How to Launch a B2B CTV Campaign

Historically seen as a purely consumer channel, CTV advertising is now a game changer for B2B marketers. In this blog, I explore how and why connected TV now works for B2B, as well as strategies for targeting buying committees. I’ll also spell out which metrics to use to measure success and give you a quick pre-launch checklist.

What this blog covers:

• What CTV advertising is & how the buying model works
• Why B2B marketers have been slow to try it & why that’s changing
• How to target a buying committee on CTV using real B2B data
• Where CTV fits alongside your other channels
• How to measure it properly, campaign metrics & brand signals
• A pre-launch checklist so you don’t waste your first budget

You’ve heard of CTV. You probably haven’t tried it yet.

That’s fine. Most B2B marketers haven’t. CTV got written off early as a consumer play – big brand campaigns for trainers and energy drinks. Not for someone trying to reach a CFO at a mid-market SaaS company.

However, the B2B marketers who’ve tested CTV properly are reaching buying committees in places their competitors aren’t even looking.

This post is for everyone who’s been curious but hasn’t pulled the trigger yet. Here’s what CTV actually is, how the targeting works for B2B, and how to launch one without setting fire to your budget.

So, what is CTV exactly?

Connected TV is any television that streams content over the internet. Smart TVs, Fire Sticks, Apple TV – if it’s streaming, it’s CTV inventory.

Part of a comprehensive omnichannel strategy, a B2B CTV campaign can be an effective way to reach your target accounts when the working day is over.

The ad model works like digital display, not like broadcast. You’re not buying a slot in a TV programme. You’re buying programmatic placements – 15 or 30 second non-skippable video ads served within streaming content, bought through the same auction infrastructure as your display campaigns. Full screen. High attention. And importantly, targeted.

That last bit is what makes it viable for B2B. You’re not paying for everyone watching a channel. You’re paying to reach specific accounts and personas on your target list, wherever they happen to be streaming.

Does B2B targeting for CTV work?

The bit most B2B marketers worry about: does the targeting actually work?

This is the question I get asked most. And it’s a fair one, because consumer CTV targeting – broad demographics, interest categories – isn’t good enough for B2B. You’re not after ‘males aged 35-54 who like tech.’ You’re after the buying committee at 40 specific enterprise accounts.

B2B CTV targeting absolutely works as we at FunnelFuel can attest to!

It works through a few different mechanisms depending on your data setup:

None of this is 100% deterministic, no B2B targeting is. But combined, these signals get you close enough to run meaningful account-based CTV activity rather than hoping for the best.

Targeting Buying Committees

One thing to factor in from the start: you’re targeting a buying committee, not a single person. The average B2B purchase involves 10 to 11 stakeholders. Set your frequency caps and impression budgets at the account level, not the individual level, or you’ll hammer one person and miss the rest.

CTV vs Other Advertising Channels

Where CTV sits in your campaign. Don’t make it a standalone

The biggest mistake I see is treating CTV as a separate media plan. A test that runs on its own and gets judged in isolation. That’s almost guaranteed to disappoint.

CTV works as part of a coordinated channel sequence (an omnichannel approach), where it handles a specific job, building visual presence and brand familiarity in a high-attention environment, outside of work hours, with people who aren’t sitting at a desk ignoring your display ads.

Run it alongside always-on display to the same Target Account List (TAL), with outbound sequences going to the same accounts at the same time. The halo effect on outbound reply-rates when brand is running in market is real – we see it consistently. Accounts that have been exposed to your brand on CTV respond to cold outreach warmer. Not dramatically, but measurably.

How to Measure CTV Performance & What to Ignore

CTR is not a CTV success metric. CTV is a brand channel. It builds presence and familiarity before a buyer actively searches for you.

Here’s what actually matters, split across two timeframes:

Record your baselines before you go live: branded search volume; SOV position; average deal size; outbound reply-rates. You can’t measure uplift without a starting point. Set those numbers down, then look at them again 8 weeks after the campaign ends.

Pre-Launch Checklist

• Before you spend a penny, here’s a quick checklist:
• TAL is clean. Dodgy domains and inactive accounts removed. Match rate validated.
• Intent segmentation done. You know which accounts are in-market and which are dormant.
• Creative is built for the format, 15 or 30 seconds, full screen, non-skippable. Not a repurposed LinkedIn video.
• Frequency capped at account level, not individual.
• CTV is plugged into your wider campaign. Display or outbound running to the same TAL.
• Baselines recorded. Branded search, SOV, deal size, outbound reply-rates, before launch.
• Sales team briefed. If outbound isn’t running in parallel, you’re leaving the halo effect on the table.

Worth trying. Properly.

CTV feels like a big channel – TV, premium placements, video creative. It carries a bit of weight that display doesn’t. But the B2B targeting infrastructure is there now, the programmatic buying model makes it accessible, and the results when it’s set up correctly are hard to argue with.

70% of B2B advertisers are already using CTV. The question isn’t really whether it works. It’s whether you’re going to be in that group or watching your competitors get there first.

Want to see what a B2B CTV campaign looks like in practice? Talk to our team.

Contact us

Key takeaways

• CTV is programmatic video served on streaming TV screens, targetable, measurable, accessible for B2B.
• B2B targeting works through IP matching, firmographic segments, and intent layering, not broad demographics.
• Run it as part of a coordinated campaign alongside display and outbound, not as a standalone test.
• Don’t judge it on CTR. Measure account penetration, intent lift, and brand signals like branded search uplift and outbound receptivity.
• Set your baselines before you launch and brief your sales team at the same time.
• 70% of B2B advertisers are already using it. The window to use it as a differentiator is closing.

FAQs

Do I need a big budget to test B2B CTV?

Less than you’d think. What matters more than total spend is how it’s allocated, concentrated on high-intent accounts within your TAL, running alongside other channels, and for long enough to build meaningful frequency against a buying committee. We can model the right starting budget based on your TAL size and coverage goals.

Why won’t CTV show up in my attribution model?

Because if you rely on last-touch attribution, it gives credit to the final interaction before conversion – typically a branded search click or a direct visit. CTV creates the awareness that makes those later interactions happen, but it rarely appears in the direct path. That’s not a CTV problem. It’s an attribution model problem. Measure brand signals separately and track them against campaign timeframes (during & after).

Should CTV replace my LinkedIn or display spend?

No. It complements them. CTV adds reach and frequency in a different environment, the living room, to accounts you’re already targeting in business hours. The campaigns that work hardest run CTV, display, and outbound to the same TAL at the same time. Each channel does a different job.