Smartly and EMARKETER Find Tailored Creative Still Rare Across Social and CTV Campaigns

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Smartly, the leading AI-powered advertising technology platform, partnered with EMARKETER to release new research on the evolving role of connected TV (CTV) in today’s multiscreen landscape. The findings reveal a clear shift in marketer priorities: nearly 70% plan to increase CTV investment this year, reflecting growing pressure to meet audiences where they’re watching.

Social assets are often built to be nimble, short, engaging, and tested through real-time feedback. When repurposed thoughtfully for CTV, that agility meets the power of a more immersive format. - Oli Marlow-Thomas, Chief Innovation Officer, Smartly

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But while media strategies evolve, creative strategies haven’t kept pace. With 78% of U.S. adults expected to use multiple screens simultaneously by the end of 2025, brands are navigating new complexity, one that demands smarter, more agile creative built for both CTV and social.

“The lines between social media and CTV are blurring, with more people watching social videos and creator content on TV sets,” said EMARKETER vice president and principal analyst Jasmine Enberg. “Marketers must break down the silos between media and creative and think more holistically about their video strategies.”

Marketers seeking a unified, cross-channel video strategy are:

• Investing in more video: 45% now dedicate at least 30% of their digital ad budgets to video, and the majority are running campaigns across both social and CTV.
• Adapting creative to close the gap: Despite the unique strengths offered by each platform, only 25% of marketers currently develop distinct assets for social and CTV.
• Leveraging the strengths of social and CTV: While CTV offers household-level precision and social delivers individual-level engagement, both provide rich audience segmentation based on interests, demographics, and viewing behavior.

“Social assets are often built to be nimble, short, engaging, and tested through real-time feedback,” said Oli Marlow-Thomas, chief innovation officer at Smartly. “When repurposed thoughtfully for CTV, that agility meets the power of a more immersive format.”

Smartly helps marketers bridge that gap, enabling them to easily adapt social-born creative for CTV, scaling cross-channel campaigns with speed, relevance, and performance in mind.

Download the full report on Smartly’s website: https://bit.ly/4ktWeeE

METHODOLOGY
This survey of 20 questions was developed and fielded by EMARKETER in collaboration with Smartly. They surveyed 220 marketers to assess their approaches to digital video advertising across social and CTV channels between March and April 2025.

ABOUT SMARTLY
Smartly is the AI-powered advertising technology company ranked as the leader in The Forrester Wave™: Creative Advertising Technologies. Our platform unifies creative and media to produce intelligent creative—dynamic, data-driven image and video assets optimized for seamless activation across channels. Brands manage, optimize, and scale high-performance campaigns in one place, achieving PwC-validated results, including a 5.5x return on ad spend (ROAS) and 42 minutes saved every hour.

We support 700+ brands and manage over $6 billion in ad spend globally. With strategic partnerships across major media platforms—including Amazon, Google, Meta, Pinterest, Reddit, Snap, and TikTok—we help Fortune 500 companies deliver relevant advertising at speed and scale. Backed by deep media expertise and best-in-class customer support, we empower brands to maximize performance and drive real business outcomes. Visit Smartly.io to learn more.