CTV Isn't Broken - Your Measurement Is

Executive Summary

In this episode of the Mythbusting Series, we dive into what may be the most costly measurement mistake brands make with Connected TV (CTV): relying on last-click metrics and surface-level dashboards to judge performance. While traditional reporting shows low clicks, high CPMs, and poor direct ROAS, these figures only capture about 5% of the true impact CTV provides. CTV doesn't just capture demand — it creates it, generating incremental searches, physical purchases, and brand consideration that traditional dashboards fail to capture.

Why CTV Looks Broken (But Isn't)

Many brands run Connected TV tests and draw the wrong conclusion: high CPMs, low click-through rates, and modest last-click ROAS suggest that CTV is inefficient compared to search. On the surface, this looks like a smart, data-driven decision. But this conclusion is based on an incomplete measurement model that only captures about 5% of CTV's real contribution — the tiny slice of the audience who click immediately.

What is entirely ignored are the other 95% of outcomes: consumers who later search for the brand, end up buying in person, or shift into active consideration.

Search Captures Demand — CTV Creates It

The traditional comparison between search and CTV is fundamentally flawed. Search captures demand after it exists — users have already decided to look. CTV, on the other hand, creates demand — initiating the journey that leads to search, consideration, and purchase. This essential difference makes last-click ROAS an ineffective indicator of CTV's value.

A controlled experiment with a major CPG brand shows that markets with CTV ads saw search ROAS jump from 7.1x to 9.2x — a halo effect invisible on surface dashboards. Additionally, true incremental ROAS for CTV, when measured properly, reached 6.4x — more than double what the last-click report suggested.

The Three-Layer Measurement Stack

To capture CTV's deeper value, brands need a new measurement framework:

1. Layer 1 — Direct Attribution: Still includes direct attribution, but treated as the floor, not the ceiling.
2. Layer 2 — Incrementality Testing: The most critical layer — evaluates whether sales would not have happened without the CTV exposure.
3. Layer 3 — Brand Lift Studies: Quantifies awareness and consideration over time.

These layers together expose the true causal impact of CTV and enable smarter optimization.

Two Strategic Paths

Brands face a choice: the status quo of optimizing channels based on last-click dashboards — which leads to flat or declining growth — or embracing a measurement approach that recognizes causality and total business contribution, driving revenue increases of 8–15% over 12 months.

The Bottom Line

Relying on traditional last-click metrics to judge Connected TV performance obscures most of its real value and leads to flawed decisions. A measurement approach that emphasizes incrementality and brand lift reveals CTV's true influence on search, purchases, and consideration, and enables sustained business growth.

"Traditional dashboards capture only about 5% of CTV's true performance. The other 95% goes unseen — until you fix the measurement."