CTV is changing the game for mobile marketers — and hardly anyone saw it coming. As costs rise, privacy rules tighten, and competition heats up across search and social media, one channel is quietly becoming a performance powerhouse: connected TV (CTV). What many once dismissed as a pure branding play is now proving to be a legitimate driver of installs, conversions, and in-app engagement — especially when fueled by powerful OEM (original equipment manufacturer) data. But here’s where it gets surprising: CTV isn’t just for awareness anymore. It’s becoming one of the most measurable, intent-driven channels available today.
In this special episode of the Business of Apps Podcast, host David Murphy sits down with Kaitlin Stebbins, Samsung Ads’ Mobile Growth & Performance Media Lead, to uncover how CTV is rewriting the rules of app marketing. Together, they dive into Samsung’s unique ecosystem — exploring how integrated data insights, robust measurement tools, and razor-sharp audience targeting are helping mobile brands go beyond the usual Meta–Google–TikTok triangle. And this is the part most marketers overlook: even small CTV investments are starting to deliver big results.
Stebbins shares how Samsung Ads blends its extensive device-level data with partner integrations to connect TV exposure directly to mobile app conversions. By linking audience behavior across devices, Samsung enables advertisers to track full-funnel performance — from TV impression to app install or in-app purchase. It’s a shift that’s redefining how performance marketers think about attribution, scale, and ROI in a post-cookie world.
So why should mobile marketers pay attention? Because even allocating just 5–10% of your media budget to CTV can open up entirely new user segments that traditional digital channels fail to reach. Think older, higher-income audiences who are less likely to scroll through social feeds but are far more inclined to act after seeing an ad on their smart TV. It challenges a long-held belief that CTV is only about awareness — a belief that’s quickly becoming outdated.
In this conversation, you’ll discover:
- How CTV evolved from a top-funnel awareness tool into a conversion-focused performance channel.
- The ways Samsung Ads uses proprietary OEM data to drive precision-based targeting and campaign efficiency.
- Why it’s critical for mobile marketers to diversify beyond search and social to tap into untapped, high-value users.
- How CTV attribution works using IP-based measurement through mobile measurement partners.
- What real success looks like — with unified KPIs across TV, mobile, and web for full-funnel visibility.
Kaitlin Stebbins sums it up best: “The idea that CTV can’t drive performance is a big misconception — we’ve been seeing direct-response success for years.” She also notes the audience difference: “CTV reaches a completely different demographic than social, often older and more affluent — people who actually take action after an ad.” Her advice for 2026? “Lean into CTV. Your most creative ads deserve the biggest screen in the house — shown to the right viewer at the perfect moment.”
Are you ready to rethink your media mix for the year ahead — or do you still see CTV as ‘just brand marketing’? Share your take: is connected TV the next frontier for mobile growth, or just another passing trend?
