Soapbox 2025: CTV Will Democratise TV Advertising, Says Roku’s Mike Shaw

Our LBB community is buzzing with ideas, opinions and visions for a better advertising industry. So this year, we invited you to dig out your megaphone and climb onto our figurative soapbox to share your hopes for 2025: what change do you want to see? How can the inner workings of the industry improve? How should it adapt to the tech, social, cultural, economic, and politics shifts shaping the market?

Taking the mic this time is Mike Shaw, director of international ad sales at streaming device brand, Roku. Mike predicts where advertising’s headed in 2025, expanding upon the effects of the shift towards connected TV (CTV) and shoppable ads.

The Democratisation of Ads Will Open Up the Playing Field to Smaller Brands

Advertising on the TV is arguably still the most powerful platform to drive brand awareness and short term goals, but traditional linear models are still far too cost-prohibitive for most brands. However, as connected TV (CTV) advertising continues to gain momentum, particularly on streaming platforms, that is changing. 

This year there have already been signs of a shift in where brands are investing, but 2025 will likely be a moment when CTV becomes a cornerstone of media planning that will democratise TV advertising. With a more engaged audience than online video, and better data and insights than linear TV, CTV combines the best of both worlds. And, as shoppable ads gain momentum – where the remote control becomes a mechanism to buy in that moment – we’re going to see smaller brands enter the world of TV advertising to boost their brand and reach target audiences more effectively. 

Streaming platforms will play an important role here, as they can become their own ad spaces too, such as via home screens and other peripheral ad units to engage consumers with relevant marketing content.

Retail Media Will Boom as Shoppable Ads Hit the TV

The IAB UK expects retail media spend to reach £1.3bn next year (excluding Amazon), over double the £588m from 2022. That exponential growth in such a short period is making it more and more compelling to retailers and their brand partners to seize opportunities. Part of that growth in 2025 will likely come from the increased availability of shoppable ads, which reduces the buying process to as little as one click for consumers. 

Streaming platforms will play an important role in the next phase of retail media, as it becomes possible to reach consumers when they are already engaged in the screen they’re watching, and transform the remote in everyone’s hand into a shoppable unit. For retailers and their partner brands, the opportunity is vast and makes true one-click purchasing possible in a way e-commerce simply cannot match.

Ad Targeting Will Become More Refined Through Improved Data Analytics

One of the biggest benefits of advertising via CTV and streaming services is the level of targeting they offer beyond that of traditional linear services – often with a better ROI and lower wastage for both awareness and performance-based campaigns than other platforms. As advertisers - in particular retailers and their partners - start to integrate it further into their planning, more optimisation is to be expected, notably as they tap into their own first party data to ensure their campaigns are truly relevant to and effectively targeting their audiences. 

With retail media gaining further ad spend investment in 2025 according to IAB UK, we can expect to see a renewed focus on brands and retailers making better use of their data, alongside improved analytics across the industry, ensuring consumers are served with more engaging, personalised and relevant ads.