For direct-to-consumer brands, paid social has long been a cornerstone of customer acquisition. But as advertising costs rise and competition intensifies, more brands are exploring connected TV (CTV) as an alternative.
In Digiday's reporting on Comcast's push to attract direct-to-consumer advertisers, Gupta Media's proprietary CPM Tracker provided evidence of the increasing costs brands face on social platforms.
Between 2023 and 2024, average CPMs rose from $7.15 to $7.50 on Meta, from $3.48 to $3.77 on TikTok, and from $5.20 to $7.65 on Snapchat, according to Gupta Media's data.
Those increases help explain why streaming television is attracting attention from advertisers that have traditionally relied on social platforms to drive sales.
CTV offers brands a different opportunity: reaching audiences through premium video environments and investing in awareness that can support long-term customer acquisition.
But the decision isn't necessarily between social and streaming. For performance marketers, the more useful question is how each channel contributes to business outcomes—and how to allocate investment accordingly.
Read the full analysis in Digiday.