At Advertising Week New York last month, industry leaders gathered for a panel session, ‘Rethinking Discovery in Connected TV’, to discuss how the television landscape is evolving beyond traditional 30-second spots toward native home screen experiences and agile, outcome-driven media buying.
Hosted by Katie Barrett, Head of Strategic Sales at LG Ad Solutions, the panel featured Kalli Chapman, Vice President, Head of Global Media and Sponsorships at Prudential Financial; Nick Fairbairn, SVP, Growth Marketing at Chime; and Jeremy Cobb, VP of Digital Platforms at H/L Agency. Together, they explored how marketers are navigating fragmentation, leveraging TV home screens, and adopting new buying models.
Navigating fragmentation and the role of discovery
With the proliferation of streaming services, cable, and free ad-supported TV (FAST) platforms, viewing options have multiplied exponentially. However, as Katie Barrett pointed out, to the end consumer, “TV is TV”, and discovery plays a vital role when viewers sit down in front of the screen.
Nick Fairbairn explained that finding audiences across fragmented channels requires a multi-layered approach: “We focus on reaching people where they are and helping them engage with the content. Beyond straight media buying, we produce unique programming, and build custom brand integrations.”
Kalli Chapman highlighted that consumer viewing habits alternate between intentional viewing and prolonged browsing.
“The reality is those behaviours go both ways. I am going to sit down and watch the Rose Bowl presented by Prudential, but I am also going to sit there not knowing what to watch, argue with my husband for 20 minutes, and eventually get engrossed in something,” Chapman said.
“Don’t think strictly from a media-plan perspective, because that is not how consumers behave when they tune into a tentpole programme or browse for content.”
Jeremy Cobb addressed the challenge of building broad cultural consensus in a fragmented market: “Back in the day, we could place a Super Bowl ad that reached every single household on the same block, but that is no longer the reality. We need to find moments where we can bring our communities together to think about our brands in a unified way.”
Breaking through the clutter on the TV home screen
The home screen interface on Smart TVs offers a high-impact canvas before a viewer even selects a show.
Fairbairn discussed how Chime discovered home screen inventory through mobile growth teams rather than traditional TV buyers: “Home screen inventory is super powerful. When we run brand campaigns, we leverage celebrity partnerships to communicate our point of view. My teams run home screen takeovers to capture attention during that discovery mindset, and the resulting video engagement and mobile tracking follow-through are exceptional.”
Chapman pointed out that while traditional 30-second ads remain valuable, home screen placements capture incremental audiences.
“The 30-second spot is a predictable format where users are already engrossed in what they are watching,” she said. “The home screen gives us an opportunity to break through before those viewing decisions are made. When we launched a new body of work around the World Cup, using the home screen provided incremental reach with only a 1% overlap with our linear World Cup audience.”
Cobb said that the home screen reclaims consumer attention in an era dominated by second screens.
“Just because it is the largest screen in the house does not mean it is where attention is concentrated, as consumers often have a phone or laptop open. The home screen takes what worked so well in linear sports or news sponsorships and translates it into CTV, giving regional advertisers a way to engage viewers right as they navigate to a game.”
Adapting creative and campaign briefs
The shift toward native home screen formats is also transforming how creative work is planned and produced.
Fairbairn noted that Chime initially retrofitted existing video creative, but strong incrementality results led them to create bespoke assets.
“When my creative teams shot our holiday campaign, we captured specific creative tailored for these placements,” he said. “It allowed us to customise the content to grab attention in the right way.”
Chapman highlighted the flexibility of the format, saying that brands do not need a completely separate brief to start: “You don’t need to start on an island. You can figure out what works, identify what breaks through, and build from there. It is about being intentional about the moment and the role it plays within a larger strategy.”
The evolution of media buying and agentic workflows
As home screen inventory matures, media buying strategies are expanding from direct sponsorships to programmatic execution and AI-driven agentic buying.
Discussing agentic buying, Cobb explained how AI is accelerating campaign optimisation.
“Agentic buying is the next step in media execution because it yields quicker observations, enabling faster optimisations and reducing wasted spend. The system prompts changes based on real-time data, while still relying on human oversight to guide the overall strategy.”
Chapman stressed the necessity of flexibility between direct and programmatic channels.
“The way we buy today is not how we bought yesterday, nor how we will buy tomorrow. We have bought placements direct, moved them to programmatic, and then shifted them back to direct. You have to listen to the data and avoid being locked into one way of working.”
Fairbairn agreed, noting that while automated speed and signals are crucial, strong human relationships remain key when solving complex media challenges.
“Agentic buying provides instant signals and speeds up optimisation,” Fairbairn said. “What I look for in a great partner is genuine curiosity, knowing the relationship isn’t purely transactional, and having someone who says, ‘Let’s get on the phone and solve this problem together.'”
