The news: Rising CPMs, algorithmic volatility, and audience fatigue are flattening social’s growth curve as marketers run into diminishing returns on Meta, TikTok, and Google. That ceiling is forcing brands to seek fresh reach—and connected TV (CTV) is stepping into that void with premium screens, measurable outcomes, and higher emotional lift.
“For agencies, the trend follows client demand. As brands reach saturation across social and search, CTV has emerged as the next major growth driver,” Dan Larkman, CEO and founder of Keynes Digital, wrote in a post for Cynopsis.
CTV fills the reach gap that social can’t: 34% of US CTV viewers say streaming TV ads help with holiday gift discovery; 32% say the same for traditional TV, per LG Ad Solutions. TV formats now outperform app home-screen placements, print, and audio for seasonal influence—a signal that sight-sound-motion retains unmatched discovery power.
Online ads and social media still lead, but growth is slowing. CTV is where incremental reach now lives. Meta’s $16 billion scam ad problem—where it earned approximately 10% of its 2024 revenues from scam and banned product ads—raises safety concerns for brands.
AI and consolidation unlock performance: AI is overhauling ad planning and optimization. Large data set models sharpen segmentation, automate creative rotation, and push campaigns toward real-time performance tuning.
M&A momentum confirms the shift. Investors are betting on CTV tools that collapse production timelines and deliver broadcast-quality creative at scale, giving every brand a shot at TV-level storytelling with digital-level precision and metrics.
What this means for advertisers: As social hits its natural saturation point, CTV delivers the attribution clarity and emotional weight brands can’t get from feeds anymore.
What advertisers should do:
- Make CTV a central line item—not an extension of social video.
- Use AI-powered optimization to drive efficiency and real-time tuning.
- Treat premium video as a full-funnel engine, not just as an awareness tool.
- Move early to secure higher-quality inventory and richer data signals.
CTV is evolving into the next wave of ad growth. Marketers who scale now will lock in reach, pricing, and attention others can’t match.