Beyond Awareness: YouAppi’s 2025 Summits Showcase the Future of Cross-Screen Growth

Insights, innovations, and real-world success stories shared at Affle, Jampp & YouAppi’s CTV Summits.

If you missed YouAppi’s 2025 CTV Summits, in partnership with Jampp and parent company Affle, in New York City and San Francisco, you missed two insightful days of ideas that are reshaping how performance marketers think about the big screen.

Across both events, YouAppi and Jampp brought together leaders from Google Ads Manager, Roku, Poshmark, DogPack, Fliff, Kochava, Appsflyer, Work Dog Studios, Metric Works and other top companies to discuss how Connected TV has evolved from a brand awareness channel into a measurable, performance-driven growth engine.

From creative storytelling to attribution models, one theme carried through every session: CTV has officially entered its performance era.

Takeaway #1: CTV Has Graduated from Awareness to Action

For years, CTV was the territory of brand marketers—defined by big-budget storytelling and limited measurement. But that dynamic has shifted. Today, advertisers can connect big-screen storytelling directly to measurable performance outcomes, from app installs to re-engagements.

As Affle Co-Founder and CRO Anuj Kumar noted during his opening session in New York, “Most marketers have thought of CTV as a brand advertising medium. But CTV is a performance channel. The opportunity is massive.”

He shared data showing that over 100 million U.S. households now watch CTV daily, representing roughly 250 million viewers—equal to the country’s smartphone user base. With that kind of reach, CTV has become the second most-watched screen after mobile, commanding roughly 18% of U.S. screen time.

Panelists at both events pointed to four trends driving that shift:

• A wave of new self-serve platforms: Michael LaFond, Senior Product Manager at Roku, described how smaller DSPs and publisher tools “are lowering barriers to entry by removing minimums and making CTV easier for performance advertisers to test.”

• An influx of premium inventory, as platforms like Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon Prime Video embrace ad-supported tiers. This expansion has massively increased supply and given advertisers access to audiences previously behind paywalls.

• Video-first creative adoption as video becomes the dominant format on social platforms like TikTok and YouTube. As noted by LaFond, “brands already have the assets they need to run on CTV—they’re just repurposing them for the big screen.”

• Post-iOS and ATT adaptation: With data limitations reshaping mobile measurement, marketers are turning to mixed media modeling (MMM) and geo-lift testing to capture the true incremental value of CTV.

Taken together, these trends mark a turning point. CTV is no longer an awareness channel, it’s a performance engine that complements mobile by reaching users in a more relaxed, uncluttered setting.

Takeaway #2: How to Measure What Matters on the Big Screen

If there was one phrase repeated throughout both summits, it was this: you can’t optimize what you can’t measure.

Panelists from AppsFlyer, Roku, and M&C Saatchi Performance unpacked how measurement for CTV has evolved from basic impression tracking to full-funnel visibility.

AppsFlyer’s VP of Alliances, Maulana Moore, emphasized the new mindset: “Brands with apps now see them as the anchor for every channel—CTV included. It’s no longer a nice-to-have; it’s a must-measure.”

Roku’s LaFond outlined the challenge: while deterministic attribution still matters, marketers must balance it with incrementality testing and mixed-media modeling to uncover the true impact of CTV campaigns.

M&C Saatchi’s Director of Programmatic Strategy & Planning, Megan Price, echoed this, describing what her agency calls the “measurement trifecta”: attribution for short-term clarity, incrementality for long-term value, and MMM for strategic allocation. Together, they provide a 360° view of performance.

The consensus was clear: CTV success requires a unified measurement strategy; one that bridges deterministic accuracy with statistical confidence. When those systems align, advertisers gain the visibility they need to scale responsibly.

Takeaway #3: Storytelling Scales Differently on the Big Screen

If there was one creative thread running through both summits, it’s that storytelling still wins, but how it wins depends on the screen.

CTV offers a more relaxed, immersive environment than mobile, giving brands a rare chance to hold attention, and as Vincent Scala, CEO & Creative Director of Work Dog Studios noted, “the first 3 to 15 seconds are everything”.

