By Justin Fromm, Head of Insights, Samsung Ads

Performance marketers are rethinking what drives conversion. The once-reliable engines of measurable marketing—search and social—are losing momentum. Generative AI is reshaping how consumers discover information, siphoning off clicks and eroding the predictability of SEM. Pew Research found that AI-generated summaries have already reduced search-result clicks by 50%. At the same time, social media’s luster is fading: nearly three-quarters of marketers report declining returns before their budgets are even fully spent. 

With audiences saturated and acquisition costs climbing, the old performance playbook no longer guarantees growth. 

The reset is happening on the biggest screen in the house.

Once seen as a branding tool, television has evolved into a conversion engine—CTV now merges the reach of traditional TV with the precision, accountability, and immediacy of digital. Consumers no longer just watch TV—they use it. And that shift is redefining how advertisers connect storytelling to measurable action.

Here are four ways CTV is reinventing how brands convert on media.  

1. CTV now drives both top and bottom funnel outcomes.

Television has always excelled at building awareness. What’s changed is its ability to drive action in the same moment. 70% of Americans are now CTV users, according to eMarketer — and unlike social feeds, CTV still commands undivided attention.

But CTV isn’t just an awareness channel anymore — it’s a measurable performance engine.  According to eMarketer, connected TV generates 10 times more conversions than linear TV while using only 60% of the spend.

As connected TV becomes more interactive and commerce-enabled, marketers are increasingly viewing it as a full-funnel performance channel. From product discovery and app installs to purchase and store visits, CTV now fuels outcomes that once belonged exclusively to search and social.

In short: CTV isn’t just where awareness begins. It’s where conversion happens.

2. The TV isn’t just a screen: it’s an interactive lifestyle hub.

Smart TVs have evolved from passive screens into central digital hubs. More than 80% of smart TV owners—and 95% of viewers aged 25–34—use their TVs for far more than entertainment. They work out, learn, meditate, play games, and even manage their smart homes.

This always-on engagement generates a wealth of behavioral data and new opportunities for interaction. Interactive ad formats—featuring product galleries, overlays, games, or QR codes—hold attention far longer than standard pre-roll, delivering an average of 71 additional seconds of viewer time. Over 100 million people are now willing to use QR codes, a sign that shoppable TV is quickly moving from novelty to norm. And when benchmarked against other digital channels, interactive CTV ads generate roughly 10× higher engagement than desktop video and 5× higher than mobile. 

3. Real time is the new prime time.

The real power of CTV lies in its ability to respond at the exact moment that matters most. A family watching a live game together at 8 p.m. sends a very different signal than someone streaming alone after midnight—and CTV can tell the difference. As retail media networks and OEMs collaborate with brands on data sharing and targeting, advertisers now have glass-level visibility into high-intent behavior that previously didn’t exist. 

As a result, the old mechanics of TV—fixed pods, scheduled placements, delayed reporting—are giving way to a dynamic, data-driven system built for outcomes. CTV campaigns can adjust frequency, optimize creative, and tie results directly to revenue, all in real time.

The payoff is measurable. According to McKinsey, companies that excel at time-sensitive personalization generate up to 40% more revenue than their slower-growing peers. Success is no longer just about knowing your audience—it’s about reaching them precisely when they’re most likely to act.

4. CTV’s attribution is scalable.

Performance marketing has always prized accountability. With partnerships linking ad exposure to downstream behaviors—installs, web visits, and even in-store conversions— CTV advertisers can finally attribute outcomes across screens.

That accountability is changing how campaigns are bought. Models like CPI (cost per install) and CPA (cost per action) are accelerating as marketers pay for verified results rather than impressions. And the investment is following suit: U.S. CTV ad spend is projected to hit $33.5 billion this year, and in 2028, will surpass traditional TV. Meanwhile, 84% of that spend will run through programmatic pipes, creating new opportunities to drive efficiencies and measurable ROI. 

Structural Change for Television—Driven by Consumers

Television has always commanded attention. Now, it converts it. This isn’t an evolution—it’s a reengineering of the medium itself, driven by consumers who now expect TV to behave like every other digital platform: personalized, interactive, and immediate.

Advertisers are meeting that expectation, using CTV to do what search and social can no longer reliably deliver—reach, precision, and provable results. The screen that once built brands through awareness now powers business outcomes, turning awareness into measurable action in the same moment.

Because the future of television is no longer about who’s watching. It’s about who’s doing.