2025 will be a pivotal year for CTV ads that engage streaming viewers
As CES 2025 highlighted earlier this month, the demand for ad formats that viewers can engage with continues to grow. As that demand increases, it’s becoming essential to provide an ad experience to viewers that can set it apart from a basic CTV or traditional TV ad.
While pause ads and QR codes received a lot of attention in 2024, 2025 will require taking it up a notch in areas like shoppabiilty, interactive branding, and, increasingly, gamified experiences. These all require true interactivity — engageable via the remote control — which are far more effective (with 125 times the engagement rate!) and readily accessible in the CTV market.
Remote-control interactivity used as a CTV engagement vehicle, data designed to hit viewers at all points of the marketing funnel, along with accurate first party data collection are at the core of BrightLine's suite of offerings. That data unequivocally shows that properly designed engageable CTV ads need to be:
Built for CTV: Designed specifically for streaming on a television, not repurposed from digital or mobile formats.
Remote-Control Responsive: Viewers should enjoy direct engagement with ads using the device most often in their hands while streaming.
Integrated on the Supply Side: Ads should be served directly from the streaming app’s proprietary platform, guaranteeing fraud-free delivery, real-time responses to viewer commands, and accurate performance metrics.
One-Size-Fits-All: A proper CTV ad should be designed to run across every ad-supported streaming app service, even if the advertiser ultimately chooses to run it on one or some smaller subset.
With the increasing demand for ads that can engage streaming audiences, and corresponding appetite for interactive formats, 2025 is poised to be a turning point for TV advertising in the CTV streaming era. As the technology leader in CTV ads watched on a televison, ubiquitously delivered across ad-supported network streaming apps, BrightLine has established the standard for ad interactivity and delivering innovative solutions that meet the needs of advertisers, platforms, and audiences alike in this new era of engagement.
Here’s what lies ahead for 2025 and how we are paving the way:
Interactive ads will be a must-have for CTV advertisers
CTV ad spending was reported at $30 billion in 2024 and is set to grow further in 2025. As the space becomes increasingly crowded, advertisers are seeking ways to differentiate themselves. Interactive ads are a clear solution.
In our 2024 whitepaper, we found that a single exposure to an interactive ad leads to +36% stronger unaided brand recall than a single exposure to a standard video unit:
This effectiveness is leading advertisers to buy more interactive ads. In 2025, publishers will offer more variety when it comes to formats. At CES, Disney unveiled their partnership with Brightline to offer shoppable, trivia, poll, and gamified ads, while NBC introduced pause ads to enhance engagement. These formats empower brands to cut through the noise and forge stronger connections with their audiences.
Live games are now streamable, opening the door for innovation in viewers’ ability to interact with streamed content
Live sports are no longer challenged by latency when streamed via CTV. 2024 marked a turning point with major breakthroughs like Netflix’s Mike Tyson-Jake Paul boxing match and Amazon’s streaming of NFL Football on Christmas day. These successes have set a new bar for live streaming on CTV, proving it can handle high-stakes moments at national and global scale.
2025 will build on this momentum with next-level innovations that take the form of gamified ad breaks, immersive takeovers, and dynamic ads. These are poised to transform how viewers engage with sports events.
BrightLine is the one-stop, turnkey platform that has and will continue to deliver on the growing demand for ads that engage. In addition to providing data-driven interactivity in standalone ads within CTV for most of the biggest brands in television, BrightLine is now also delivering campaigns on live content through platforms like Vizio and Samsung TV Plus.
In 2024, for brands partnering with NBC for the Olympics, we launched 20+ different interactive ad experiences for brands like Target and Lexus. From sports trivia to celebratory graphics, these campaigns captivated audiences and showcased the potential of interactive advertising in live events, and generated outstanding engagement levels.
AI will be used to generate and optimize creatives that stand out
AI will become an increasing part of how CTV advertising transforms itself in 2025. While last year emphasized media planning, this year will integrate AI into the creative process too.
Our product, Streamline, is leading the way. By using AI for interactive ad creation, we’ve now reduced turnaround timelines to days from weeks, allowing partners to upload their assets and launch campaigns faster than ever. This efficiency not only speeds up production but also frees brands to focus on crafting compelling stories and experiences that resonate with their audiences.
2025 will build on 2024’s momentum
The success of 2024 laid the groundwork for interactive ads to take center stage in 2025. From new partners like Paramount+, to our global expansion into India (Samsung APAC), Australia (Nine and Seven), and Latin America (Warner Bros. Discovery), last year proved how in-demand interactive ads are. We powered $150 million of interactive media spend and delivered some of the most exciting ads, like Friends trivia and a Wicked film poll.
With new ideas and partners on the way, we're excited to build creative, dynamic, and compelling ad experiences on the medium American is watching the most: CTV.
Reach out to sales@brightline.tv if you’re interested in talking about what’s in store for 2025.
