CTV Drives App Growth: A New Channel for NZ Marketers

Thursday, 19 March 20268 min read1 views

Crumbl Cookies successfully utilized Connected TV (CTV) advertising to significantly boost mobile app downloads, exceeding initial targets by over 200%. This case demonstrates CTV's potential beyond traditional branding, offering a measurable path to direct response outcomes for marketers.

What Happened

•Crumbl Cookies launched its inaugural Connected TV (CTV) advertising campaign.
•The campaign's primary objective was to drive mobile application downloads.
•It resulted in over 16,000 new app downloads, far surpassing expectations.
•This performance represented a 213% increase over the original download target.
•The campaign highlighted CTV's effectiveness in generating measurable direct response actions.
•Source: Marketing Dive, 19 March 2026

Why It Matters for NZ Marketers

•NZ marketers can explore CTV as a performance channel, not just for brand awareness, especially given the high streaming adoption rates.
•This case provides a blueprint for NZ retail and QSR brands looking to drive app engagement and loyalty through new media.
•It challenges the perception that CTV is solely for large-scale brand campaigns, opening doors for smaller or performance-focused budgets in New Zealand.
•With increasing fragmentation of traditional media, CTV offers a consolidated and measurable platform for reaching engaged audiences in NZ.
•The success metric of app downloads is highly relevant for NZ businesses investing in their digital ecosystems.
•NZ agencies can leverage this insight to pitch innovative, measurable CTV strategies to clients.

Strategic Implications

•Integrate CTV into the full-funnel marketing strategy, from brand building to direct response objectives like app installs.
•Prioritise measurable outcomes for CTV campaigns, moving beyond impressions to track conversions like downloads or sign-ups.
•Invest in robust attribution models to accurately link CTV exposure to desired actions across devices.
•Consider audience segmentation and targeting capabilities unique to CTV platforms to optimise campaign efficiency.
•Explore creative formats on CTV that encourage immediate action, such as QR codes or integrated calls-to-action.
•Allocate budget to test and learn CTV's effectiveness for specific business goals before scaling.

Future Trend Signals

•CTV will increasingly become a key performance marketing channel, alongside its traditional branding role.
•Greater demand for advanced attribution and measurement solutions for CTV across the industry.
•Increased integration of CTV with mobile and e-commerce platforms to create seamless user journeys.
•Expect more brands, particularly those with strong app presences, to shift ad spend towards CTV for direct response.

Sources

How Crumbl leveraged CTV to drive mobile app downloads — Marketing Dive

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Editorial note: This analysis is original, AI-assisted editorial content. All source material is attributed with links. No full articles are reproduced. Short excerpts are used under fair dealing principles.