Here’s what resonated most across the creative discussions:

• Keep your tone consistent, even when testing at scale. Humor and relatability outperform gimmicks. “You don’t need a shocking TikTok-style hook when the viewer can’t swipe away, just tell a great story,” said Scala.

• Integrate interactivity into the story. A QR code or call-to-action works best when it feels like a natural extension of the scene, not a last-minute overlay.

• Lead with context. Retargeting expert, Lidor Feldman, reminded, “A campaign that fails on mobile can shine on CTV, where long-form storytelling has the space to breathe.”

• Make the first impression count. CTV is a lean-back experience, but viewers decide quickly whether to tune in or tune out. Remember: those first seconds decide if a viewer will care enough to keep watching.”

A strong CTV ad doesn’t just live on the big screen, it amplifies what comes next. As Megan Price from M&C Saatchi noted, “When audiences see your brand again on Facebook a few days later, they’re already primed to convert.”

Takeaway #4: AI Is the Tool, Not the Talent 

Artificial intelligence was another recurring theme—both its promise and its pitfalls.

AppsFlyer’s Maulana Moore pointed out that AI is already “shortening the cycle for workflows, creative testing, and optimization,” making it possible to move from data to insight in real time. She highlighted tools that help marketers analyze creative performance metrics automatically and suggested that CTV is poised to benefit most from these efficiencies.

But the panel also agreed that automation has limits. Work Dog Studios’ Vincent Scala put it best: “AI should make creativity faster, not flatter. It’s another Lego piece, not the whole build.”

He described how AI can democratize production by helping small teams generate visuals or animations without big budgets. But, he warned that “story and emotion still do the heavy lifting.”

The takeaway: Partner with players that embrace the efficiency AI brings, but never lose sight of the human spark. CTV’s future lies in combining AI-enabled speed with human-led storytelling—a balance that turns scale into resonance.

Takeaway #5: Cross-Screen Strategies Multiply Impact

The power of CTV doesn’t end when the ad ends, it extends across every screen that follows. 

Panelists repeatedly emphasized the synergy between CTV and mobile, noting that campaigns combining both channels see significantly stronger outcomes. As AppsFlyer’s Moore explained, “When CTV is folded into a mobile strategy, you see a two-and-a-half-times lift in conversions.”

Real-world case studies discussed at the summits illustrated how storytelling and data alignment drive measurable results:

• Gaming advertisers achieved CPI goals and a 7-day return on spend up to 2.8x.

• Non-gaming brands like Fetch saw a 58% increase in new user signups through CTV campaigns compared to mobile-only efforts.

• Retargeting on CTV boosted returning-user rates and unique opens.

The insight: CTV primes intent; mobile converts action. As Hitesh Dhingra, Head of Growth at DogPack put it, “The ad on CTV should hand off the story seamlessly to mobile. That’s where the action happens.”

When marketers coordinate creative and data across both screens, they move from fragmented impressions to cohesive, full-funnel growth strategies that deliver lasting ROI.

In Case You Missed It: Five Core Insights

1. CTV is measurable. Advertisers can now track in-app events and conversions tied directly to CTV exposure.

2. Cross-screen strategies double impact. When the big screen inspires and the small screen converts, performance scales.

3. Creative tone beats gimmicks. Humor, story, and emotional connection outperform clickbait hooks every time.

4. AI is an enhancer, not a replacement. Use it to accelerate optimization—not to automate creativity.

5. Transparency drives trust. Clean data and credible attribution are the foundation of sustainable growth.

Looking Ahead: The Connected Future

From coast to coast, this year’s summits underscored one truth: performance marketers are ready to think beyond channels and start thinking across them.

As M&C Saatchi’s Megan Price summarized, “CTV is complementary to mobile—it’s not competition for it.”

And perhaps the most resonant closing thought came from Lidor Feldman, who called CTV “the next Meta—harder to measure today, but with a huge first-mover advantage for those who learn it early.”

In other words, CTV has evolved beyond awareness. It’s measurable, actionable, and ready to drive performance across every screen.

👉 Get in touch with our team to learn how YouAppi’s CTV and mobile solutions can help you scale performance across every screen.