Activating CTV in B2B advertising
Reach B2B decision-makers. Learn how Intent data, precision audience targeting, and account-level measurement activate CTV ads.
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B2B marketers are increasingly moving beyond traditional display and social media channels to take advantage of touchpoints made possible by additional screens in living rooms, coffee shops, airport lounges, and wherever their target audiences are logging in to stream digital content.
Connected TV (CTV) is a powerful medium to diversify B2B campaigns, allowing brands to reach decision-makers wherever they are.
In this piece, we’ll explore the basics of CTV for B2B marketers, including:
- Benefits of advertising through CTV
- The role of Intent data in CTV targeting
- Measurement in CTV campaigns
- Best practices for creative
- FAQs about CTV for B2B advertising
“CTV is the most underutilized area of the marketing ecosystem. There’s still such an opportunity, surprise, and delight in B2B on CTV—because it’s not where most marketers are putting their budgets.”
What is the opportunity for CTV advertising?
The growth of CTV as a platform mirrors the shift away from linear TV and the popularity of streaming subscriptions like Netflix, Hulu, and HBO Max. This shift reflects the evolution of hybrid lifestyle; business people are consumers, as well, and can be exposed to, and influenced by B2B messaging, even when they’re not officially at work.
According to MNTN Research, an organization that covers streaming television, in 2026, “CTV’s share of global video ad spending is expected to reach nearly 24%, totaling $46.3 billion.”
Global research firm Forrester notes that “nearly 40% of business decision-makers use television once per day or more to keep up with business topics and trends.” This should be of interest to every B2B sales and marketing professional.
What is CTV in a B2B advertising context?
Connected TV (CTV) for B2B advertisers refers to streaming platforms, including smart TVs, over-the-top (OTT) media services that don’t rely on cable or satellite, and tablets and phones.
CTV for B2B allows brands to deliver 15-to-30-second video spots to specific targeted audiences while they consume streaming content.
Imagine being able to reach target account personas on their personal devices when they least expect to see ads for your B2B solution—this creates a lasting brand impression that traditional display ads cannot match.
The benefits of CTV for B2B marketers
The shift from linear TV (traditional broadcast) to CTV offers several advantages for B2B brands focused on efficiency and outcomes.
Upper- and mid-funnel awareness
CTV is an unrivaled tool for top-of-funnel awareness. It provides a high-impact, potentially unskippable environment, that grants B2B brands authority while using account-based targeting to reach specific decision-makers in their homes or on their devices. This combination of prestige and precision builds massive brand recall and warms prospects up to your brand, making them significantly more likely to engage with subsequent sales and social touchpoints.
In enterprise organizations, B2B buyers are often part of complex buying committees made up of cross-functional stakeholders with diverse opinions and priorities. CTV advertising is an opportunity for brands to efficiently reach a variety of employees at an account and build awareness among potential buying group members before a B2B buying cycle even starts.
This creates a halo effect that improves the performance of later-stage demand generation efforts.
Precision targeting
As an addressable platform, CTV enables high-precision audience targeting. In B2B advertising context, CTV’s addressability relies on a sophisticated B2B identity graph that unifies a professional’s corporate identity and their consumer and/or home viewing environment. By linking firmographic attributes—like job title and industry—with consumer signals—such as household IP addresses, device IDs (HEMs, MAIDs), and personal emails—advertisers can successfully reach key stakeholders at specific accounts—"outside the office"—in a non-professional environment.
Partnered with B2B data providers like Bombora (with a robust B2B identity graph) B2B advertisers can build audiences that reflect myriad factors, including key account lists, the specific attributes that define their ICP, as well as engagement data that may be captured by their website identity tool and/or CRM, and deliver them high-impact video ads. Personalization of content is also possible with demand-side platforms (DSPs) and dynamic creative optimization tools.
With CTV you aren’t paying to reach every home in a zip code; you’re paying to reach specific members of the buying group at specific accounts.
