Lesson 12 of 30 · 10 min
Video and CTV: buying attention at scale
The most expensive impressions in the plan, and when they earn it.
You are paying for completed attention
CTV runs in a lean-back, full-screen, sound-on environment with little skipping. That is why US CTV CPMs sit around $22 against roughly $3 for programmatic display — you are not buying more impressions, you are buying impressions that are much more likely to be watched.
CTV and OLV are not the same buy
Online video runs in-feed or pre-roll on desktop and mobile, is often skippable, and prices near $11 in the US. It buys volume and flexibility. CTV buys living-room attention. Many plans use OLV for frequency and CTV for the first, most memorable exposures.
Judge it on reach, not clicks
Most CTV inventory cannot be clicked at all, so click metrics are structurally meaningless there. Optimizing video toward clicks pushes delivery to the cheapest, least attentive inventory. Judge it on incremental reach, completion, and downstream lift in branded search or direct traffic.
The first five seconds carry the buy
Most video value is captured early: brand presence, a recognisable situation, and a single idea. Creative built as a 30-second story with the brand at the end wastes the part of the impression you actually paid for.
When video is the wrong buy
Video needs enough budget to reach a meaningful slice of the audience more than once. On a small budget in an expensive market, video buys a thin, forgettable sliver. Concentrate on capture channels first and add video when you can fund real reach.
Takeaway
Video buys attention and memory — fund it for reach and frequency, and never optimize it toward clicks.
Check yourself
No score, no signup — pick an answer to see why it's right.
Question 1
Why does CTV cost several times more per thousand impressions than display?
Question 2
A CTV campaign is optimized toward clicks. What is the likely outcome?