Your next user is watching. Are you on their screen?
Let’s face it, Connected TV (CTV) is changing everything about how you reach potential users. Gone are the days of traditional TV’s one-size-fits-all approach. With smart TVs and streaming services taking over living rooms everywhere, you’ve got a golden opportunity to connect with your audience in ways that weren’t possible just a few years ago.
If you’re marketing apps in 2025, you can’t afford to ignore CTV. The numbers tell the story: More than 80% of American homes have at least one Connected TV device, and brands are pouring money into this space (CTV advertising spending is on track to hit $27 billion by 2026). This isn’t just another marketing channel, it’s quickly becoming the main screen where your potential users spend their evenings.
What makes Connected TV so exciting for you as an app marketer? For starters, you can finally bring the precision targeting you love about digital marketing to the biggest screen in the house. You can see exactly who watched your ad, when they installed your app afterward, and how they engaged with it. No more throwing money into the TV void and hoping for the best.
Think about how frustrating traditional TV advertising was – you’d run a commercial and then… silence. Did it work? Who knows! With Connected TV, you’ll track the entire journey from someone watching your ad to downloading your app and becoming a loyal user. Want to see how this fits with your other marketing efforts? Check out our mobile attribution strategies for the complete picture.
Throughout this guide, we’ll walk you through real-world strategies that are working right now for app marketers just like you. Whether you’re just getting your feet wet with CTV or looking to make your existing campaigns more effective, you’ll walk away with practical approaches you can implement immediately.
Ready to transform how you acquire and engage users? Let’s dive in.
Connected TV Marketing Overview
You’ve probably noticed how everyone around you is cutting the cord. Those cable boxes are gathering dust, replaced by Firesticks, Roku devices, and smart TVs. This isn’t just a trend, it’s a full-blown revolution in how we consume content, and it’s opening up amazing new possibilities for you as an app marketer.
Why CTV Marketing Should Be on Your Radar
Think about traditional TV ads for a second, you’re basically throwing your message into the void and hoping the right people see it. Remember those vague demographic targets like “women 25-52” or “sports enthusiasts”? With connected TV, those days are gone.
Now you can get seriously specific about who sees your app ads. Want to target mobile gamers who watch cooking shows and have recently searched for fitness apps? Done. This level of precision means your acquisition costs go down while your conversion rates climb, music to any app marketer’s ears.
The real game-changer? You can actually see the full journey from someone watching your ad to installing your app and becoming a loyal user. No more guesswork about whether your TV ads are working. You’ll know exactly how many viewers took action after seeing your ad, whether they downloaded your app immediately or came back to it days later.
Connected TV vs OLD-School TV: No Contest
Let’s be honest, traditional TV advertising was always a bit of a gamble. You’d secure your prime-time slot, spend a small fortune, and then… hope for the best. The only “data” you’d get was broad ratings information that told you almost nothing about who actually saw your ad or what they did afterward.
CTV flips this model on its head. Instead of interrupting viewers with irrelevant ads, you can slide into their streaming experience with messages that actually matter to them. Unlike traditional TV, where viewers are reaching for their phones during commercial breaks (likely forgetting your ad entirely), Connected TV viewers can take immediate action- clicking through to download your app right then and there.
The measurement difference is night and day, too. With traditional TV, you might see a general lift in installs, but good luck figuring out which ad placement drove them. With Connected TV, you’ll see exactly which shows, devices, and times drove the most valuable users to your app.
What’s Hot in Connected TV Right Now
The CTV space isn’t just growing, it’s exploding. India alone is expected to have over 60 million CTV households by the end of this year. That’s 60 million potential homes where your app could be discovered.
Programmatic buying is also changing the game completely. Instead of negotiating directly with each streaming platform, you can now automate your CTV buys across multiple services, optimizing in real-time based on which placements are actually driving installs. This means less wasted spend and more efficient campaigns.
