With billions of impressions available on streaming, how do you optimize ad placement?

The rapid growth of streaming TV presents challenges for marketers, especially in placing ads effectively to maximize viewer engagement and return on investment. Advertisers need to understand viewer preferences and the specifics of different platforms while managing their own investment goals. Success requires combining tech insights with creative approaches to ensure streaming ads connect with the intended audience across the billions of available impressions.

This blog outlines effective strategies for placing ads on streaming platforms. It focuses on three main principles: targeting the right viewer, delivering the right message, and choosing the most impactful time to fully leverage streaming TV advertising opportunities.

Crafting the right message

A successful ad campaign relies heavily on the strength of your ad creative: not just beautiful imagery and ad slogans, but messaging that speaks to your audience, and ad formats that engage them. It’s about meeting consumers where they are and crafting stories that truly connect with what viewers care about and feel.

Create an emotional connection

In streaming TV, when advertisements connect with people emotionally, viewers are more likely to engage. Studies show that emotional responses play a crucial role in driving ad effectiveness—according to Nielsen, ads with above-average emotional engagement deliver a 23% increase in sales compared to those with weaker emotional appeal. Additionally, research from the IPA’s Long and Short of It study highlights that emotion-driven ads are twice as likely to generate significant brand growth over time compared to rational, product-focused messaging. In the context of streaming, where viewers expect personalized and immersive experiences, emotionally resonant ads can foster stronger brand recall and higher interaction rates. By leveraging AI-powered solutions to analyze emotional patterns in both content and viewer behavior, brands can craft more personalized, emotionally charged ads that feel relevant and timely.

Test and iterate

Since streaming TV is always changing, advertisers need to adjust their campaigns quickly. Wurl’s creative analysis tool makes this easier by analyzing ads and giving them an emotion score based on Plutchik’s Wheel of Emotions. This helps advertisers match their ads with content that has a similar emotional tone, making the ad more likely to connect with viewers. By using real-time data, A/B testing, and feedback, advertisers can keep improving their campaigns and ensure their ads remain relevant and engaging.

Advertisers can create more effective campaigns for streaming TV by focusing on emotional alignment, using new ad formats, and continuously improving based on data. Wurl’s creative analysis not only gives an emotion score for each ad but also ensures the ad matches the emotional tone of the content it’s shown with. This approach has worked well for real brands, but it’s important to keep testing and refining the strategy to maintain success over time.

Match the ad message and format

Interactive ads, shoppable ads, and ads personalized for viewer preferences are becoming more popular with advertisers because they make watching ads more interactive and engaging. For instance, interactive ads let viewers click to get more information or interact with the ad in other ways. Shoppable ads make it easy for viewers to buy products right from the ad, simplifying their shopping experience and improving conversion rates. Dynamic ads adjust in real-time to highlight timely offers, such as special offers for sports betting during live games, keeping the content fresh and relevant.

Wurl has partnered with Transmit to offer in-stream and other innovative CTV ad formats to publishers working with Wurl. Research by Transmit shows that these more engaging ad formats are very effective. 94% of people remembered the brand featured in the ad, and 91% preferred the Picture-in-Picture (PIP) experience. Additionally, 77% liked the ad because it kept their attention for longer, and 85% remembered specific messages from the ad.

Targeting the right viewer

Audience targeting in streaming TV is more than just reaching viewers by basic factors like age or gender. To truly connect with the right audience, it’s about understanding their behaviors and interests. By combining first-party and third-party data, advertisers can gain a deeper understanding of viewers’ preferences, browsing habits, and lifestyle choices. First-party data comes directly from user interactions, offering insights into what existing customers like. Third-party data, on the other hand, adds broader insights, helping advertisers understand wider market trends.

First-party data

First-party data is information the brand already collects directly from its own customers. This includes data like:

• What customers have bought on the brand’s website.
• What pages or products they’ve viewed.
• How often they interact with the brand, like email opens or app usage.

Using this data, the brand can target ads to viewers who have already shown interest in their products. For example, using identity solutions, if someone has looked at a specific product on the brand’s website but didn’t buy it, the brand can target the person in that household with an ad for that product on a streaming platform. It is important to note that streaming data is generally organized at the household-level, not person-level, since TVs are commonly shared devices.

