DV360: Master CTV & Audio for 15% ROAS Gains

The marketing playbook has fundamentally rewritten itself, with traditional channels yielding ground to dynamic, data-rich environments. Understanding how to effectively reach audiences across both established platforms and emerging channels like connected TV (CTV) and digital audio is no longer optional; it’s the core competency of any successful marketer. We’re talking about precision targeting, measurable impact, and a unified brand story that resonates wherever your audience consumes content. But how do you actually build and manage campaigns that span these disparate, yet interconnected, worlds?

For us at Sterling Digital, the answer lies in sophisticated programmatic platforms. We’ve found that Google Display & Video 360 (DV360) offers the most comprehensive, integrated solution for managing these complex campaigns. It’s not just a buying platform; it’s a strategic command center. This tutorial will walk you through setting up a cross-channel campaign in DV360, focusing specifically on CTV and digital audio buys, using the 2026 interface.

Step 1: Laying the Foundation – Campaign Structure in DV360

Before you even think about bids or creatives, you need a solid campaign structure. This isn’t just administrative; it dictates your reporting, budget allocation, and optimization capabilities. A well-structured campaign makes all the difference between clarity and chaos.

1.1 Accessing the Platform and Creating a New Campaign

Log in to your DV360 account. On the left-hand navigation pane, you’ll see a series of icons. Click the “Campaigns” icon (it looks like a small flag). This will take you to your campaign overview. In the upper right corner, click the large blue button labeled “+ New Campaign.”

You’ll be prompted to name your campaign. Be descriptive! I always recommend a naming convention that includes the client, objective, and year. For example: “ClientX_BrandAwareness_CTV_Audio_2026.” Select your advertiser from the dropdown menu, then choose a currency. For most U.S. operations, that’s USD.

1.2 Defining Campaign Objectives and Budget

This is where strategic intent meets technical setup. Under “Campaign Goals,” DV360 offers various objectives like “Awareness,” “Consideration,” and “Conversions.” For CTV and digital audio, especially when integrated, I generally lean towards “Brand Awareness” or “Reach.” While these channels can drive lower-funnel actions, their strength lies in broad, targeted exposure. You can still track conversions, of course, but the primary role here is visibility.

Next, set your campaign budget. You have options for a “Flight budget” (fixed amount for the campaign duration) or a “Daily budget.” For a campaign spanning multiple channels, a flight budget often provides more flexibility as you can allocate within it across different insertion orders. Let’s say you have $100,000 for a 3-month run. Input that. Then, set your start and end dates. Don’t forget this! I once had a client campaign accidentally run for an extra week because we forgot to set an end date – thankfully, it was a small budget, but it taught me a valuable lesson.

Pro Tip: Always set a “Pacing” preference. “Even” pacing distributes your budget smoothly, while “Front-loaded” or “As fast as possible” can burn through it quickly. For awareness campaigns, “Even” is usually the safest bet to maintain consistent presence.

Step 2: Building Insertion Orders for CTV and Digital Audio

Within your campaign, Insertion Orders (IOs) are like sub-campaigns that define specific strategies, budgets, and targeting. You’ll create separate IOs for CTV and digital audio to manage them distinctly.

2.1 Creating the CTV Insertion Order

From your newly created campaign, navigate to the “Insertion Orders” tab. Click “+ New Insertion Order.” Name it something clear, like “ClientX_CTV_Awareness_Q1.”

Under “Goal,” select “Brand Awareness” again. Now, this is critical: set your “Budget” for this specific IO. If your campaign budget was $100,000, you might allocate $60,000 to CTV and $40,000 to digital audio. This gives you control. Set the start and end dates to match your campaign or a specific flight within it.

For “Pacing,” “Even” is still recommended. Under “Frequency Cap,” this is where CTV shines. I typically set a “Lifetime frequency cap” of 3-5 impressions per user for a 30-day period. This prevents ad fatigue. According to a 2024 IAB report, excessive frequency on CTV can lead to a significant drop in ad recall, so less is often more here.

2.2 Creating the Digital Audio Insertion Order

Repeat the process: From your campaign, go to “Insertion Orders,” click “+ New Insertion Order.” Name it “ClientX_DigitalAudio_Awareness_Q1.”

Select “Brand Awareness” as the goal. Allocate the remaining budget (e.g., $40,000). Set dates and pacing. For digital audio, frequency capping is equally important. I often start with a slightly higher cap, say 5-7 impressions per user over 30 days, as audio consumption patterns can differ, and the channel is less visually intrusive.

Common Mistake: Forgetting to set individual IO budgets. This can lead to one channel overspending while the other underperforms, throwing off your entire strategy.

