Programmatic / CTV
Scaled brands buying reach across the open web and streaming.
Automated banner & video buys.
Programmatic advertising uses software to buy ad placements automatically across thousands of websites, apps, and streaming services, targeting audiences by behavior, context, or device rather than selecting specific sites manually. Connected TV (CTV) is the subset of that inventory running on streaming platforms viewed on a television — ads delivered into shows on services like Hulu, Peacock, or ad-supported streaming tiers.
The channel is built for reach at scale. A programmatic buy can put a display banner or a pre-roll video in front of a large, segmented audience across the open web in a matter of days. It is also complex to set up: effective campaigns require a demand-side platform, properly formatted creative in multiple sizes, and meaningful spend before the optimization algorithms have enough data to improve delivery. The audience is not searching for you, and a single exposure rarely converts — so programmatic tends to complement direct-response channels rather than replace them.
When it fits
- You are an established brand with enough budget to run at meaningful volume, typically $5,000 or more per month, and have other channels already working.
- Your goal is broad awareness or retargeting existing site visitors across the web and on streaming TV.
- You have creative assets in multiple formats (display banners at standard IAB sizes, 15–30 second video for CTV) ready to run.
When it doesn't
- You are early-stage and need to find product-market fit first. Programmatic's strengths are reach and reinforcement, not initial conversion.
- Your budget cannot sustain the volume needed for the algorithm to optimize — tests below a few thousand dollars tend to produce inconclusive data.
The trade-off
Programmatic offers unmatched reach across the open web and streaming, but the channel has a higher floor for budget and setup than social platforms. Brand-safety settings, audience data quality, and ad fraud vary across inventory sources, so campaigns need active management. Attribution is harder than on search or social, particularly for CTV, where there is no click. The channel rents attention: pause the spend and the reach disappears.
How to run a first test
A first programmatic test requires more setup and budget than most channels, so the goal is to limit scope rather than cover everything:
- Start with a single DSP — The Trade Desk is widely accessible, or Google Display & Video 360 for teams already in the Google ecosystem. Avoid self-managed buying until you are familiar with the platform.
- Define one audience segment (for example, retargeting your own site visitors or a third-party segment matching your customer profile) and one objective. Retargeting existing visitors is a lower-risk first use because you already know those people had intent.
- Set a minimum budget of $3,000–5,000 for the test period and run for at least three to four weeks. Programmatic algorithms need time and impressions to optimize delivery.
- Track view-through conversions with skepticism — they over-attribute. Compare overall conversion rates during and after the campaign window against a holdout period or geography where the ads did not run.
See Systematic Channel Testing.
Tools & services to activate it
- The Trade Desk — Independent demand-side platform for buying programmatic display, video, audio, and CTV inventory. (Custom)
- Google Display & Video 360 — Google's enterprise DSP for programmatic buying across the open web and YouTube. (Custom)
- Northbeam — Multi-touch attribution and media mix modeling for brands running across multiple paid channels. (Custom)
Related channels
More in Ads: LinkedIn ads, Meta / Instagram ads, TikTok ads, Out-of-home / billboards.