Third-party data

Third-party data is collected by outside companies and provides additional insights about broader audience behavior. This can include:

• Demographic data like age, gender, or income.
• Interest data like people who watch certain types of shows or follow certain topics.
• Purchase behavior data from other websites or apps.

The brand can use this data to reach new potential customers who fit the profile of their ideal audience, even if they haven’t interacted with the brand yet. For example, a brand selling kitchen appliances could target viewers who regularly watch cooking shows, even if they are not currently watching a cooking program, based on the third-party data showing that these viewers are interested in cooking-related content.

Contextual and emotional

While traditional ad targeting often focuses on broad categories, streaming TV provides an opportunity to get more granular with contextual and behavioral targeting. Contextual targeting places ads within content that aligns with the viewer’s current interests. For example, a sports drink ad shown during a live football game is likely to resonate better with viewers than if it were shown during a cooking show. This method ensures that ads feel relevant to the content, enhancing viewer engagement.

Emotional targeting takes it a step further by leveraging analysis of the program’s content to find matches that feel natural and evoke the same emotions as the ad itself. For example, political advertisers can target users who are primed to action by watching a show with high anger.

Adding emotion to your existing strategies

Many advertisers already use traditional methods, such as targeting based on age, income, or location, to reach specific audience groups. While these approaches ensure the right people see the ad, they don’t always consider the viewer’s emotional state when watching the content, which means they can run in contexts that don’t suit your message. That’s where emotion targeting comes in.

Wurl’s emotion targeting builds on traditional contextual targeting methods by adding emotional insights into the mix. With Wurl’s technology, advertisers can find the emotional moments in programming—whether it’s a heartfelt moment in a drama or a thrilling pause in a sports game—that match their ad’s message. This ensures the ad is shown at the perfect time, when the viewer is most likely to connect with it emotionally.

For example, imagine a car commercial focused on trust and reliability. Showing this ad during a moment in a family drama that promotes trust—like a heartwarming family scene—makes the message feel more natural. Alternatively, if the goal is to create excitement, placing the ad during a high-energy sports moment, like the last few seconds of a close game, can make the ad even more effective.

Minimizing ad waste

Traditional TV advertising often results in wasted impressions, with ads shown to irrelevant viewers who are unlikely to engage. In contrast, CTV advertising minimizes ad waste by using data-driven targeting to ensure ads are only shown to the most relevant viewers. By focusing on personalized targeting—whether based on behavioral patterns, location, or contextual preferences—advertisers can eliminate the inefficiencies that come with broad targeting.

Choosing the right time

Now we’ve worked though the ‘what’ and the ‘who’ of targeting, let’s think about something that has traditionally been underemphasized on streaming TV — the ‘when’.

Contextual targeting — delivering ads at the right moment — is as crucial as identifying the viewer. This strategy considers the ‘when’ and ‘where’ of ad placements, ensuring that ads are not only seen but are also contextually relevant to the content being viewed.

Scene level targeting

Wurl works with advertisers to make their ads more effective by offering scene-level targeting. This means ads are targeted based on events during the specific scenes in a show, not just broad categories like programs or channels, as is a more common, but less accurate approach that the industry has widely adopted. Using Wurl’s BrandDiscovery and GenAI technology, we can analyze content for emotions, genre, and brand safety.

Wurl’s large language model (LLM) evaluates and classifies the dialogue, sounds, and imagery of content as it passes for distribution. Each piece of content is automatically assigned a score across emotion, genre, and brand safety. As Wurl identifies the content being streamed, these scores are appended to the content metadata before it is sent to the Demand-Side Platforms (DSPs), where the segments can then be targeted.

Frequency capping

In streaming TV, managing ad repetition is more complex than in traditional digital media. Viewers often switch between different streaming platforms, which can lead to seeing the same ad multiple times across channels. Last year streaming TV captured 40% of total TV usage: this ubiquity increases the chances of ad repetition, which can lead to viewer frustration and negative brand perception.

