We’re seeing a massive budget migration, with projections showing 40% of ad spend will be digital by 2026, and most of that growth is coming from connected TV (CTV) and digital audio. This forces a complete change in how we find and talk to people, because the old strategies just don’t map onto these channels. Capturing attention and actually driving sales here requires a different skillset and a different way of thinking.
Key Takeaways
- The $30 billion expected in CTV ad spending by 2026 means you have to stop buying it like linear TV. Programmatic targeting is the only way to get real value from that spend.
- With digital audio hitting over 75% of internet users, you can’t just buy a few podcast spots. You need a strategy that mixes sponsorships with dynamic, data-driven ads in music streams to be effective.
- Connecting your first-party data to programmatic platforms is non-negotiable. It’s how you personalize ads across these new channels and get at least a 15% better return on ad spend.
- Your measurement has to grow up. Forget last-click attribution and start using brand lift studies and cross-channel models to see what your CTV and audio campaigns are actually doing.
- You need to be testing interactive ad formats on CTV now. Early movers are seeing engagement rates 3x higher than standard video, which opens up direct response possibilities that didn’t exist before.
The Surge in Connected TV Advertising Spends
By 2026, US connected TV ad spending is set to blow past $30 billion. This money isn’t new spending. It’s a direct reallocation from traditional linear TV budgets. For decades, we bought broad demographic buckets on cable. CTV flips that script by giving us digital’s precision on a big screen. But I still see so many clients buying CTV with that old linear mindset, just buying bulk impressions and hoping for the best. That’s a massive waste of money. The whole point of CTV is programmatic, letting you target specific households using their viewing habits, past purchases, or even location data from their phones.
Think about a national car brand. Instead of just buying spots in a popular show, they can now use a DSP like The Trade Desk or Google’s DV360 to target households who’ve been on a competitor’s website or searched for “best family SUV” online. That kind of specific targeting, drawing from DMPs, turns CTV from a simple awareness play into a channel that directly drives performance. The hard part, and it’s a big one, is getting all your different data sources to talk to each other to build that single customer profile. It’s a huge technical and organizational lift for most companies.
Digital Audio’s Undeniable Growth and Engagement
By 2026, digital audio will be in the ears of over 75% of all internet users through services like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Pandora. It’s an incredibly intimate, on-demand medium that people really connect with. Audio fills the gaps in our day where screens can’t go, the commute, the gym, doing chores, which gives advertisers a continuous line of communication with their audience that other channels can’t match.
There are two main ways to win in digital audio right now. For podcasts, integrated sponsorships are gold. A genuine host-read endorsement builds trust and drives conversions way better than a standard pre-roll ad ever could. Then you have streaming music, where dynamic ad insertion (DAI) lets you do real-time targeting just like with CTV. A fitness app can drop an ad right into someone’s workout playlist on Spotify at the exact moment they’re most receptive. Context and relevance are everything. Generic, untargeted audio ads are just static that people ignore.
The Imperative of First-Party Data Integration
It’s no secret that brands using their first-party data well in these new channels are getting a 15% to 25% bump in campaign ROI, according to recent reports. Actually making this happen is where most brands fall down. Your first-party data, the stuff you collect from your own website, app, and CRM, is the only reliable foundation for personalization, especially as third-party cookies disappear. That data is your gold.
In practice, this means connecting your internal customer database to the viewer IDs and listener profiles on these platforms. An e-commerce brand can see a customer abandoned their cart, then hit them with a CTV ad showing that exact product or an audio ad with a discount code in their favorite podcast. The main roadblock is technical: you need data clean rooms and other secure platforms to match your data with publisher inventory without breaking privacy rules. This is exactly where a lot of companies get stuck, usually because their tech is old or they just don’t have the people who know how to do it. Sorting out your data infrastructure today is an investment that will absolutely pay off down the road.