The role of Intent data in CTV activation
One powerful targeting tool in CTV is B2B Intent-based audiences. By leveraging account- and buying group-level Intent data, like that provided by Bombora’s Company Surge®, advertisers can focus their CTV investment on companies that are “in market” for a specific product or solution, and the buying group members within an account that are driving research.
More sophisticated users of Company Surge® apply the Intent data to segment accounts based on where they are in the buying journey (e.g., early research, mid-stage research, or late-stage research/decision) and then activate messaging and creative customized to these stages. This allows brands to serve a high-production video ad to members of the buying committee of a specific company right as they begin their vendor evaluation process.
Company Surge® also identifies which buying group personas are driving research at each key stage of the buying journey.
Accounts identified as showing Intent in Company Surge® can be delivered to advertising platforms like The Trade Desk, as an addressable audience, within 48 hours.
“Advertisers increasingly see CTV not as a standalone channel, but as a core driver of omnichannel performance. Heading into 2026, CTV’s role in sequencing messages across screens, boosting cross-channel efficiency and improving attribution, will only deepen.”
Measuring success: Moving beyond the click
One advertisers’ primary challenge with CTV is the attribution problem: standard click-based tracking doesn’t work on screen or video. To solve this, B2B-specific measurement tools like B2beacon™ are essential.
B2beacon™, Bombora’s proprietary B2B campaign measurement solution, measures what matters in B2B advertising: reach and engagement at the account-level and buying-group level, including video starts and video completion. With this tool, the impact of CTV can be measured alongside other paid media channels like programmatic display and paid social.
Best practices for B2B CTV video ad creative
To maximize your investment in CTV for B2B, consider these technical and strategic creative tips:
- Duration: Stick to 15-30 second spots.
- Story: Put your hook in the first 3–5 seconds. Busy professionals need to know why to keep watching.
- Lead with the problem or a provocative statement, not your logo.
- State the value prop by second 10. Don’t save your “so what” for the end.
- Close with a clear, memorable CTA that you keep on screen for at least 5 seconds.
- Interactive elements: Incorporate QR codes to create a clear path to conversion, allowing viewers to scan the screen and visit a landing page from their mobile device.
- Contextual targeting: Ensure your ads appear alongside brand-safe, relevant content.
Now is the time to add CTV to your B2B marketing mix
The next generation of B2B sales and marketing leaders will be defined by their ability to reach buyers across every possible touchpoint, including home screens and personal devices.
By combining the emotional impact of video with the intelligence of Intent data and smart analytics, B2B marketers can turn CTV screens into a high-performing engine for increased brand awareness and sales.
FAQs about CTV for B2B advertising
What is Connected TV (CTV) advertising in B2B marketing?
Connected TV (CTV) advertising in B2B refers to delivering video ads through streaming platforms on smart TVs and connected devices to specific B2B audiences. Unlike linear TV, CTV allows advertisers to target decision-makers at the account level rather than broad household audiences identified by geography or demography.
How does CTV differ from traditional TV advertising for B2B brands?
Traditional TV relies on broad geographic reach, while CTV is addressable and data-driven. B2B marketers can target people who work at specific companies, in specific roles, reducing wasted spend and improving campaign efficiency.
Why is CTV effective for upper- and mid-funnel B2B awareness?
CTV helps build familiarity across multiple stakeholders within a target account by reaching them in a high-impact visual environment. This builds awareness that strengthens downstream demand generation and sales efforts.
How does Intent data improve CTV advertising performance?
Intent data allows B2B marketers to activate CTV ads only when an account is actively researching relevant topics. By aligning video exposure with real-time buying signals, campaigns become more timely, relevant, and effective.
How can B2B marketers measure the success of CTV campaigns without clicks?
Because CTV doesn’t rely on clicks, success is measured through account-level engagement and downstream behaviors. Tools like Bombora’s B2beacon™ connect ad exposure to website visits, search activity, and pipeline impact.