LAS VEGAS — Connected TV’s real value as a performance channel happens when advertisers can know exactly who sits in front of the screen, enabling precise targeting that reaches people in their most relaxed, engaged living room state. It’s been a “holy grail” hope since CTV’s earliest days. And in many ways, that hope is being realized now.
“Deterministic data is the key that turns CTV into a true performance channel because we really know who’s sitting there in front of the TV now,” Meg Beaudet, head of sales and business development at Intuit SMB MediaLabs, told Beet.TV contributor David Kaplan at CES. “We can target that person with the right message at the right time so that it lands when they’re in their most relaxed and leaned in state.”
This capability addresses longstanding identity gaps in reaching small business owners through actual Intuit ecosystem data rather than modeled audiences.
Poor modeling created identity gap
Historical data for targeting small business owners relied on modeling that couldn’t verify whether identified individuals actually owned businesses, creating uncertainty that undermined campaign effectiveness.
“Up until recently, the data that’s been available for targeting small business owners is really bad. It’s been modeled on data and we don’t really know that the people who companies say are small business owners are small business owners,” Beaudet said. “We’re using real data from the Intuit ecosystem to target small business owners wherever they are out on the open web. That has been a game changer for the clients that are using our data.”
Ownership verification matters most
Simply knowing with certainty that someone owns a small business represents the most critical signal given past data clarity issues, though Intuit possesses additional business owner information that can enhance targeting.
“Because of the lack of clarity in data in the past, the simplicity of knowing that someone is a small business owner is the most important signal that really exists,” Beaudet said. “Just that first wonderful fact that we know that this is a small business owner in and of itself is a huge leap forward.”
Scale exceeds niche perception
QuickBooks reaches over 50% of U.S. small business owners while small businesses comprise 99% of GDP, creating scale that contradicts market perceptions of niche audience size.
“It’s thought of as a niche market, but it’s enormous,” Beaudet said.
Scale also varies by application — customers can deploy audiences programmatically, through CTV, or via audio to surround entire campaign messages across touchpoints.
AI accelerates event execution
Artificial intelligence’s impact extends beyond business strategy to daily operations, with Intuit executives using AI to manage the company’s CES presence.
“Our marketing leader blew me away with the speed at which he was able to do things using AI to organize our event presence,” Beaudet said. “I’m just really excited to start getting my hands more into the weeds on how we can improve our sales processes with AI.”
You’re watching “Unlocking the True Potential of CTV Through the Power of Deterministic Data,” a Beet.TV Leadership Series at CES 2026, presented by Intuit SMB MediaLabs. For more videos from this series, please visit this page.
