Is TV Advertising Still Effective in 2025?

Remember Saturday mornings as a kid, when the whole family would gather around the TV? Dad with his coffee, mom folding laundry, everyone half-watching whatever was on, until the commercials came on and suddenly everyone was paying attention. Those jingles stuck in your head for days, and somehow you found yourself asking for that cereal or toy at the store.

If we look at what’s happening today, that scene looks completely different. Your teenager is on TikTok, your spouse is streaming Netflix on their tablet, and you're catching up on work emails while something plays in the background. The family TV? It's probably showing a nature documentary nobody's actively watching.

So here's the question: In a world where we consume content across dozens of screens and platforms, does traditional TV advertising still make a difference like it once did?

The answer is a definite yes. While cord-cutting continues and streaming gets more attention, TV advertising has changed into something far more sophisticated than those Saturday morning interruptions. We're seeing clients achieve 3.4x returns on their ad spend and generate nearly half a million dollars in donations from $20,000 budgets. That's not nostalgia; that's modern TV advertising working smarter, not harder.

This article talks about what TV advertising actually looks like in 2025; not the outdated version you might be imagining, but the data-driven, targeted approach that's capturing attention and driving results in ways that would have seemed impossible just a few years ago. You'll learn why some of the smartest brands are doubling down on TV while others are walking away, and more importantly, how to determine which camp your business should be in.

Key Takeaways

• Television advertising continues to deliver results, with global ad spend projected to exceed $103 billion in 2025 despite digital competition.
• Connected TV (CTV) now commands one-third of total TV ad spend, growing ~20% annually through precise targeting and measurable performance.
• Addressable TV adoption has reached 80% among advertisers, making personalization and accountability core components of modern campaigns.
• Programmatic buying, cross-device retargeting, and interactive formats define today’s most effective TV advertising strategies.
• Outdated practices, broad demographics, one-size-fits-all creative, and ignoring streaming behaviors, waste budgets and limit ROI.
• Strategus helps brands harness modern TV advertising with programmatic CTV, premium inventory, and real-time measurement for maximum impact. Speak to a Strategus expert to learn more today.

Are TV Ads Still Effective?

Television advertising remains an effective channel in 2025, thanks to its blend of mass reach and increasing digital sophistication. One powerful indicator is the continued growth of the global TV ad market. According to New York Interconnect, this market is projected to rise from $101.6 billion in 2024 to $103.92 billion in 2025, demonstrating steady growth despite mounting digital competition.

A second compelling statistic comes from the shift toward Connected TV (CTV). As reported by International Advertising Solutions, CTV now represents one-third of all TV ad spend, and ad budgets in this segment are increasing by about 20 percent annually. This underscores the shift toward more targeted, interactive, and measurable ad formats on streaming platforms.

Third, the rise of addressable TV advertising is reshaping how brands target viewers. According to AiDigital, in 2025, 80 percent of advertisers are using or planning to use addressable TV, and during the 2024–2025 upfronts, 63 percent confirmed that addressable capabilities influenced their deals. This highlights the growing importance of precision and efficiency in TV campaigns.

These three data points together tell a clear story: the TV ad industry is not fading any time soon. However, it would be incorrect to suggest that it’s the same as it was a decade or two ago. The sustained market growth proves its enduring value; the rise of CTV shows how advertisers are embracing digital-enabled viewing; and the widespread adoption of addressable advertising demonstrates the demand for relevance and accountability.

In essence, TV ads remain effective, but not in the traditional sense alone. Advertisers can now use TV’s unrivaled scale while focusing its effects with targeting, personalization, and data in newer formats. For brands aiming to balance awareness with performance, TV, especially CTV and addressable TV, is proving more profitable and results-driven than ever.

TV Advertising Trends to Pay Attention to in 2025

TV ads are changing and continue to change as we speak. If you’re reinvesting in TV ads after a brief hiatus, there are some new trends you’ll need to pay attention to.