Smart marketers are also connecting the dots between their CTV efforts and other channels. That viewer who saw your app ad while streaming their favorite show might not download immediately – maybe they’ll search for your app later on their phone or click on your Instagram ad the next day. With the right attribution setup, you can understand these complex journeys and allocate credit properly.
One word of caution, though – as money floods into Connected TV, so do the fraudsters. We’re seeing everything from basic impression fraud to sophisticated schemes that mimic legitimate CTV traffic. Make sure you’re leveraging solid anti-fraud tools (like what we offer at Apptrove) to protect your investment.
The bottom line? CTV isn’t just another channel to add to your marketing mix – it’s quickly becoming the centerpiece of forward-thinking app marketing strategies. Jump in now while the space is still evolving, and you’ll be ahead of competitors who are stuck in the traditional marketing mindset.
How CTV Advertising Works
Remember those traditional TV ads where you’d basically throw your commercial into the wild and hope someone relevant saw it? Connected TV has completely flipped that script. Let me show you how this actually works in the real world – because once you understand the mechanics, you’ll see why it’s such a powerful tool for getting your app in front of the right eyeballs.
Where Your Ads Actually Show Up
Your placement option gives you tactical advantages at every stage of the viewing experience:
Pre-roll catches viewers when they’re freshest, before content fatigue sets in. They are settled in, remote in hand, and fully attentive.
Mid-roll placements nestle your message within content breaks when viewers are already invested in their viewing experience. Unlike other platforms, most aren’t reaching for the skip button.
Post-roll might seem counterintuitive, but the viewers who stick around after the content ends? They’re your golden audience – highly engaged and more likely to take action.
Smart placement testing can reveal surprising patterns unique to your app. The difference between a breakout campaign and a mediocre one often comes down to finding your sweet spot in the content flow.
Targeting That Makes Traditional TV Look Like Stone Age Technology
The targeting precision here is where you’ll leave the traditional channel in the dust:
Layer behavioral data over demographics to find those perfect-fit users, like parents who have recently browsed educational content and stream kid-friendly shows on weekends.
Cross-reference viewing habits with device information to target a technical profile that matches your app’s requirements.
The ability to exclude existing users means every impression goes toward genuine acquisition rather than preaching to your choir.
This surgical precision translates directly to your bottom line, every dollar works harder because you’re not wasting impressions on irrelevant audiences.
Finally, Measurement That Actually Makes Sense
The attribution puzzle finally has all its pieces:
Connect the dots across the entire user journey – from that initial passive viewing experience to active engagement with your app days later.
Uncover “influenced installs” that traditional attribution models miss entirely, like when someone sees your ad on Tuesday but doesn’t download until Friday.
Identify which specific creative elements drive the highest-value users, not just the most installs. That cartoon mascot might drive downloads, but your feature showcase might bring in users who spend more.
The multi-touch nature of modern attribution reveals patterns you simply couldn’t see before, like how Connected TV exposure dramatically increases click-through rates on your social campaigns.
Creative That Actually Works
The creative possibilities transform how you present your app:
Showcase different app features based on viewer profiles – productivity tools for business content viewers, social features for reality show fans.
Drive immediate action with scannable QR codes that bridge the TV-to-mobile gap instantly.
Test variable messaging to different audience segments without needing completely different production runs.
The combination of big-screen production values with digital-style conversion tactics gives you the best of both worlds – emotional connection with measurable action.
CTV gives you that rare marketing channel that hits both the heart and the analytical brain. For your app marketing strategy, it’s like finding the perfect balance between brand building and performance marketing – all on the biggest screen in your users’ homes.
Connected TV Marketing Strategies For App Marketers
Now that you understand CTV works, let’s talk about turning that knowledge into action. This isn’t about following some generic marketing playbook, it’s about leveraging what makes CTV special to get your app noticed, installed, and actually used. Here’s how to build campaigns that break through the streaming noise.
Strategy 1: Create Video Ads People Actually Want to Watch
Let’s be honest, most Connected TV ads are forgettable. But your doesn’t have to be.
