Marketing Leaders Struggle with CTV Targeting Despite Budget Shift
A recent survey of 600 U.S. marketing and advertising leaders has revealed a disconnect in connected television (CTV) advertising strategies. While brand awareness is the top objective, traditional targeting methods are still prevalent.
The survey, conducted between July 10-20, 2025, found that nearly 46% of respondents have shifted at least 26% of their paid media budgets to CTV over the past three years. However, the tactics used to reach audiences do not align with the primary campaign goals.
Media professionals prioritize brand awareness, with 30% citing it as their primary objective, followed by revenue growth at 28% and customer acquisition at 22%. Yet, they continue to rely heavily on demographic targeting (29.5%), interest-based targeting (21%), and geographic targeting (19%) - methods more suited to performance marketing. Only 45.2% reported being very familiar with contextual targeting, a method better suited for brand awareness campaigns.
Gracenote's research highlights this strategic misalignment. Only 27.8% of respondents rated CTV advertising as extremely effective, while 32% considered it not very effective. Lack of standardization and unification in content metadata was identified as a significant challenge by 70% of respondents.
Currently, 27% of respondents allocate 40% or more of their total budgets to CTV. To maximize the effectiveness of these investments, marketers should consider aligning their targeting strategies with their brand awareness objectives, and address the challenges posed by lack of standardization in content metadata.