Cross-Device Retargeting is Taking Center Stage

TV ads no longer exist in isolation. Right now, the most effective campaigns follow viewers from their living room to their smartphone, creating seamless experiences across every screen they touch. When someone sees your CTV ad while streaming their favorite show, that same person can be retargeted with complementary content on social media or display ads while they're browsing on their phone. 

This has become more than a simple convenience. Viewers now expect brands to recognize them regardless of which device they're using, and campaigns that deliver on this expectation see significantly higher engagement rates.

Programmatic Buying is Becoming the Standard

The manual, relationship-driven ad buying of the past is giving way to automated, data-driven purchases. Programmatic CTV advertising now accounts for nearly 90% of all connected TV buys, and for good reason. Instead of negotiating broad demographic targets with sales reps, advertisers can now purchase inventory based on specific viewer behaviors, interests, and even purchase history. This precision means your ads reach people who are genuinely likely to care about your product, rather than just anyone who happens to be watching a particular show.

Interactive Ad Formats are Gaining Momentum

Static 30-second spots are converting into interactive experiences that invite immediate engagement. Viewers can now click directly on CTV ads to learn more, make purchases, or even schedule appointments, all without leaving their streaming experience. 

These interactive formats are particularly powerful for direct-response campaigns, where the goal is immediate action rather than just brand awareness. Early adopters are seeing click-through rates that would make digital marketers jealous.

Privacy-First Targeting is Reshaping Strategy

With third-party cookies disappearing and privacy regulations tightening, successful TV advertisers are pivoting to first-party data and contextual targeting. Instead of relying on tracking pixels and behavioral cookies, brands are focusing on the content context where their ads appear and building their own customer data pools. 

This actually benefits advertisers who take it seriously. First-party data tends to be more accurate and valuable than the third-party alternatives it's replacing.

Measurement Beyond Reach and Frequency

The industry is finally moving past simple metrics like impressions and completion rates toward actual business outcomes. Advanced attribution models now connect TV ad exposure to website visits, app downloads, and even in-store purchases. 

This level of measurement sophistication means TV advertising can finally prove its worth using the same ROI metrics that digital channels have enjoyed for years.

TV Advertising Strategies That No Longer Work

While there are tons of new opportunities out there, clinging to outdated approaches will drain budgets without delivering results. Here are some advertising strategies you should probably leave in the 2010s.

Broad Demographic Targeting

The old playbook of targeting "women 25-54" or "men 18-34" feels almost quaint with the precision-targeting tools we have today. These massive demographic buckets ignore the reality that a 25-year-old startup founder and a 54-year-old suburban parent have virtually nothing in common beyond their gender and age range. 

Modern viewers expect ads that feel relevant to their specific interests and circumstances, not their demographic profile. Brands still using broad demographic targeting are essentially playing darts blindfolded. Occasionally they'll hit the bullseye and get the answer right, but most attempts miss the mark entirely.

One-Size-Fits-All Creative

Running the same 30-second spot across every possible placement is a recipe for mediocrity. What works during a cooking show might fall flat during a true crime documentary. 

Smart advertisers now create multiple creative variations tailored to different content genres, viewing contexts, and audience segments. We have the tech to serve the right creative to the right viewer at the right moment and using it is no longer optional for competitive campaigns.

Ignoring Streaming Behavior Patterns

Traditional TV advertisers often assume viewers are still sitting through commercial breaks like they did in the cable era. In reality, streaming viewers behave differently. They're more engaged with content but less tolerant of irrelevant interruptions. Campaigns designed around traditional commercial pods often don’t resonate with streaming audiences who expect a more integrated, less disruptive ad experience.

Treating CTV Like Linear TV

Perhaps the biggest mistake is applying linear TV strategies to connected TV without adaptation. CTV offers targeting capabilities, measurement options, and interactive features that linear TV simply cannot match. Using CTV as merely a digital version of traditional TV advertising wastes its most valuable advantages. The platforms, audience behaviors, and available data are fundamentally different and successful campaigns acknowledge these differences rather than ignoring them.

Relying Solely on Brand Awareness Metrics

Measuring success only through reach, frequency, and brand lift surveys leaves money on the table. While brand awareness remains important, CTV's ability to drive direct response actions means campaigns should be optimized for concrete business outcomes. 

