Cracking the code on accurate attribution for connected TV

In the old world of TV advertising, accurate attribution was all but mythological, so much so that many marketers seem to be under the impression that the same is true for newer solutions like connected TV. A survey from eMarketer found that of all the ways marketers want to see CTV improve, attribution is at the top of the list.

And we get it — attribution is important. Without dependable attribution, brands can’t accurately measure the success of their campaigns. But what these marketers may not realize is that we’re already long past the days of guesstimating success. Reliable attribution on CTV does exist — after all, connected TV is, first and foremost, a performance marketing channel. 

The key is finding the right CTV attribution model for your goals. Of course, not every attribution model is created equal. Some models give CTV credit for performance driven by other marketing channels; others don’t give CTV enough credit. Some attribution models estimate the credit CTV may have earned.

Nailing cross-device attribution is table stakes for CTV

In today’s interconnected world, where consumers can be found across a multitude of devices, marketers need an attribution model that follows viewers across each touchpoint through conversion. Of course, that level of cross-device attribution should be the bare minimum expected of a robust CTV attribution model.

To really ensure you’re measuring CTV-driven outcomes, successful CTV attribution will deduplicate other traffic sources. MNTN’s Verified Visits uses source validation to check the traffic for other media sources, ensuring the CTV campaign only takes credit when it’s due. To get a better sense of what an attribution model that gets it right might look like, let’s run through how Verified Visits works:

1. Ad is served to the viewer: First, a user views your CTV ad, served on premium streaming networks.

2. Cross-device tracking: The platform tracks user visits to a brand’s site on any household device within a customizable window after viewing the ad, whether the visit occurs organically or directly from the ad.

3. Source validation: A diagnostic check is run to confirm that the visit wasn’t driven by another marketing channel, such as paid search, social media, or emails.

By following this process, Verified Visits ensures that the CTV campaign only takes credit for the visits it actually drove, giving brands complete insight into a consumer’s path to conversion and deduplication with other channels in real-time. While this level of transparency is not a common practice in the industry just yet, marketers should be looking for a partner that aims to achieve it with their own attribution models.

Accurate attribution means better performance

The benefits of accurate attribution doesn’t stop at measuring the success of CTV campaigns. It’s a compass that can help guide marketers when optimizing their culture campaigns. Clean performance data helps marketers refine their overall strategies based on the outcomes of their CTV ads. In other words, accurate attribution on CTV translates to better performance across the board, allowing brands to reach their audiences at scale and generate measurable results. After all, attribution isn’t just important for peace of mind — research shows that it can improve efficiency by 15-30%. Ultimately, using an attribution model like Verified Visits and ensuring credit is given where it’s due paves the way to more effective, data-driven, and impactful advertising campaigns.