Step 3: Defining Audiences – Precision Targeting Across Channels

This is the heart of programmatic advertising. DV360 offers unparalleled audience segmentation capabilities. We’re moving beyond broad demographics to psychographics, behaviors, and even real-world movements.

3.1 Leveraging First-Party Data

Within each Insertion Order (start with CTV), go to the “Targeting” section. Under “Audience Targeting,” you’ll see various categories. The most powerful is “First-Party Audiences.” If you’ve uploaded your customer lists (CRM data, website visitors, app users) to DV360 (via Google Ads Audience Manager or Google Analytics 4 integration), select those segments here. For instance, “Website Visitors (Past 30 Days)” or “CRM Customer Segment: High-Value Purchasers.”

Case Study: Last year, I had a client, a regional auto dealership, who wanted to boost SUV sales. We used their CRM data to target previous sedan buyers who hadn’t purchased in 3-5 years. We combined this with third-party “In-Market for New SUV” segments. The CTV campaign showed a 30-second ad highlighting new SUV features, while the digital audio campaign served 15-second spots emphasizing financing offers. Within 6 weeks, their SUV test drive appointments increased by 18%, and sales attributed to the campaign saw a 1.5x ROAS, far exceeding their linear TV average of 0.8x.

3.2 Incorporating Third-Party Data

Beneath “First-Party Audiences,” you’ll find “Third-Party Audiences.” This is where you broaden your reach with granular segments from data providers. Search for categories relevant to your product. For the auto client, we searched for “Auto > In-Market > New SUV Purchasers.” You might also look for “Lifestyles & Interests > Outdoors Enthusiasts” or “Home & Garden > DIY Enthusiasts.”

Pro Tip: Don’t just layer every audience segment you can find. Over-segmentation can shrink your audience too much and make delivery inefficient. Start with 2-3 strong, relevant segments and iterate.

3.3 Geospatial and Contextual Targeting

Under “Targeting,” you’ll also find “Geography” and “Environment.” For geography, be specific. Don’t just target “United States.” If your auto dealership is in Atlanta, target “Atlanta, GA” and surrounding counties like Fulton, Cobb, Gwinnett. You can even use “Proximity” to target within a radius of your dealership’s physical address. I once used this to target people within a 5-mile radius of a new restaurant opening in Midtown Atlanta, and the foot traffic during opening week was phenomenal.

For “Environment,” this is where you specify the channel. For your CTV IO, ensure “Connected TV” is selected. For your digital audio IO, select “Audio.” This seems obvious, but it’s a common oversight that can lead to ads running on incorrect placements.

Step 4: Creative Development and Ad Assignments

Your targeting is perfect, your budget is set – now, what are people actually going to see and hear?

4.1 Crafting CTV Creatives

Within your CTV Insertion Order, navigate to the “Creatives” tab. Click “+ New Creative.” You’ll primarily be uploading “Video” creatives. DV360 supports various video formats, but MP4 is standard. Ensure your video assets meet the recommended specifications (e.g., 16:9 aspect ratio, H.264 codec). For CTV, a 15-second or 30-second spot is typical. Remember, these are unskippable on many platforms, so make them engaging from the start.

Editorial Aside: Don’t just repurpose your linear TV spots. CTV audiences are often more engaged and less tolerant of overly polished, generic ads. Think native-feeling content, perhaps a slightly more conversational tone. We’ve seen 20% higher completion rates on CTV when ads feel less like traditional commercials and more like content.

4.2 Developing Digital Audio Creatives

For your Digital Audio Insertion Order, go to the “Creatives” tab and click “+ New Creative.” Select “Audio” as the creative type. Upload your audio files (MP3 or WAV). Most digital audio platforms support 15-second or 30-second spots. Unlike video, audio relies solely on sound. This means clear voiceovers, compelling sound effects, and a memorable call to action are paramount.

Pro Tip: Include a clear URL or brand name spoken aloud multiple times in your audio creative. People can’t click a link they can’t see, so make it easy for them to remember and search for you.

4.3 Assigning Creatives to Line Items

DV360 uses “Line Items” within Insertion Orders to define specific targeting and bidding strategies for your creatives. For each IO (CTV and Digital Audio), you’ll create at least one line item.

1. Within your CTV IO, click the “Line Items” tab, then “+ New Line Item.”
2. Select “Video” as the format. Name it “ClientX_CTV_LineItem_Awareness.”
3. Under “Targeting,” inherit the audience and geo-targeting from your IO. You can add more granular targeting here if needed (e.g., specific CTV app categories).
4. Under “Creatives,” assign your CTV video ad.
5. Repeat this for your Digital Audio IO, selecting “Audio” as the format and assigning your audio creative.

