Connected TV advertising is rapidly evolving from a branding medium into a measurable performance channel, driven by advances in contextual targeting, data normalization and artificial intelligence, according to Dave Bernath, chief executive of streaming data and ad-tech firm Wurl.
Speaking with Beet.TV contributor David Kaplan, Bernath said advertisers are increasingly able to use the same digital tools that power performance marketing on the web and mobile, including contextual signals and outcome measurement, on the television screen.
“We’re seeing clear signs that CTV advertising is moving from traditional brand awareness to something much more performance- and outcome-based,” Bernath said. “Advertisers can now move customers across the funnel, even driving website traffic and in-store visits through CTV campaigns.”
Emotional alignment boosts attention
One of the biggest drivers of improved outcomes, Bernath said, is contextual alignment between ads and the content viewers are watching. By understanding the emotional tone of a scene before an ad break, advertisers can serve creative that fits naturally into the viewing experience.
“That alignment avoids the ‘record scratch’ moment,” he said, pointing to scenarios where upbeat ads appear immediately after dark or emotionally intense scenes. “When the emotional flow is right, attention increases significantly.”
Wurl has measured the impact through research conducted with TV measurement firm TVision. According to Bernath, ads that are contextually aligned with surrounding content generate 2.4 times more viewer attention. That lift cascades through performance metrics such as site visits, store traffic and brand outcomes.
Scaling performance in a fragmented market
Audience fragmentation across streaming platforms remains one of the biggest challenges for advertisers trying to scale performance-driven CTV campaigns. Bernath said Wurl addresses that challenge by normalizing content metadata and contextual signals across an enormous pool of streaming inventory.
Wurl has access to more than 110 billion 30-second ad opportunities each month across its connected TV footprint, he said. By standardizing signals such as metadata and genre across publishers and platforms, the company enables buyers to transact against a unified, transparent data layer.
“In a fragmented ecosystem, buyers need confidence,” Bernath said. “Our job is to make that supply understandable and actionable, so advertisers can spend at scale with clarity around the signals they’re using.”
Bringing digital precision to the big screen
Bernath emphasized that CTV’s impact is amplified by the medium itself (a large, non-skippable screen in the living room) combined with digital targeting capabilities that historically belonged to mobile and desktop advertising.
“It’s not a phone,” he said. “It’s a giant piece of glass in the living room. When you bring contextual targeting and digital performance tools to television, you unlock outcomes all the way down the funnel.”
That includes real-world actions, such as driving consumers into physical retail locations, he added.
AI powers next phase of performance CTV
Looking ahead, Bernath said artificial intelligence is the key technology pushing performance-based CTV forward, particularly in live streaming environments.
Generative AI enables real-time, scene-level analysis of video content, something that would be impossible to achieve manually at scale, he said. Those capabilities allow advertisers to understand what is happening on screen moments before an ad is served, improving contextual relevance and brand safety, especially for news programming.
“We’re talking about hundreds of live, linear streaming channels,” Bernath said. “Without AI and machine learning, you simply can’t monitor that content in real time and make informed ad decisions.”
As AI-powered contextual intelligence matures, Bernath said CTV is poised to become an even more powerful performance channel, blending the emotional impact of television with the accountability and precision of digital advertising.
“We’re really just getting started,” he said.
You’re watching Performance Marketing in Streaming TV: The Strategies & Innovations Driving Outcomes, a Beet.TV Leadership Series, presented by Wurl. For more videos from this series, please visit this page.