Whether that's website traffic, lead generation, or actual sales, the measurement capabilities exist to connect TV advertising directly to revenue and competitive advantage goes to brands that use them.

Making TV Advertising Work in 2025: A Practical Guide

Advertising has changed and so should your approach. Here’s a guide on how to work your way through advertising nuances to pull off a success campaign.

Start Small, Scale Smart

You don't need a Super Bowl budget to succeed in modern TV advertising. Local CTV campaigns can realistically start at $5,000-$10,000 monthly, but understanding what this investment actually delivers is important. 

At this budget level, you're looking at approximately 200,000-400,000 impressions, depending on your targeting precision, enough to reach your core audience 3-5 times per month while testing 2-3 different creative messages. This does more than spray-and-pray advertising. It's methodical testing at a scale that delivers statistically significant results.

Think Beyond Demographics

Traditional TV bought "Adults 25-54," a demographic segment so broad it encompasses everyone from young professionals starting their careers to established executives approaching retirement. Modern TV targeting operates on an entirely different level, reaching "coffee enthusiasts who run marathons and have kids in private school" or "small business owners who travel frequently and invest in cryptocurrency." You might think this is just fancy technology showing off. But it’s now the reality of how your competitors are viewing their advertising.

The precision comes from programmatic real-time bidding that evaluates each impression opportunity in milliseconds, considering behavioral signals like viewing habits and binge-watching patterns, cross-device activity including mobile app usage and purchase history, contextual relevance of the content being watched, and household attributes from income levels to lifestyle indicators. 

Embrace the Full Funnel

TV was used just for awareness. Now it's a full-funnel powerhouse when properly orchestrated with modern attribution and retargeting capabilities. The traditional model treated TV as a blunt instrument for brand building, disconnected from measurable business outcomes. Connected TV now operates as an integrated part of your marketing ecosystem, driving results at every stage of the customer journey.

At the top of the funnel, TV builds broad awareness with compelling creative storytelling, normally absorbing 40-50% of your budget while targeting broader audiences with high-level interest indicators. But those viewers don't disappear after seeing your ad. 

Through cross-device retargeting, you can follow up with middle-funnel messaging on their phones, tablets, and computers, serving digital display and video ads that provide deeper product information, social proof, and testimonials. This middle funnel typically represents 30-35% of the budget and focuses on driving site visits, content engagement, and email sign-ups.

The bottom of the funnel is where TV advertising's trends become most apparent. Using sophisticated attribution that tracks when someone sees your CTV ad on their smart TV, visits your website on their laptop three days later, and finally converts on their phone a week after that, you can optimize for actual conversions.

Content Context Matters

Where your ad appears matters as much as who sees it, yet many advertisers still treat all inventory as interchangeable. Premium content from sought-after publishers like HGTV and Discovery consistently outperforms user-generated or low-quality content, and the reasons go beyond simple brand safety. 

When someone actively watches a premium show, they're engaged, attentive, and receptive to messaging. They've made a conscious choice to spend their time with that content, creating a viewing mindset that's fundamentally different from someone randomly scrolling through clips on their phone.

Long-form programming, shows and movies 22 minutes or longer, creates an immersive viewing experience where viewers are settled in and committed to watching. Your ad becomes part of their planned viewing experience rather than an interruption to their multitasking.

Live events, while expensive, deserve some consideration. Whether it's sports, award shows, or breaking news, live programming creates appointment viewing where audiences are:

• Present and watching in real-time rather than multitasking
• Emotionally invested in the content they're viewing
• Often watching with others, amplifying your message's impact
• Accepting ads as a natural part of the live experience

Common Mistakes to Avoid With Your TV Advertising Campaign

In the advertising industry, mistakes translate directly to wasted ad spend. If you’re looking to prevent a scenario where TV advertising becomes a money pit, here are some things you should avoid.

Launching Without Proper Frequency Caps

One of the most expensive mistakes in CTV advertising is failing to set appropriate frequency caps, leading to viewer fatigue and wasted impressions. 

