In Context with TVision: The efficacy of scene-level contextual targeting

In this episode of In Context, Wurl’s Tori Owens sits down with Yan Liu, co-founder and CEO of TVision, to explore why attention is becoming a cornerstone of performance in CTV advertising. Liu argues that marketers can no longer rely on audience targeting alone. Instead, true impact comes from capturing attention—an outcome driven by a mix of timing, content relevance, and emotional alignment. If someone isn’t paying attention, he noted, they’re not going to take action. Plain and simple.

Backed by findings from a joint Wurl–TVision study, Liu revealed that ads aligned with the emotional tone of the content saw attention-duration rates soar from 30% to 70%. Whether it’s matching a joyful ad with upbeat programming or syncing a serious message with a somber scene, emotional context helps ads land more naturally—boosting engagement and reducing viewer drop-off.

What makes this approach even more compelling? It doesn’t require bigger budgets. Smarter placements, not higher spend, are what drive results. “You don’t have to buy the Super Bowl to get high attention,” Liu said. “You just need smarter placements.” And while attention is often considered an upper-funnel metric, Liu emphasized its correlation to better outcomes across the full funnel—from brand lift to search behavior to long-term sales.

​​If you put an ad in a very relevant, emotionally relevant spot, the attention to duration will bump up to 70%. More than 2x effect in terms of the contextual relevancy, which is quite significant because we haven’t really found another signal that can increase attention that much.”

Yan Liu

CEO
TVision

In Context is a Wurl original video series featuring short-form conversations with industry leaders exploring the impact of contextual targeting in CTV. Each episode dives into how emerging technologies are helping advertisers unlock smarter creative strategies, improve performance, and drive better outcomes on the biggest screen in the home.