Savannah is a content marketer with editorial experience spanning several businesses. Specializing in social media and marketing trends, she loves talking about the latest developments in online marketing. When she’s not writing, Savannah loves traveling, hoarding books and coffee mugs, and adoring her cat. Please don’t ask her about famous true crime cases, or else she’ll tell you all about her theories and get absolutely no work done.
Streaming is everything these days. From live TV to prime time sporting events, streaming services are causing many people to cut ties with traditional satellite and cable TV. To take advantage of large audiences on streaming platforms, you need a strong connected TV (CTV) advertising strategy, and we’ve got the 2025 CTV trends to help you build a campaign that succeeds.
Whether you’re just starting your campaign or looking to revamp your current strategy, these CTV trends for 2025 are the perfect jumping-off points for success:
As more platforms becoming available, more people are opting to ditch cable and satellite subscriptions in favor of streaming subscriptions. In fact, over 58% of US adults use CTV devices to stream their favorite shows, movies, and live events.
Expert insights from
Raeann W.WebFX Social and Media Consultant
“With consumers shifting away from traditional cable, CTV presents a growing opportunity to reach audiences where they are streaming. Since CTV ads run on the largest screen in the home, increasing visibility and the likelihood of reaching multiple decision-makers within a family.”
This migration to streaming has prompted many platforms like Hulu and Disney+ to offer streaming bundles, or access to multiple platforms at a discounted price. These lower-cost options mean more people are opting in to new streaming platforms at base plans, where they’ll see ads throughout their content streaming.
If your target audience falls into this category, now is the time to invest in CTV advertising to take advantage of this large (and growing) opportunity to attract new leads at the discovery stage.
2. CTV ads are more interactive
Another CTV trend on the rise is the increase in ad options and capabilities. CTV ads are becoming more interactive, allowing for a more engaging, less passive ad experience. With shoppable CTV ads, viewers can directly engage with ad material and shop directly within the device.
3. Omnichannel strategies are key
One of the appeals of CTV advertising is that it can fit seamlessly with existing marketing strategies. For that reason, omnichannel campaigns are expected to be a significant CTV trend in 2025.
Advertisers can use the same audience data used in mobile video or display ad campaigns and apply that to their CTV ads. This way, adding CTV to cross-channel campaigns requires no additional setup. By incorporating CTV into your existing marketing strategies, you can showcase consistent brand messaging and more compelling customer journey across multiple channels.
4. CTV ad spend is increasing
As viewership grows, more and more advertisers are shifting their budgets to increase their CTV ad spend. CTV viewership and ad spend are surpassing pandemic levels, a time when binge-streaming was a norm. This year, it’s predicted at least five US businesses will see over $1 billion in CTV revenue, up from two in 2020.
Overall, US CTV ad spend is expected to hit almost $29 billion by the end of this year. With streamers like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video introducing ad-supported subscription tiers and defaulting existing users to them, it’s safe to predict CTV ad spend (and viewership) will see continued growth in 2025.
5. Attribution tracking is more advanced
New technology allows advertisers to understand how their CTV ads influence customer behavior. With new innovations to CTV advertising methods, ways to track campaign performance are emerging.
CTV advertisers can directly match sales data with exposure to ads to learn in-depth insights about the success of their campaigns. Best of all, you can monitor how people are moving through the sales funnel and identify points of origin for better campaign optimizations.
6. CTV ad targeting is getting more precise
The growth of CTV advertising has also led to another key trend — better ad targeting and personalization. CTV ad platforms offer enhanced targeting options for more precise campaigns tailored toward specific audience segments. As a result, more personalized campaigns are emerging, and the need for increased targeting options is growing.
CTV ad platforms like Google, Hulu, and Roku offer a variety of targeting tools, like:
Age
Gender
Ad and product interaction
CTV devices
And more
7. Privacy is golden
Finally, a major CTV trend to pay attention to in 2025 is increased emphasis on user data privacy and security. While this trend is prevalent in many aspects of digital marketing, it’s all the more important for CTV.
Users want transparency when it comes to how their data is used. They also want control (after all, it is their data, right?). This demand for user data empowerment had led to more partnerships between brands and advertisers leveraging data security tools, like Samsung and OneTrust, a consent management platform (CMP).
CTV advertising FAQs
Before you start implementing these CTV trends, get a refresh on all things CTV with these FAQs.
CTV advertising allows you to run video ads on popular streaming platforms and services in an engaging and interactive setting. Your CTV ads can appear as pop-ups within videos, full-screen interactive ads, during commercial breaks, and more.
There are various different types of CTV ads, and each come with unique benefits for advertisers and businesses:
Display ads: These static ads appear beside or below video content, and are sometimes displayed within a user’s home feed on CTV devices.
Video ads: Video ads play before, after, and during content, and usually last 15–30 seconds. Some are skippable after a specific amount of time has elapsed, and can include interactive elements like buttons.
Pop-up ads: Pop-up ads are non-invasive and appear while content plays without disrupting the streaming experience.
Interactive ads: These ads include interactive elements, so viewers can engage directly with your content and capture attention.
CTV trends show that streaming viewership is on the rise, and with that comes a larger audience for you to tap into. CTV advertising can extend to different streaming services, giving you the opportunity to expand your brand’s reach and attract new customers.
Better engagement
Unlike smaller devices like smartphones, smart TVs offer less distraction during the streaming experience. Users are more engaged with ads on TV screens, making CTV ads a valuable asset when trying to reach people during discovery and research stages in the sales process.
Expert insights from
Raeann W.WebFX Social and Media Consultant
“Viewers are generally more engaged with ads on a TV screen compared to smaller devices like phones. Plus, CTV is a good addition to an omnichannel strategy because you can monitor how you’re moving users through your marketing funnel.”
Cost-effective campaigns
CTV ad campaigns are cost-effective because they seamlessly integrate with other marketing strategies. So, instead of investing time and money into setting up a new platform to run ads, you can run the same ads across multiple channels and use the same audience targeting info, bidding strategies, and more. Plus, CTV ad platforms offer competitive pricing, making it extremely cost-effective.
Connected TV (CTV) and over-the-top (OTT) advertising are two popular forms of online advertising that take place on video streaming platforms. The key difference between the two is the device they’re seen on.
CTV ads appear on TVs connected to the Internet, or smart TVs. Meanwhile, OTT ads appear on any device connected to the Internet that has video streaming capabilities. This includes devices like smartphones, tablets, laptops, and smart TVs.
In a nutshell, OTT advertising extends to multiple streaming devices, while CTV is limited to smart TVs.
Tune in to new customers with CTV ad solutions from WebFX
Ready to launch your own campaign after taking in the latest CTV ad trends? We’re right there with you — literally! WebFX is a top CTV and OTT advertising agency with the technology and know-how to help you run a CTV ad campaign that drives results for your bottom line.
Craft a tailored online marketing strategy! Utilize our free Internet marketing calculator for a custom plan based on your location, reach, timeframe, and budget.
Craft a tailored online marketing strategy! Utilize our free Internet marketing calculator for a custom plan based on your location, reach, timeframe, and budget.
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Savannah is a content marketer with editorial experience spanning several businesses. Specializing in social media and marketing trends, she loves talking about the latest developments in online marketing. When she’s not writing, Savannah loves traveling, hoarding books and coffee mugs, and adoring her cat. Please don’t ask her about famous true crime cases, or else she’ll tell you all about her theories and get absolutely no work done.