Expected Outcome: By now, you have a campaign with two distinct insertion orders, each with specific budgets, targeting, and creative assets. This modular approach allows for precise control and optimization.

Step 5: Bidding and Budget Allocation

Now that everything is structured and your creatives are ready, it’s time to tell DV360 how to spend your money.

5.1 Setting Bid Strategies for CTV

Within your CTV Line Item, go to the “Bidding” section. DV360 offers various bidding strategies:

• Fixed CPM: You set a specific price per 1,000 impressions. Good for predictable costs but can limit reach if too low.
• Target CPM: You set a target, and DV360 optimizes to achieve it. I prefer this for awareness campaigns on CTV.
• Maximize Viewable Impressions: Focuses on viewability, which is excellent for CTV where high viewability is expected.

For CTV, I generally start with “Target CPM” and set a realistic target based on your audience and inventory. For premium CTV inventory targeting specific demographics, CPMs can range from $25-$60. A Nielsen report in 2023 indicated that CTV ad loads were still significantly lower than linear, often driving higher CPMs but also higher engagement. Monitor performance closely and adjust. If your ads aren’t delivering, your bid might be too low.

5.2 Setting Bid Strategies for Digital Audio

For your Digital Audio Line Item, the bidding strategies are similar. Again, “Target CPM” is a strong contender for awareness. Digital audio CPMs are often lower than CTV, typically ranging from $10-$30, depending on the platform and audience. Experiment with a slightly higher bid initially to ensure you’re competitive, then optimize downwards once you have sufficient data.

5.3 Frequency Capping and Budget Allocation at Line Item Level

Remember those frequency caps we set at the IO level? You can refine them further at the line item level. This is useful if you have different creative messages within the same IO. For instance, if you have a “teaser” ad and a “full reveal” ad, you might cap the teaser at 2 impressions before showing the full reveal.

Under the “Budget” section for each line item, you can allocate a percentage of your IO budget or a fixed amount. This granular control is immensely powerful. For example, you might allocate 70% of your CTV IO budget to a line item targeting first-party data segments and 30% to a line item targeting broader third-party data, ensuring your most valuable audiences get priority.

Step 6: Monitoring, Optimization, and Reporting

Launching a campaign is just the beginning. The real work is in the continuous optimization.

6.1 Real-time Performance Monitoring

Once your campaign is live, the DV360 dashboard becomes your mission control. Navigate to your campaign, then to the “Insertion Orders” and “Line Items” tabs. You’ll see metrics like “Impressions,” “Clicks,” “Spend,” “CPM,” and “Viewability.” Pay close attention to your pacing – is your budget spending too fast or too slow?

For CTV, monitor “Video Completion Rate” (VCR). A VCR of 80% or higher is generally excellent. If it dips significantly, your creative might be falling flat. For digital audio, listen for anecdotal feedback if possible, but primarily focus on reach, frequency, and any post-listen conversions or site visits.

6.2 Optimization Tactics

• Bid Adjustments: If your delivery is slow, increase your bids. If you’re overspending, decrease them.
• Audience Refinement: If certain audience segments are underperforming, pause them. If a segment is crushing it, consider creating a look-alike audience.
• Creative Rotation: Don’t let your creatives get stale. Rotate new video and audio ads every few weeks. A/B test different versions to see what resonates best.
• Frequency Adjustments: If you’re seeing high frequency but diminishing returns, lower your cap.
• Publisher/Inventory Optimization: DV360 allows you to see where your ads are running. If you notice poor performance on a specific app or publisher, you can exclude it.

Common Mistake: Setting it and forgetting it. Programmatic campaigns require active management. Check in daily, especially during the first week, then at least 2-3 times a week.

6.3 Reporting and Insights

DV360’s “Reports” section (the icon looks like a bar chart) is incredibly robust. You can build custom reports to analyze performance by device, creative, audience segment, and even specific publishers.

1. Click on the “Reports” icon.
2. Select “+ New Report.”
3. Choose a template or build a custom report. I often start with a “Standard Report” and add dimensions like “Creative,” “Device Type,” and “Audience Segment.”
4. Schedule reports to be delivered to your inbox weekly or monthly.

This data is your goldmine. It helps you understand what’s working, what’s not, and how to allocate future budgets. For example, if your CTV ads perform significantly better on Roku devices compared to Fire TV, you can adjust your targeting or bids accordingly in the next flight.

Managing campaigns across emerging channels like connected TV (CTV) and digital audio demands a sophisticated approach, but with tools like DV360, it’s entirely within reach for any marketer. The ability to target precisely, control budgets granularly, and optimize in real-time offers an undeniable competitive edge. Embrace these channels, and watch your brand’s reach and impact expand dramatically.