Billboards at $0.75 CPM. Streaming TV you can actually measure. Tim Rowe breaks down how to blend OOH + CTV to drop blended CAC, spark geo-lift, and build “living-room” brand equity—without massive budgets.
Streaming has turned TV into a performance channel you can buy, cap, and measure like digital—often at CPMs rivaling or beating social. Tim explains how their ad server + pixel connect living-room exposure to down-funnel actions, with many brands seeing $3–$4 cost per visit and 3–4× higher conversion vs other traffic sources. On OOH, the overlooked arbitrage is static or digital boards priced like real estate: win by buying the biggest formats in the largest markets at the lowest biddable entry price, then engineer earned media (social virality) and geo-lift. Start with ~$5k for a real CTV test (smaller tests can still work as an add-on), measure blended CAC, branded search, and market-level lift, and let creative—not hyper-granular targeting—do the heavy lifting.
Guest
What You’ll Learn
- Why streaming made TV relevant again—and cheap ($1–$2 CPMs in some geos).
- How to attribute TV exposure → search → site visit → purchase within a 48-hour view-through window.
- The out-of-home (OOH) arbitrage: buying big signs in big markets for sub-$1 CPMs.
- How OOH + CTV lower blended CAC and lift branded search in target geographies.
- Practical first tests: budgets, pixels, frequency caps, creative, and geo measurement.
- Event playbooks: digital billboard trucks, rideshare screens, street teams, and QR flows.
- Targeting reality: on CTV, less targeting often wins—use creative as the filter.
- Retargeting on TV (yes): pixel site traffic and follow with CTV/audio/display.
Timestamps & Chapters
- 00:00 — Why TV is “back”: streaming CPMs and geo-targeted buys
- 01:30 — Direct attribution: 48-hour view-through from TV → search → site → purchase
- 03:45 — OOH primer: static vs digital, programmatic buys, and PMP tips
- 06:05 — The arbitrage: big boards, big markets, tiny CPMs (often <$1)
- 09:15 — Measuring lift: branded search, Search Console, geo-heatmaps, blended CAC
- 12:10 — Earned media by design: turning boards into social fuel
- 15:20 — Event playbook: mobile LED trucks, rideshare TV, coffee-cart sponsorships
- 18:05 — CTV mechanics: ad server + pixel, frequency caps, “hands on keyboard” setup
- 21:10 — Budgeting your first test (~$5k) and what “good” looks like
- 23:00 — Targeting truth: broad wins; use creative, use your 1P data for segments/lookalikes
- 26:10 — Retargeting on TV and building a full streaming funnel
- 28:00 — Who this works best for (DTC, local services, ABM/SaaS, events)
- 30:00 — Getting started and where to reach Tim
Playbooks & How-Tos
1) Fast OOH Test (2–4 weeks)
- Pick 1–2 large markets your sales team targets.
- Buy largest formats you can afford (static or digital) at the lowest CPM; test via https://www.blipbillboards.com/
(entry-level) or via PMPs/direct with operators. - Creative: one bold claim + large logo + simple URL/QR. Design for 0–3 second read.
- Measure: branded search & direct/organic sessions from those geos; compare pre/post.
2) Streaming TV (CTV) Starter
- Pixel your site (for attribution + retargeting).
- Launch a broad geo campaign; cap frequency; rotate 1–2 :15–:30 creatives.
- Budget: aim for $5k to reach statistical signal; smaller ($1.5–$2k) still useful as a display-like add-on.
- KPI: cost per visit ($3–$4 is common in Tim’s data), conversion rate lift vs other traffic, branded search lift, blended CAC shift.
3) Event Swarm Tactics
- Digital billboard truck looping near venue entrances all day.
- Rideshare TV for the event radius; add a QR to capture emails or drive an offer.
- Street team + product samples or demo cards; sponsor a coffee cart beside the venue.
Key Takeaways (Skimmable)
- CPMs: OOH can hit ~$0.75; CTV often $1–$2 in the right geos.
- Attribution: Use a 48-hour view-through window from TV exposure to on-site actions.
- Blended CAC: Expect downstream CAC reductions across channels from brand lift.
- Targeting: On CTV, broader = cheaper CPMs and often better performance; let creative and 1P audiences do the work.
- Budget: $5k is a solid first test; smaller tests still demonstrate directionality.
- Creative: Be bold; engineer shareable moments to multiply paid with earned.
Links & Resources Mentioned
- Cognition Ads (Tim’s company): https://cognitionads.com/
- State of Streaming (news & insights): https://stateofstreaming.com/
- Blip (entry-level digital billboards): https://www.blipbillboards.com/
- The Trade Desk: https://www.thetradedesk.com/
- DV360: https://marketingplatform.google.com/about/display-video-360/
- Google Search Console (measure geo-lift): https://search.google.com/search-console/about
Sponsor
This episode is brought to you by Graphed — an AI-native analytics platform that builds dashboards from plain English. Connect GA4, ads, CRM and get KPI boards in minutes. Learn more: https://graphed.com/