Unlike social media, where algorithms are trained to naturally vary content, CTV platforms will happily serve your ad to the same household 30 times in a week if you let them. This wastes money and damages your brand perception. 

In our experience, optimal frequency for CTV campaigns is somewhere between 3-7 exposures per week, with diminishing returns beyond that threshold. Yet many advertisers either set no caps at all or use the platform defaults, which are often designed to maximize inventory consumption rather than campaign effectiveness.

If you're running a $50,000 monthly campaign without frequency caps, you might be reaching only 20,000 households repeatedly instead of efficiently reaching 60,000 households at optimal frequency. That's inefficient and leaves two-thirds of your potential audience completely untouched while annoying the households you are reaching. 

Neglecting Creative Versioning for Platform Differences

Running identical creative across YouTube TV, Hulu, Roku, and Amazon Prime Video ignores fundamental differences in how viewers engage with each platform. 

• YouTube TV viewers often come from a mobile-first background and expect shorter, punchier messaging that gets to the point quickly. 
• Hulu audiences have grown accustomed to the platform's specific ad pod structure and pacing. 
• Roku users might be more price-conscious, having chosen a free or low-cost streaming option, making value messaging more resonant. 
• Amazon Prime Video viewers often multitask with shopping, creating unique opportunities for direct response messaging.

The platforms themselves have different technical capabilities and requirements. Some support interactive overlays, others allow QR codes, and many have specific audio mixing requirements that can make your professionally produced spot sound amateur if not properly optimized. A single creative approach also misses platform-specific opportunities, like shoppable ads on Amazon, pause ads on Hulu, or home screen takeovers on Roku. 

Misunderstanding View-Through Attribution Windows

Many advertisers either ignore view-through attribution entirely or set attribution windows that don't match their customer journey, leading to dramatically incorrect ROI calculations. A B2B software company using a 1-day attribution window will miss 90% of their conversions, as enterprise purchase decisions typically take weeks or months. Conversely, an e-commerce brand using a 30-day window for impulse purchases will claim credit for conversions that would have happened anyway, inflating their success metrics.

Things get a little complicated when you consider that different products within the same company might require different attribution windows. A streaming service's free trial might convert within hours of ad exposure, while their annual subscription upgrade could take weeks of consideration. 

If your attribution window is too short, you'll kill campaigns that are actually working. Too long, and you'll pour money into campaigns that aren't really driving incremental growth. The solution requires testing multiple attribution windows simultaneously, analyzing conversion patterns over time, and often running incrementality studies to validate your assumptions.

Forgetting About Audio-Only Scenarios

People routinely "watch" TV while cooking, cleaning, working out, or even showering, especially with familiar content like sitcom reruns or reality shows. If your creative relies entirely on visual storytelling without strong audio narration, you're essentially running silent ads to a significant portion of your audience.

This doesn't mean creating radio spots for TV. It means ensuring your audio track carries enough information to communicate your core message independently. Brand names should be spoken, not just shown. Key benefits need verbal explanation, not just visual demonstration. Your call-to-action must be heard, not just seen. 

The best CTV creative works as both a visual and audio experience, engaging viewers regardless of whether they're actively watching or listening from another room.

Closing Thoughts — Partnering with Strategus to Maximize Results from Your Ad Campaign

TV advertising remains one of the most impactful channels for reaching broad audiences and driving brand engagement, but its effectiveness depends heavily on strategic execution. From audience targeting and creative placement to cross-device attribution and performance optimization, even small missteps can limit reach and reduce ROI.

Partnering with Strategus ensures your TV advertising campaigns are managed with precision and insight. Our fully managed approach combines premium inventory access, advanced targeting, programmatic CTV capabilities, and real-time measurement to make every ad dollar count. Rather than navigating the complexities of media buying alone, you gain a hands-on partner who aligns campaigns with your objectives and continuously optimizes for results.

Whether you’re launching a local promotion or a national brand campaign, Strategus provides the expertise, technology, and insights needed to maximize reach, engagement, and conversions.

Take the guesswork out of TV advertising. Talk to a Strategus expert today and make your campaigns work smarter.