How to use CTV measurement to prove the positive impact of TV

Our global ‘From funnel to flexibility’ study showed that only 43% of marketers feel ‘very confident’ in the campaign measurement they have in place. And when we look at connected TV and the rise of streaming, it's easy to see why.

Marketers are under increasing pressure to prove the impact TV advertising has on sales, showing the path from exposure to outcome, actionable metrics and accurate attribution. But it's never been harder to achieve.

We're here to change that, and help marketers feel confident measuring their TV ad exposure. Read on to learn why outdated CTV metrics don’t measure up, 4 ways to connect your CTV ad to a sale, how to optimize every part of your TV campaign, and get 3 top tips to optimize your ad spend.  

With a CTV measurement strategy that's far from average, you'll see real bang for your ROI buck. Ready to see what you’ve been missing? 

With viewers spread across platforms like Netflix, Hulu, Peacock, Max, and Paramount+, it’s become much harder to reach the right people at scale. 

On top of that, our viewing habits have changed too. Many of us are scrolling on our phones, shopping online, or chatting with friends while watching TV. In fact, 91% of consumers use a second device while watching TV.

So, how can you make sure you’re measuring everything that matters to understand whether your campaign is really performing? Read on to find out. 

Fancy getting the industry’s only complete view of audience, campaign and competitor intelligence?

For years, TV has been measured using reach and gross rating points. It’s focused on what you can’t easily see: the viewer who never clicks, the in-store purchase that happens weeks later, or the connection between someone seeing an ad and eventually taking action. In comparison, digital campaigns are judged on clicks, conversions, and return on ad spend. 

Now let’s add CTV's high-impact, unskippable ads into the mix. They're great for building brand awareness and recall, but brand lift surveys and ad recall studies don't always tell the full performance story. Sure, they indicate whether people remember an ad, but they don't necessarily show whether it influenced real customer behavior.

The upshot? It’s not that TV isn’t performing, it’s that we need to look beyond awareness metrics. By connecting ad exposure to conversions and purchase outcomes, marketers can get a much clearer picture of how CTV campaigns are really performing and the value they deliver. 

Want a tasty insight? See how we delivered 11.5% incremental reach for Subway

1. Start with ad exposure
   A household is served a CTV ad. Then what? Impression-level data or automatic content recognition (ACR) creates a verified record of what was watched and when.
   
2. Resolve identity
   That exposure is then linked to a household or individual using privacy-safe identity graphs or clean rooms, creating a bridge between TV viewing and digital activity.
   
3. Track engagement
   Next come the behavioral signals like searches, website visits, product views, app activity, or even store visits. These don't prove a purchase on their own, but they show growing intent and help build the path from exposure to action.
   
4. Measure outcomes
   Finally, exposed households are matched with retail, point-of-sale, or CRM (customer relationship management) data to see whether they were more likely to convert than households that weren't exposed. This is where marketers can quantify the true business impact of a CTV campaign.
   
   Connect all your measurement dots in one place.

Instead of relying on platform-reported metrics alone, brands need a more complete picture of performance. That's where a solution like Total Measurement comes in. It helps you:

• See deduplicated reach across linear TV, streaming, and CTV.
• Identify the households that saw your campaign.
• Match exposed households with retail, point-of-sale, or CRM data.
• Measure sales lift by comparing exposed households with a control group.
  

All in all, your campaign performance can be measured using business outcomes that matter.

1. Measure across every screen 
   Cross-platform measurement gives you a deduplicated view of reach across linear TV, streaming, and CTV, so you know who you're actually reaching.
   
2. Connect exposure to real business outcomes
   Brand lift is a useful starting point, but it shouldn't be the finish line. By linking ad exposure to first-party data, retail sales, or CRM systems, you can understand the real impact your campaigns have on conversions and revenue.
   
3. Treat TV like a performance channel
   The days of running a campaign and reviewing the results weeks later are over. The most effective brands optimize campaigns while they're live, learn from every impression, and use those insights to make the next campaign even stronger.

TV is more powerful than ever. And now, so is CTV measurement. It’s time for marketers to track campaign effectiveness, connect TV exposure to user actions across channels, and make data-driven decisions that optimize ROAS.

Ready for a measurement strategy that’s far from average? Discover MiQ’s Advanced TV solution.