Remember you’re working with the biggest screen in the house. Those tiny details you’d skip for mobile? They matter here. Your visuals need to pop on a 55-inch screen viewed from across the room. That subtle color gradient in your app interface? Show it off now.
Since viewers can’t typically skip your ad (unlike practically every other digital channel), you’ve got a captive audience; don’t waste it with a boring pitch. Hook them in those first five seconds with something unexpected.
The magic formula I’ve seen work time and again:
- Show the problem your app solves in a relatable, even emotional way
- Demonstrate your solution with actual app footage (not just talking heads)
- Include your app name on screen throughout, people might be watching with sound off
- End with a crystal-clear call to action that acknowledges the multi-device reality (Search for “App Name” in your app store)
And here’s the best part: Connected TV ads have a 98% completion rate, significantly higher than most digital formats. That means you have a real opportunity to tell a full story, build emotional resonance, and drive your point home, without being skipped or ignored like on other platforms.
Strategy 2: Get Surgical About Who Sees Your Ads
The data capabilities of CTV allow you to target with almost scary precision. Use it.
Forget broad demographics buckets. Think about behavior patterns:
- People who stream workout content might want your fitness app
- Late-night binge viewers could be prime targets for your meditation app
- Parents watching kids’ programming might need your family organization tool
You can create custom segments based on multiple signals:
- Combine viewing habits with household composition data
- Layer in app category affinity (do they already use similar apps?)
- Add timing filters to catch people when they’re most receptive
And this isn’t just theory—marketers are actively moving spend to Connected TV for this reason.
According to a 2023 survey of U.S. video marketers, 47% of those planning to increase their CTV ad spend said they were doing so because of its audience targeting capabilities. That kind of strategic targeting isn’t just a perk—it’s the backbone of performance-driven acquisition.
Strategy 3: Build Bridges Between Devices
The hard truth about Connected TV? People rarely install apps directly from their TV. Your strategy needs to acknowledge this reality by connecting screens.
Think about your own behavior, you see something interesting on TV, then grab your phone to check it out. Your marketing should mirror this natural flow:
- Show the captivating brand story on CTV
- Retarget the same viewers on their mobile devices with installation-focused messages
- Create consistency in visual elements so viewers instantly recognize your brand across screens
The result? Real, measurable lift. Campaigns that integrate Connected TV and mobile ads see 5x higher conversion rates than single-channel efforts. That’s because they guide the user journey across the screens they already use, rather than expecting behavior that’s unlikely.
Strategy 4: Make Passive Viewing Active
Interactive Connected TV ads are still underutilized, giving you a chance to stand out in a sea of passive content.
When a viewer can actually do something during your ad – answer a question, tap to learn more, or even start an install process – they’re significantly more likely to remember your app later:
- Use clickable overlays that let viewers explore different app features
- Create branching narratives where viewers choose what they want to learn about
- Add QR codes that bridge TV viewing and mobile action instantly
This isn’t just a shiny new format—it performs. Interactive Connected TV ads can increase engagement rates by up to 52%, making them one of the most efficient ways to boost brand recall and app consideration. And because these formats encourage active participation, they also help pre-qualify high-intent users.
By combining these four strategies, you’re not just advertising – you’re creating a connected experience that guides potential users from awareness on their TV screen to active engagement on their phones and tablets. In today’s fragmented attention economy, that seamless journey is what separates apps that get downloaded once from those that become daily habits.
Challenges in Connected TV Marketing
While Connected TV opens exciting doors for your app marketing, it’s not all smooth sailing. Let’s tackle the real challenges you’ll face and how you can overcome them to stay ahead of competitors who might get stuck in these common traps.
Challenge 1: Measurement and Attribution
The million-dollar question: Did that person who just installed your app do it because they saw your CTV ad last night?
Unlike other digital channels where you can follow a direct click path, Connected TV creates a disconnect between viewing and action. When someone watches your ad on their living room TV and later downloads your app on their phone, connecting those dots is genuinely tricky.
Your attribution options come with trade-offs:
Probabilistic matching might tell you a device in the same household downloaded your app after exposure, but can’t confirm it was the same person.
