.S. TV households now have at least one internet-connected TV device, traditional linear TV viewership and ad spend continue to decline as audiences cut the cord in favor of streaming services. The result is a rapidly expanding CTV ecosystem that demands a sophisticated strategy to manage cross-platform fragmentation and ensure cohesive messaging. That’s why more businesses—from startups to global brands—are making the strategic move to advertise on CTV.

How Do Companies get Ads on Streaming Services?

If you’ve ever wondered how brands end up advertising on platforms like Hulu, Tubi, or Peacock—you’re not alone. Unlike traditional broadcast TV, streaming ads are placed through digital systems that allow for far more control, flexibility, and targeting.

To get ads on streaming services, companies typically work with a CTV marketing agency or use specialized ad tech platforms. These tools give brands access to premium ad inventory on streaming apps and connected TV devices. From there, advertisers can bid on ad space in real time, target specific audiences, and measure how viewers interact with their content.

This process isn’t as simple as uploading a video and hitting “go.” It requires the right creative formatting, platform-specific technical specs, and campaign settings that align with business goals. That’s where a partner like Marketing Doctors comes in—we handle the strategy, setup, and execution to make sure your streaming ads reach the right audience with maximum impact.

Where CTV Ads Appear: Key Platform Types

The world of CTV advertising includes a mix of streaming platforms, smart TV ecosystems, and ad tech partners. From household names like Hulu and Roku to the behind-the-scenes tools that ensure precision delivery, having the right strategy—and the right team—can make all the difference in campaign performance.

Key components include:

Demand-Side Platforms (DSPs) – Real-time bidding on CTV inventory via platforms like The Trade Desk and Yahoo DSP.
Supply-Side Platforms (SSPs) – Yield optimization tools (Magnite, SpotX) that package publisher inventory.
Streaming Services – Ad-supported options on platforms like Hulu, Peacock, Pluto TV, Tubi, and more.
Smart TV Manufacturers – Smart-TV makers (Samsung, LG, Vizio) offer native or partner-powered ad solutions.

Each platform comes with its own strengths, inventory access, and targeting capabilities. At Marketing Doctors, we help navigate this complex ecosystem to ensure your campaigns are effective, scalable, and efficient.

How to Advertise on CTV: Campaign Structure & Workflow

CTV campaigns typically follow a four-step process:

Audience Targeting – Select the right viewers based on household demographics, viewing history, location, or interests.
Ad Placement – Deliver your ads across streaming apps and smart TV networks. Choose from OTT apps, free-ad platforms, and virtual multichannel bundles (vMVPDs).
Programmatic Buying – Use DSPs for real-time bidding, optimizing dynamically based on performance.
Performance Tracking – Measure video completion rates, incremental reach, and post-view conversions via SDKs and server-to-server integrations.

This end-to-end workflow creates accountability, minimizes wasted impressions, and drives real, measurable ROI.

Benefits Of CTV Advertising

Brands are investing in CTV because it has demonstrated higher value with measurable performance than traditional advertising methods.

Enhanced Targeting – Household-level granularity surpassing linear TV.
High Engagement – CTV viewers are typically more focused and less distracted, resulting in longer, more engaged, watch times and higher ad completion rates.
Measurable Results – Quartile completion, view through, and conversion metrics inform optimizations.
Cross-Device Reach – Coordinate CTV advertising with mobile and desktop to extend engagement and drive more conversions.
Cost Efficiency – Programmatic buying reduces upfront guarantees and non-guaranteed fees helping to reduce unnecessary ad spend.

U.S. CTV ad spend is projected to reach $26.6 Billion in 2025—a 13% increase year-over-year.

The Future of CTV Marketing

CTV will continue evolving with innovations like:

Growing Investment – Continued double-digit growth in 2025, keeping CTV ahead of social and search channels.
AI-Driven Targeting – Household graphs and machine learning will refine precision getting your advertisements right to your target markets and expanding to related interests.
Interactive & Shoppable Ads – Overlays and direct-response units (e.g., via Roku, YouTube) will drive commerce from the TV screen, making it easy for viewers to act.
Privacy-First ID – As regulation tightens, on-device processing and privacy-safe identifiers will become standard, protecting user data while maintaining personalization.
Agile Campaigns – Successful brands will stay nimble by testing new formats, joining pilot programs, and embracing evolving measurement standards—distinguishing the leaders from followers.

Integrating CTV into Your Digital Marketing

Connected TV works best as part of a full-funnel digital strategy:

Omnichannel Campaigns – Sync CTV with social, display, and search efforts to reinforce brand stories.
Retargeting Paths – Follow up on CTV exposures with mobile/desktop retargeting.
Content Alignment – Mirror CTV creatives in owned channels—podcasts, blogs, email—to strengthen and align messaging across all active platforms.

CTV Marketing Agency: Partnering for Success

Marketing Doctors partners with top platforms like Hulu and Roku to bring your message to life on the big screen. Here’s how we can help you:

Platform Setup – We establish, launch, and fine-tune campaign settings, ad specs, and creative delivery for Hulu, Roku, and similar services, for performance at scale.
Creative Strategy – Reformat and enhance your existing ads for big-screen impact, including length adjustments and interactive elements.
Performance Tracking – We will implement SDK and server-to-server tracking, giving you the tools and information to understand what is working and where we can improve ad strength. This data enables you to capture completion rates, view-through conversions, and incremental reach from day one.
Ongoing Optimization – Our team continually tests and refines your marketing campaigns, leveraging data-driven insights on bidding strategies, audience segmentation, and creative A/B tests to maximize ROI as you scale.

By combining your Hulu and Roku registrations with agency expertise, you’ll accelerate deployment, avoid costly missteps, and unlock the full potential of CTV advertising.

Making CTV Work Even Harder: Performance Enhancements

With the right setup, CTV can drive tangible outcomes:

Conversion Tracking – Know how viewers interact after they see your advertisements through pixel and server-to-server setups to attribute downstream actions (site visits, purchases).
A/B Testing – Refine creatives to find top performers and phase out underperforming elements that do not drive results.
Attribution Modeling – Employ multi-touch or incrementality methods to understand the true impact of your ad investments.

Geofence: Local & Event-Based CTV Targeting

Hyper-Local Targeting – Reach viewers by postal code or within a store’s physical trade area—ideal for local businesses aiming to drive in-person visits.
Event-Based Activations – Drive offers around stadiums, campuses, and local pop-up events.
Retail Integration – Blend CTV with in-store geofencing for unified omnichannel experiences.

Why Are CTV Ads So Effective?

Non-Skippable Formats – Guarantees message delivery, boosting recall over skippable pre-roll advertisements.
They Look Great – Premium, high-resolution, full-screen visuals elevate brand perception and boost brand trust.
Engaged Audiences – Interactive formats let users respond in real-time, no waiting, just engagement!
Real-Time Metrics – Get clear, immediate feedback on campaign performance metrics like view, completion, engagement, and click rates, enabling rapid optimization.

Ready to Launch a Smarter CTV Strategy?

Advertising on CTV platforms is rapidly becoming one of the most effective ways to reach modern audiences, representing a powerful opportunity for innovative businesses that are ready to stand out in a digital-first world.

Whether you’re looking to build brand awareness, drive conversions, or retarget customers across channels, we’re here to help.

Contact Marketing Doctors today to schedule a strategy call. Let’s launch a high-impact campaign and show you how to advertise on CTV effectively, delivering your message straight into your audience’s living room—where attention is high and impact is immediate.