Leave The Trade Desk alone, Google! The stock is up today, damnit!
OK, we’re late on this one but here it is: for DV360, Google announced new updates last week for CTV ad buying and measurement. These updates are powered by IP addresses, plus other signals, says Google, aligned with its privacy principles. Here’s an overview of the changes:
Coming soon, DV360 users will be able to target households with CTV ads based on demographics, shared interests, or purchase intent signals. Google says it’s also making it easier to apply DV360 first-party audiences to CTV, enabling broader household reach without extra steps to optimize audience segments for CTV.
On the measurement side, Google says it will roll out improved conversion measurement in DV360 and CM360 over the next few months. The goal is to give advertisers a “more complete view of how CTV campaigns impact purchasing behavior in a household.” In short, you’ll get a clearer picture of which ads drive performance across popular CTV platforms—including, of course, Google’s own YouTube.
Finally, later this year, household reach metrics will be integrated into DV360’s standard reach reports. Google says this update will give brands a more holistic view of campaign ROI and allow for clearer, direct comparisons between CTV and traditional TV.
Why This Matters:
Connected TV ad spending has been growing—EMARKETER projects it will reach $33.35 billion this year, up 16% year over year. But targeting and measurement still lag behind that growth. To that end, advertisers are demanding better tools to reach the right households and measure outcomes more accurately.
Google’s updates work to try and close that gap by improving household-level targeting and measurement, giving brands a clearer picture of who’s watching (co-viewing and group-viewing complicate things) and how campaigns perform.
Experts React:
Why did this take so long? That’s the question some are asking on X:
Programmatic 101—one of the best adtech accounts to follow—points out that, until now, “this was one of the main advantages of TTD (CTV) over AMZ and DV360. Now DV360 can finally measure outcomes at the household level (by incorporating IP addresses).”
Hat tip to both Programmatic 101 and Alexandre Nderagakura for spotting the update and flagging it for us.
Our Take:
A new report from Madison and Wall finds ad spend could actually tighten this year due to tariffs and a tougher macroeconomic environment. Ultimately, whether spend is going up or down, it means every adtech company will face pressure to help advertisers maximize their investments—through better targeting, better measurement, or both. Better late than never by Google here.
