Opinion

A quarter of all Connected TV (CTV) bid requests can’t be trusted.

That doesn’t mean fraud every time. Sometimes, it’s incomplete data. Sometimes, it’s oversimplified or mislabeled content. And sometimes, it’s more intentional misrepresentation. But the effect is the same: Advertisers don’t know if they’re getting what they paid for and publishers can’t be sure they’re getting fair value for their inventory.

CTV has become a powerful full-funnel channel, attracting advertisers of all sizes – and the momentum isn’t slowing.

CTV ad spend is projected to rise another 16% this year to $26.6 billion, according to the IAB. But with rapid growth comes complexity. Advertisers now face a maze of platforms, apps and channels, each with different buying models, audience access and inconsistent measurement. For SMBs without large teams or budgets, this fragmentation is especially challenging to navigate.

It has long been understood that brand is advertising’s most powerful driver of growth. Yet, in a marketplace worth more than one trillion dollars, less than 10% of digital campaigns track brand outcomes.

In today’s economic climate, every marketing dollar is under scrutiny. CMOs aren’t just required to build brands and grow demand; they’re expected to prove that their budgets drive measurable business value. And no one is more invested in that proof than the CFO.

For all of the ad tech industry’s sophistication, fragmentation remains its original sin.

The solution isn’t a mystery. Everyone agrees that greater interoperability is the answer. So what’s standing in the way?

For as long as I’ve been in marketing measurement, people have been searching for the “easy button,” the one tool, model or platform that will finally tell them which marketing dollars truly drive growth. But, after 15 years and four attribution startups, I can tell you with confidence: The easy button doesn’t exist.

The fate of the open web will be decided on who controls the data that drives monetization and the AI that determines distribution. Google controls both, and proposed remedies to its ad tech monopoly do not address this imbalance.

You just launched a new campaign across multiple channels, from search to social. Perhaps you’ve gone out on a limb – maybe even against the recommendation of your CEO or board – and included streaming TV in the mix.

Publishers must coalesce to gain a credible bargaining position and stop the bleeding caused by AI search. From there, we must put the processes in place to actually operate a licensing mechanism.

ChatGPT and others continued the fragmentation of the search journey, which today hops between platforms and intents. The funnel no longer exists. Here’s how to pivot your brand’s SEO/GEO strategy.