Evolving Measurement Beyond Last-Click
Too many marketers are still obsessed with last-click attribution, which makes no sense for channels like CTV and digital audio. Their real power is in building the brand and creating awareness higher up the funnel. Of course, direct response can happen, but that’s not the main job. A Nielsen study showed that just adding CTV to a campaign mix boosted brand recall by an average of 8%. If you only look at last-click, you’re completely missing that value and judging a channel on the wrong criteria. You don’t see the full story of how it contributed to the final sale.
You can’t use a single attribution model for this stuff. Period. For CTV and audio, you have to adopt a proper multi-touch attribution framework that includes brand lift studies, incrementality tests, and real cross-channel measurement. That means running tests with exposed and control groups to prove the actual lift you’re getting in brand favorability, purchase intent, or even in-store traffic. Yes, this means investing in a better analytics stack (and the people to run it) that goes beyond just firing a conversion pixel. If you don’t make this change, you’ll constantly undervalue these channels, assign budget incorrectly, and get left behind.
The Power of Interactive Ad Formats on CTV
Standard video ads on CTV are fine, but the real news is that interactive ad formats are getting up to 3x higher engagement rates. For any advertiser focused on direct response, this changes everything. CTV used to be just for brand awareness, where you hoped someone would remember you and search later on their phone. Now, ad tech lets us build in clickable overlays, scannable QR codes, and even direct shopping integrations right into the ad on the TV screen.
Take a fast-food chain running a CTV campaign. Instead of just showing the food, their ad can have a QR code on-screen that the viewer scans to get a coupon or order delivery right then and there. It closes the loop between seeing the ad and making a purchase instantly. Platforms like Roku and Samsung Ads are all-in on this, giving us the tools to build these actionable ads. The hurdle for advertisers is creative. You can’t just run your old 30-second TV spot. You have to design the ad with a clear call to action and think about what happens *after* the viewer scans or clicks. The brands that figure this out first will get a huge leg up on the competition.
Marketing in 2026 is going to be about targeted precision on these new digital channels. To win, you have to ditch old measurement models and really use the data capabilities of CTV and digital audio. That means plugging in your first-party data to personalize everything, and using interactive ads to get real, measurable actions. This forces media buying platforms to get smarter too, with better tools for optimization and reporting. And at the end of the day, truly getting a handle on your digital ad ROI is what separates the people who succeed in this new world from those who are just spending money.
What is connected TV (CTV) advertising?
It’s advertising delivered to TVs through the internet, think ads on smart TVs or devices like Roku, Amazon Fire TV, and Apple TV. It gives you the big-screen impact of a traditional TV ad but with the sharp, data-driven targeting you get from digital marketing, so you can reach specific households instead of just broad age groups.
How does digital audio advertising differ from traditional radio?
This covers ads you hear on streaming music services like Spotify and in podcasts. The big difference from radio is the data. Digital audio offers incredibly detailed targeting based on who is listening, what they like, and where they are. It also uses dynamic ad insertion, meaning a personalized ad can be slotted into a stream in real-time for a specific listener.
Why is first-party data important for emerging channels?
Your first-party data, information you collect directly from your customers, is the most powerful tool you have for targeting. It’s accurate and privacy-compliant. With third-party cookies going away, using your own data is the only reliable way to create personalized, effective ad campaigns on CTV and digital audio that actually work.
What are interactive ad formats on CTV?
These are CTV ads that let a viewer do something directly from the ad using their remote or phone. This could be a clickable banner that shows more info, a QR code on the screen they can scan for a coupon, or even a button to buy a product. It turns the ad from something you just watch into something you can act on immediately.
How should marketers measure success on CTV and digital audio?
You have to look beyond last-click conversion. The right way to measure is with a multi-touch attribution model that tracks the entire customer journey. This means running brand lift studies to measure changes in awareness and favorability, and using incrementality testing to see how many more sales or site visits your campaign generated compared to a control group. This gives you the full picture of the channel’s impact.