How frequency capping works

1. Ad Server & DSP (Demand-Side Platform) Controls: Advertisers and ad platforms (e.g., The Trade Desk, Google DV360) set frequency caps at the campaign level to ensure a specific ad isn’t shown too many times to the same viewer. Example: A campaign might limit an ad to 3 impressions per viewer per 24 hours.
2. Device & User Identification: IP addresses, device IDs, and cookies (for web-based streaming) help track users and enforce frequency caps. Streaming devices like Roku, Fire TV, and Smart TVs use hashed IDs or household-level identifiers to manage ad frequency.
3. Publisher & SSP (Supply-Side Platform) Policies: Streaming platforms (e.g., Pluto TV, Samsung TV Plus) may enforce their own platform-wide frequency caps to balance ad revenue and user experience. Example: A platform might allow no more than 5 impressions per brand per hour across all advertisers. Get our guide to SSP buying here.
4. First-Party Data & AI Optimization: Some services use first-party data (from subscriptions or logged-in users) to fine-tune frequency control. AI-driven systems analyze ad fatigue signals (e.g., skipping ads) to dynamically adjust ad delivery.

Why frequency capping matters

1. Unique impressions: Frequency capping ensures that a brand’s ad reaches many unique viewers, increasing the potential for new leads. By managing the number of times an ad is shown to each individual, the brand can distribute its budget more effectively, engaging a broader audience.
2. Improved view-through Rates (VTR): View-through rates tend to drop after the first few exposures to an ad. Frequency capping helps to avoid diminishing returns by limiting the number of times a viewer sees the ad, ultimately improving VTRs and keeping the audience engaged.
3. Better user experience: By reducing ad repetition, frequency capping provides a more balanced and enjoyable viewing experience. When ads are shown in a way that feels diverse and relevant, it enhances the likelihood of positive engagement, leading to better conversions and sales.

How to set frequency capping

To set a frequency cap for your campaign, three key elements need to be defined for your media buying partner:

• How many times should the ad be shown: For example, 3 times in 24 hours.
• What is capped: Whether it’s the ad creative, the entire campaign, or the advertiser’s overall ad exposure.
• The reset period: This defines the time period over which the cap is applied, such as hourly, daily, weekly, or for the lifetime of the campaign.

Leveraging programmatic and real-time bidding

Programmatic advertising powered by real-time bidding (RTB) is a huge differentiator between traditional TV and streaming. Unlike traditional TV advertising, programmatic platforms automate the process of buying ad inventory and serving ads in real-time, allowing advertisers to target viewers dynamically based on data-driven insights. Advertisers can bid for ad placements in milliseconds, ensuring their ads are delivered to viewers who meet the desired criteria — such as the ones we discussed above.

Timing is everything

The key to emotional targeting is not just reaching the right audience, but also delivering the ad at the perfect emotional moment. Timing plays a big role—showing an ad when viewers are already emotionally engaged with the content can greatly increase the chances of them connecting with the message. By combining emotional insights with traditional targeting, Wurl ensures ads don’t just reach the right person, but reach them when they’re most likely to respond.

This approach lets advertisers take advantage of key emotional moments during a program—moments that can make an ad feel more impactful and engaging. Instead of just a simple impression, the viewer forms a deeper emotional connection with the brand, leading to better brand recall and stronger actions, like making a purchase.

Conclusion

As the landscape of television continues to shift from traditional broadcasts to streaming, advertisers have a unique opportunity to engage with viewers in ways never before possible. With billions of impressions available across streaming platforms, success doesn’t just hinge on getting an ad in front of the right audience—it’s about delivering the message at the perfect moment and ensuring it resonates emotionally.

To achieve this, a layered strategy is essential. Emotional and contextual targeting should be combined with innovative ad formats such as interactive and shoppable ads, which enhance viewer engagement and encourage action. Frequency capping is another crucial element, ensuring that ads are shown to the right viewers without overwhelming them, thus preserving the overall viewer experience and optimizing return on investment.

Audience-based targeting—leveraging both first-party and third-party data—further refines who sees your ad, making sure you connect with viewers based on their interests and behaviors. By layering these strategies, from creative alignment to dynamic ad delivery, advertisers can truly maximize their streaming TV campaigns.

The key to successful streaming TV advertising is understanding the “what,” the “who,” and the “when.” By crafting emotionally resonant messages, targeting the right audience at the right time, and utilizing advanced tools like programmatic bidding and scene-level targeting, brands can ensure their ads not only stand out but create a meaningful, lasting connection with viewers. Keep testing, iterating, and refining your approach to stay ahead in this fast-evolving space and make your campaigns as impactful as possible.