Why Streaming TV Is Your Next Big Marketing Opportunity

The way people watch television has changed dramatically. Streaming services have replaced traditional cable for millions of viewers, creating a massive opportunity for brands to reach engaged audiences in premium viewing environments—with the targeting precision and measurability that digital marketing provides.

Connected TV advertising represents one of the fastest-growing channels in digital marketing, particularly across Europe where streaming adoption has accelerated rapidly. For businesses in Estonia and throughout the Baltics and Nordics, this channel offers a unique combination: the brand-building power of television combined with sophisticated targeting that ensures your message reaches exactly the right people.

What Makes Streaming TV Different

Connected TV refers to any television that connects to the internet and streams content—whether that's a smart TV, a device like Roku or Apple TV, or a gaming console streaming Netflix or Disney+. The key difference from traditional television is that these devices create a two-way connection, enabling precise targeting and detailed measurement that wasn't possible with broadcast TV.

This distinction matters enormously for advertisers. Traditional television required buying broad time slots and hoping your target audience was watching. Connected TV lets you deliver specific ads to specific households based on their interests, behaviors, and demographics—all while they're enjoying premium content on the big screen in their living room.

Why Audiences Are Moving to Streaming

The shift to streaming isn't a temporary trend—it's a fundamental change in how people consume video content. Viewers appreciate the flexibility to watch what they want, when they want it, without being tied to broadcast schedules. They enjoy access to vast content libraries, original programming that rivals or exceeds traditional television quality, and the ability to watch across multiple devices.

In markets like the Nordics and Baltics, streaming adoption has been particularly strong. High internet speeds, tech-savvy populations, and strong purchasing power have created ideal conditions for streaming platforms to thrive. Many households now subscribe to multiple services, and younger audiences in particular have largely abandoned traditional television in favor of streaming-first viewing habits.

Why Streaming Growth Matters for Marketers

• Audience Shift: Your target customers are increasingly watching streaming content rather than traditional television, making CTV essential for reaching them.
• Premium Environment: Streaming platforms invest heavily in high-quality content, creating brand-safe environments for your advertising.
• Engaged Viewers: People actively choose what to watch on streaming platforms, resulting in more attentive, engaged audiences for your ads.
• Ad-Supported Growth: Many streaming services now offer lower-cost, ad-supported subscription tiers, dramatically expanding advertising inventory.
• Cross-Device Reach: While primarily watched on TV screens, streaming content is also consumed on tablets, phones, and computers, extending your reach.

The Marketing Advantages You Can't Ignore

Connected TV advertising offers a unique combination of benefits that few other channels can match. You get the large-screen, lean-back viewing experience of television—proven to build brands and drive emotional connections—combined with the targeting precision and performance measurement that digital marketers expect from modern advertising channels.

The viewing context is particularly valuable. When people sit down to watch streaming content, they're typically relaxed, focused, and receptive. Unlike browsing on a phone where attention is fragmented, streaming viewers are giving the screen their full attention. This creates an ideal environment for advertising messages to make an impact and be remembered.

"Streaming TV advertising gives you the best of both worlds: the brand-building impact of television combined with the precision targeting and measurement capabilities of digital marketing. It's television advertising reimagined for the digital age."

Reaching Exactly the Right People

One of the most powerful aspects of Connected TV advertising is precision targeting. Unlike traditional TV where you buy time slots and hope your audience is watching, CTV allows you to target specific households based on detailed criteria. You can reach audiences by demographics like age, income, and family composition, by location down to city or postal code level, by interests and content preferences, and even by purchase behavior and life events.

This precision is especially valuable in smaller markets where efficiency matters. Instead of paying for broad reach that includes many people who aren't interested in your products, you can focus your budget on households most likely to respond. This targeted approach typically delivers significantly better return on investment than traditional broadcast advertising.

Smart Targeting Approaches

• Customer Matching: Reach your existing customers or find new prospects who look similar to your best customers based on shared characteristics.
• Content Alignment: Show your ads during content that matches your brand positioning—sports, news, entertainment, or specific genres.
• Timing Optimization: Deliver ads when your target audiences are most likely to be watching and receptive to your message.
• Geographic Focus: Target specific cities, regions, or even neighborhoods where your products or services are available.
• Frequency Control: Manage how often the same household sees your ads to maximize impact while avoiding overexposure.

