If your agency isn't leading the CTV conversation, your clients will find someone who is.
Why? Internet-enabled TVs and connected devices, including Roku, Amazon Fire, and AppleTV are prolific in the modern household, and advertisers go where their audience lives. By 2026, 69.9% of the US population will be a CTV user.
CTV is a pivotal channel for full-funnel, multi-channel advertising, which means you need a more efficient way to buy CTV quickly and prove ROI with real-time data.
Some advertising platforms can only help you with a fraction of this equation; others ignore CTV altogether. Instead of cobbling together a CTV ad strategy with disparate advertising, creative, and analytics platforms, let’s go over how your agency can approach a CTV strategy that supports your entire media mix for each client with confidence.
The shift to CTV advertising isn’t coming — it’s already here! In 2025, CTV ad spending is projected to reach $33.35 billion, making up nearly 10% of total digital ad spend.
Brands are investing heavily in CTV, and agencies that fail to offer it as part of their core media strategy risk falling behind, particularly as other advertising channels may face setbacks and tailwinds. Investing in CTV advertising capabilities for your clients is futureproofing.
Agencies should be proactive, not reactive, in recommending CTV. If you have to research CTV strategies after a client already asks, it’s too late.
And if your clients aren’t spending on CTV yet, they will be soon. And when they do, they’ll look to you for guidance. Agencies that don’t adapt to this shift will lose business to competitors who embrace CTV as a core part of their advertising mix.
However, jumping into a new channel isn’t easy. Let’s talk about why agencies aren’t offering CTV, or why it isn’t yet their go-to recommendation for their accounts, and debunk a few myths.
Despite its rapid growth, many agencies still hesitate to recommend CTV to their clients. The reasons? Mostly outdated perceptions that don’t hold up anymore:
Reality: That used to be true — but not anymore. With budgets starting as low as $165/day via AdRoll, agencies can now offer high-impact CTV campaigns without breaking the bank. Access to cost-effective production partners also means creative isn’t a blocker, even for smaller brands.
Reality: Monitor in-flight campaigns and make informed optimizations. AdRoll’s dashboard reports key metrics to help you identify success and optimizations. Measure business impact across the full funnel and drill down performance by ads, audiences, placements, and devices.
Reality: While optimization is key, agencies now have access to real-time transparency and performance tracking. Platforms like AdRoll let you gauge campaign performance. You can track CTV engagements from initial exposure to conversion.
Reality: Ad-supported streaming has overtaken traditional TV. If they haven’t asked you about CTV already, brands expect their agencies to proactively guide them toward high-performing channels.
Reality: AdRoll offers creative support as a service. We work with CTV creative partners to help you serve clients’ needs with high-quality video content. Many creative agencies specialize in video because of the growing demand for CTV.
CTV has evolved to be about so much more than brand awareness. With the right tools, CTV has advanced retargeting and cross-channel attribution. AdRoll makes it seamless to integrate CTV into your clients’ media mix for maximum impact.
CTV isn’t just for splashy brand awareness anymore — it’s a performance channel that plays well at every stage of the funnel. That means agencies can offer their clients a more complete, high-performing strategy without adding complexity to their stack.
Companies that invest in top-of-funnel CTV marketing employ introductory ads establishing who they are and what they do. These ads have broad reach, since advertisers will narrow their targetings as viewers move down the marketing funnel.
For the middle of the funnel, CTV uses features like one-click email and QR codes for interactive creative. These features encourage a TV audience to use their phones to receive more information. A CTV ad can drive users to open a new channel of communication with a brand, like email or text. You can also retarget viewers of CTV ads on their personal devices, including laptops, phones, and tablets, to drive further consideration.
At the bottom of the funnel, CTV ads might look different. Video content can be longer and more descriptive, with CTAs to timely events and incentives like coupons and deals.
CTV works alongside search, social, and display to drive incremental conversions and drive users down the funnel. This means bigger wins for you and your clients.
The key is using software that allows you to make cross-channel connects, like retargeting campaigns from one channel to another. Some CTV platforms, like MNTN, don’t offer diverse multichannel advertising touchpoints.
Having clear CTV strategies and offers will help you stand out from competition that doesn’t offer the channel. Agencies that embrace CTV are already seeing major benefits.
Positioning CTV as a must-have channel makes you stand out in competitive pitches. The agencies that don’t offer CTV will fall behind. That’s why it’s imperative you use an advertising platform that works across several platforms, CTV included.
The best agencies evolve with the digital landscape — and CTV is a clear signal of that evolution. By embracing emerging channels, you're not just following trends — you're showing leadership. You're signaling to clients that you're in tune with where the market is going and that you can guide them there.
Of course, staying agile takes the right partners. AdRoll’s platform is built to grow with you, adding CTV alongside display, native, video, and email — so you can launch campaigns across channels from one place, without hopping between platforms or juggling multiple logins. It’s adaptability made simple and scalable.
Don’t wait for clients to ask for CTV. As you can see, there’s a lot to lose by neglecting this channel. Be proactive in leading the charge:
Offer a pilot campaign. Start small with a self-serve test campaign to show clients the impact of CTV.
Or, book a strategy session. Tap into AdRoll’s agency experts to map out how CTV fits into your current offering.
These first steps can have a big impact and give you a basic understanding of CTV, giving you the confidence to offer it to clients.
Brands are already shifting their budgets to CTV, so if your agency isn’t proactively leading the charge, your clients will find someone else who will. Don’t let your competitors take the lead — start offering CTV today! Book your free strategy session with AdRoll now.
Last updated on April 9th, 2025.