Household-Level Targeting

What is Household-Level Targeting?

Household-level targeting is an advertising approach that delivers ads to specific households rather than individual users. On connected TV (CTV) and other streaming platforms, it uses data tied to a home’s IP address or device graph to group viewing behavior across all devices within a single household.

This type of targeting is especially useful in CTV, where multiple people may use the same screen but personalized user logins aren’t always available.

How Household-Level Targeting Works

Streaming devices and smart TVs often share a home internet connection. By analyzing signals like IP address, Wi-Fi networks, and device usage patterns, advertisers can link multiple devices—TVs, phones, tablets, and laptops—back to the same household.
Once that household is identified, advertisers can target based on shared behaviors such as:

• Viewing history across streaming apps
• Time-of-day or day-of-week viewing patterns
• Product interest or purchase behavior from connected devices

This helps brands deliver relevant ads even when they don’t know exactly who is watching at any given moment.

Benefits of Household-Level Targeting

Household-level targeting helps advertisers bridge the gap between reach and precision on CTV. It offers:

• Broader reach than individual targeting while still maintaining relevance
• Smarter ad frequency control to avoid overexposing viewers in the same home
• Cross-device consistency, allowing coordinated messaging across TV and mobile

It’s a scalable, privacy-conscious alternative to user-level targeting, especially in a fragmented streaming ecosystem.

Household Targeting vs. Individual Targeting

Unlike individual targeting, which aims to reach a single user based on personal identity or login data, household-level targeting groups people under one shared profile. This works well for CTV, where family members often watch together and devices aren’t always linked to one user.

For example, a home that streams a lot of cooking shows and shops for kitchen tools online might receive ads for meal kits—even if the platform doesn’t know exactly who clicked “play.”

Household-Level Targeting and Wurl

Wurl helps advertisers and content partners reach high-value households at scale through its CTV advertising marketplace. By supporting data-driven ad delivery that accounts for household behavior, Wurl enables more relevant, timely ad experiences across streaming channels.

When combined with tools like BrandDiscovery, advertisers can align their message with both who is likely watching and what they’re watching—making every ad more impactful.

Conclusion

Household-level targeting is a key strategy for advertisers in the CTV space. It strikes the right balance between broad reach and smart precision, helping brands connect with viewers in the context of their shared streaming behaviors. As streaming continues to grow, household-based targeting will remain central to effective, privacy-responsible advertising.