IP-based attribution works for household-level insights but falls apart with mobile networks or when people are on the go.
To strengthen your attribution approach:
Build incrementality testing into your campaigns – run your CTV advertising in specific geographic areas and measure lift against control regions.
Look for patterns rather than perfect attribution – consistent install spikes following your Connected TV flights still tell a compelling story even without user-level connections.
Consider using QR codes or unique promo codes in your CTV advertising that create trackable paths to installation.
Challenge 2: Ad Fraud and Privacy Concerns
As money pours into Connected TV, so do the fraudsters – and they’re getting creative. You might be paying premium rates for what you think are prime-time impressions, only to discover you’ve been showing ads to bot farms or non-existent devices.
The fraud challenges in Connected TV are particularly sneaky:
Server-side ad insertion makes verification harder than traditional digital channels.
The fragmented nature of CTV platforms means inconsistent standards for verification.
Meanwhile, privacy regulations continue tightening around the world, limiting how you can use household data for targeting.
To protect your investment:
Work only with premium publishers and demand transparency in reporting.
Watch for red flags like perfect completion rates or suspicious viewing patterns (like constant 24/7 viewing from the same devices).
Build privacy compliance into your strategy from day one – avoid collecting or using data that might run afoul of regulations in your target markets.
Challenge 3: Creative and Format Challenges
That stunning app demo that works brilliantly on Instagram? It might be completely unreadable on a TV viewed from 10 feet away.
The creative demands of Connected TV are fundamentally different:
Text that’s perfectly legible on a phone might be impossible to read on a TV screen.
Subtle visual cues that work when someone’s holding a device might get completely missed in a living room setting.
Interactive elements need to work with remote controls, not touch screens – completely changing the UX requirements.
To make your creative connection:
Test your ads on actual TV screens viewed from couch distance before finalizing.
Embrace simplicity – focus on one clear message rather than trying to communicate every feature.
Think about the audio experience as much as the visual – many viewers are actually listening to your ad while glancing at their phones.
These challenges aren’t meant to discourage you – they’re opportunities to outperform competitors who aren’t thinking critically about their Connected TV approach. By addressing these hurdles head-on with thoughtful solutions, you’ll be among the minority of app marketers truly harnessing CTV’s potential rather than just checking a box on their media plan.
Remember that the CTV landscape is still evolving rapidly. What works today might need adjustment tomorrow as platforms update their capabilities, measurement improves, and viewer behaviors continue to shift. Stay flexible, keep testing, and view these challenges as the price of admission to what might be your most powerful user acquisition channel yet.
Conclusion: Why Connected TV Marketing Belongs in Your App Strategy
Let’s cut to the chase, CTV marketing isn’t just another checkbox on your marketing plan. It’s that rare sweet spot where a channel is mature enough to work reliably but fresh enough that your competitors haven’t saturated it yet.
What makes Connected TV so powerful is how it gives you what you’ve always wanted but could never have, the emotional punch of television with the targeting precision of digital. Your app story plays on the big screen during someone’s favorite show, creating a genuine connection. Then that same person sees your follow-up ad on their phone later, with a direct install button. With platforms like Apptrove making cross-channel attribution more seamless, it’s easier than ever to link those touchpoints and drive performance.
Yes, you’ll face challenges. Attribution isn’t perfect. There’s fraud to navigate. TV- first creative demands different skills from mobile ads. But these same hurdles are exactly what will keep your less adaptable competitors away while you build expertise and audience.
The numbers don’t lie. CTV viewership continues while traditional TV declines. Ad dollars are following, but there’s still a gap between audience time spent and marketing dollars allocated, meaning your investment today likely delivers more value than it will tomorrow.
When your cost per acquisition on familiar channels keeps climbing each month, that’s exactly when you need Connected TV to unlock new growth.
Don’t wait until your competitors figure this out. The opportunity is now to reach users in their most receptive environment and measure the real impact on your installs and engagement.
