Why Performance Marketing in CTV Becomes a 'Slot Machine' Without Data-Driven Rigor and CX

The surge in ad-supported streaming isn’t fueled by love for ads but by a quiet tolerance of them, and for marketers, that distinction is critical. Viewers aren’t embracing interruptions; they’re enduring them. Yet too many brands keep recycling old techniques in a new channel, then wondering why the strategy falls flat.

We spoke with Nivi Chakravorty, a marketing leader whose career has been defined by bridging the gap between brand and performance. Formerly Vice President of Growth Marketing at MyRegistry.com and with leadership roles at Unilever, PepsiCo, and IBM, Chakravorty brought a rare, integrated perspective, arguing that true impact happens only when audience insight and data infrastructure work in sync. For her, the industry's current obsession with simply running ads misses the point entirely.

• Losing the plot: "If the only thing we know how to do is run ads, we've lost the plot," Chakravorty stated. "That's advertising, not marketing. Marketing is about market building, and it's not like it used to be. Today, no matter the medium, a consumer can choose to skip or walk away. They can choose to ignore what you want to tell them."

Chakravorty acknowledged that the innovation happening in CTV is impressive. The ability to create shoppable experiences directly within a stream represents a massive leap forward. But she cautioned that marketers are becoming overly reliant on the technology, ignoring the fundamental human behavior at the heart of the viewing experience.

• Disrupt the binge: "The technology alone will not save us," she explained. "A lot of this is about human behavior. If you can't find a way to get somebody who wants to binge-watch Bridgerton to stop what they're doing and scan a code, then it's just another shiny tool dressed up as innovation."

This reliance on technology without a deep understanding of the consumer has led marketers into a dangerous cycle. Chakravorty compared the allure of paid media platforms to a slot machine, designed to hook users with early, easy wins before the economics inevitably turn against them.

• The slot machine trap: "These algorithms are like slot machines," she warned. "They pull you in, it works, and they create the illusion this is going to keep working because they want you to spend more. You get a first hit, and then the cost per acquisition starts to rise. If we're just chasing paid media and not thinking about the hygiene of the user experience, then we're just making ourselves obsolete."

So how do you break the cycle and earn a viewer's attention? Chakravorty proposed two distinct paths. The first is to deliver something so compelling it interrupts the viewing experience entirely. The second is a more nuanced, strategic approach.

• Planting performance behaviors: "You either have to interrupt, and there you stop being an advertiser and become an entertainer or an educator," she advised. "Or, you plant the performance behaviors you want them to take. If you can't get somebody to scan the QR code and go all the way, what's the next best thing? Can you plant something so that in the next break, they go and search for information on your product?"

To escape the slot machine and begin building real value, Chakravorty urged leaders to adopt an "inside-out" philosophy. Before pouring more money into paid media, she insisted, you must first fix your own house by grounding your strategy in a rigorous, data-driven discipline.

• Converting at home: "My approach is to work inside-out. When somebody comes to your website, they're coming to your home. If you can't convert them there, you have no shot anywhere else."

Chakravorty underscored that data discipline, not ad spend, is the true foundation of growth. "I say that every marketer should take a course in statistics because we are supposed to be data-driven, but so many of us don't know what statistical significance is. You need to know how to make decisions based on data and then move it upstream. That's what I mean by inside-out: reverse engineering your way to growth."