Innovative CTV formats boost brand recall and purchase intent, study finds

A new report from TripleLift found that nonstandard connected TV ad formats significantly outperform traditional spots across key brand metrics. The findings point to a gap between evolving viewer behavior and the continued reliance on legacy ad formats.

The report showed that campaigns combining standard CTV ads with high-impact formats delivered a 33% increase in brand recall and 76% higher purchase intent. Brand consideration was measured at 11 times higher than industry benchmarks.

The study also indicated that viewers are receptive to these newer formats. Sixty-seven percent of respondents said innovative CTV ads are more memorable than standard ads, while 77% described pause ads as informative rather than disruptive.

TripleLift said the results suggest advertisers could improve campaign effectiveness by expanding beyond traditional 15- and 30-second video formats. The report attributed slow adoption to infrastructure fragmentation and a lack of standardized formats across platforms.

“CTV is one of the fastest-growing channels in media, but creatively it’s still operating like the three-network era,” said Dave Helmreich, CEO of TripleLift. “The industry promised the best of TV and digital. Instead, we recreated traditional commercials in a new pipe.”

The report concluded that broader industry alignment on creative standards may be necessary to scale new formats and fully realize the potential of CTV advertising.