Multiscreen TV, traditional or streaming TV, remains a key channel for brand awareness, but many brands have shifted to social media to drive immediate results and lower-funnel goals. However, as the data and technology available become more reliable and robust, it’s becoming easier to prove TV’s effectiveness in every phase of the funnel, from awareness to action.
The latest report from Comcast Advertising and AdExchanger shows how today’s advertisers and agencies evaluate the performance of premium video advertising on multiscreen TV compared to social media and search, and what needs to be done so that brands of all sizes can harness it throughout the entire marketing funnel.
Multiscreen TV Remains a Key Method for Brand Awareness
Awareness remains a crucial part of any advertising campaign: 82% of advertisers said they focus on awareness in their campaign planning – ahead of consideration and action.1 TV’s role in awareness is irrefutable, with nine out of ten advertisers agreeing that TV is essential for driving awareness and are 1.3X more likely to use TV for brand awareness campaigns compared to driving action.2,1 However, for many brands, especially smaller advertisers, TV’s use tends to stop there.
Advertisers Favor Social Media’s Ease of Use
Despite TV’s undeniable value, social media is favored by nearly half of advertisers for its ease of use in planning, buying, and measuring campaigns. Social was also ranked highest among advertisers as being the most efficient channel for bringing in new customers.2
However, the tide is turning, as half of advertisers are starting to use TV to drive actionable results. This may be attributed to the advances in data and technology that are making it easier to measure TV’s performance, with 69% of advertisers agreeing on this point.1 But with only 39% of advertisers saying they use TV more as a performance engine today compared to five years ago1 – there is clearly work that still needs to be done.
Moving the Needle: Simpler Tools & Better Measurement for TV
For advertisers to fully embrace multiscreen TV to drive results, many believe that simple tools and better measurement capabilities are needed.
There are three key areas where the industry can focus on today:
1. Programmatic Adoption
Programmatic is transforming advertising by bringing automation and efficiency to the buying process. While nearly 80% of advertisers say programmatic makes planning TV campaigns easier,2 only 28% of streaming TV advertising is currently bought programmatically.3 Enabling more opportunities to transact TV programmatically will be key in bringing more efficiency and ease to the TV buying process for advertisers.
2. Scaled Access to Measurement and Attribution
Sixty-three percent of advertisers would increase TV advertising if it could link exposures to consumer action,1 demonstrating the need for premium video providers to offer enhanced measurement capabilities so that advertisers can better measure performance.
3. End-to-End Solutions
Fifty-eight percent of advertisers prefer working with one partner for planning, buying, and reporting, yet 47% report working with four or more partners to obtain access to TV inventory.1 Offering clients an end-to-end platform with planning, buying, and measurement capabilities can provide a better buying experience and spur adoption.
Social media may get the credit today for driving consumer action (thanks to last-click attribution), but new capabilities are helping multiscreen TV better stake its claim. Going forward, the industry must lean into the data and technology available today to offer advertisers easier access to TV, as well as provide attribution solutions so that brands can take advantage of the premium, engaging format of TV to drive measurable performance.
To learn more about multiscreen TV’s evolving role in the purchase funnel, download Premium Video Performance: Assessing the Role of Multiscreen TV as a Full-Funnel Performance Driver.
Sources:
1. Comcast Advertising and AdExchanger, ““Premium Video Performance: Assessing the Role of Multiscreen TV as a Full-Funnel Performance Driver,” June 2025.
2. Ad Perceptions study commissioned by FreeWheel, April 2025, n=305.
3. FreeWheel, “Video Marketplace Report 2H 2024,” September 2024.
