Measurement remains one of CTV’s biggest headaches. But Pinterest (?!) is trying to change that.
More accurately, their newly acquired performance CTV company tvScientific is trying to with a new Certified Measurement Partner Program that brings together independent measurement providers, including INCRMNTAL, Measured, Singular, and WorkMagic.
The goal — to allow advertisers to use preferred certified third-party partners for attribution, incrementality testing, media mix modeling, and mobile measurement to better understand the business impact of their TV campaigns.
Why This Matters:
CTV has largely won the battle for advertiser budgets. A March Tegna study found that 7 in 10 advertisers plan to increase their CTV/OTT spending by an average of nearly 20% this year.
The next battle, especially as budgets go up, is proving performance. As marketers shift more dollars into streaming, they’re demanding better ways to validate whether campaigns are actually driving incremental outcomes.
That’s also tied to why interoperability has become such a major theme across adtech. Rather than asking marketers to rely on a single measurement approach, more platforms are building ecosystems that support multiple independent providers. tvScientific is taking that approach by certifying partners that meet its standards for transparency and accuracy.
The move also underscores how performance TV is continuing to mature. Performance-focused advertisers expect the same measurement, attribution, and optimization capabilities they’re accustomed to in other performance-oriented channels.
Experts React:
Here’s what tvScientific’s CEO Jason Fairchild had to say about the program in the company’s press release:
“Performance TV is becoming a critical growth channel for advertisers, but measurement fragmentation continues to create uncertainty around what’s actually driving outcomes. This program delivers measurement interoperability that gives advertisers the flexibility to work with any measurement partner they choose, which is foundational to the “trust but verify” philosophy that gives marketers absolute confidence in their results.”
“Absolute confidence” feels a bit hyperbolic, but we like a confident adtech exec.
Our Take:
Measurement has quietly become one of the biggest competitive battlegrounds in CTV. The conversation has largely shifted from convincing marketers to invest in streaming to proving those investments are delivering incremental business results.
That’s especially important as CTV platforms work to attract more mid-market and SMB advertisers. Those buyers won’t keep investing if they can’t clearly measure the impact of their campaigns.
With that in mind, the partners named here could be interesting acquisition targets, no? As performance TV spending grows, ownership of attribution, incrementality, and measurement capabilities will become increasingly strategic, making the certified companies important to watch.