Measuring What Actually Matters

One of the biggest frustrations with traditional television advertising has always been measurement—or the lack of it. You'd spend significant budget on TV campaigns with only rough estimates of who saw your ads and little insight into what they did afterward. Connected TV solves this problem by enabling detailed tracking and attribution.

With CTV advertising, you can see exactly which households viewed your ads, track how many times they saw them, measure completion rates to understand engagement, and most importantly, connect ad exposure to actions like website visits, online purchases, app downloads, or store visits. This closed-loop measurement enables you to understand ROI in ways that were never possible with traditional television.

Creating Effective Streaming TV Ads

Success with Connected TV requires thinking carefully about creative development. The large-screen viewing environment offers opportunities to create visually stunning ads that make an impact, but it also requires ensuring your creative is optimized for this specific context. Your ads should be designed for large-screen viewing with clear, bold visuals, produced with sound in mind since viewers are typically watching with audio on, and appropriate for relaxed viewing where people are less likely to be in task-oriented mode.

Production quality matters on streaming platforms where your ads appear alongside high-budget content from major studios. While you don't need Hollywood-level budgets, your creative should feel professional and polished enough to fit naturally in the premium streaming environment. Many successful CTV advertisers repurpose and optimize existing video assets rather than creating entirely new content from scratch.

Making Buying and Management Simple

One challenge with streaming TV advertising has been the fragmented landscape—dozens of platforms and publishers, each with their own buying process. Fortunately, modern advertising platforms increasingly aggregate this inventory, making it easier to run cohesive campaigns across multiple streaming services through a single interface.

This consolidation benefits advertisers by simplifying campaign setup and management across platforms, enabling consistent targeting and frequency management across all streaming services, providing unified reporting and measurement, and allowing easier optimization based on performance data. For businesses in the Baltics and Nordics, this means you can efficiently reach audiences across both international platforms like Netflix and Disney+ as well as popular regional streaming services.

Understanding the Investment

Connected TV advertising typically requires a higher cost per impression than some digital channels, reflecting the premium viewing environment and engaged audiences. However, the overall return on investment can be excellent when you consider the quality of attention, brand impact, and measurable business outcomes that CTV delivers.

Budget requirements vary depending on markets, targeting parameters, and campaign objectives. Many streaming platforms and advertising partners have made CTV accessible to businesses of various sizes, not just large enterprises with television-sized budgets. Starting with focused test campaigns allows you to understand what works for your brand before scaling investment.

Real Challenges to Consider

While Connected TV offers tremendous opportunities, it's important to understand potential challenges. The streaming landscape is fragmented across many platforms, which can complicate reaching comprehensive audiences. Measurement standards are still evolving as the industry works toward unified metrics. Creative production may require investment if you don't already have video assets. And competition for premium inventory can be intense during peak viewing periods.

These challenges are gradually being addressed as the channel matures. Improved buying platforms make campaign management easier, measurement standards are becoming more consistent, and best practices are emerging from early adopters. For advertisers willing to invest time in understanding the channel, the opportunities significantly outweigh the challenges.

The Future Looks Bright

Connected TV advertising is still evolving rapidly, with several exciting developments on the horizon. Interactive capabilities are expanding, allowing viewers to engage directly with ads through QR codes or voice commands. Targeting precision continues to improve as platforms invest in data and identity solutions. Creative formats are becoming more dynamic, enabling personalization at scale. And the line between content and advertising is blurring through sponsored content and native integrations.

For brands in Europe, these developments promise even more ways to connect with streaming audiences effectively. As measurement improves and best practices mature, we expect CTV to become an increasingly important part of comprehensive marketing strategies across industries.

Getting Started with Streaming TV Advertising

If you're considering Connected TV advertising, start by clearly defining what you want to achieve—whether building brand awareness, driving consideration, or generating direct response. Research which streaming platforms are most popular with your target audience in your markets. Evaluate partners who can help you access CTV inventory and manage campaigns effectively. Develop or adapt video creative specifically for the television viewing environment. And establish measurement frameworks to track how CTV contributes to your business goals.

Begin with pilot campaigns to test different approaches, audiences, and creative strategies before committing large budgets. Use early results to refine your strategy, learning what resonates with streaming audiences and how CTV fits into your broader marketing mix. The insights you gain from initial tests will guide more effective scaling as you increase investment in this powerful channel.