Wunderkind launches programmatic CTV pause ads with 79% cost reduction

According to the announcement made on July 16, 2025, WunderKIND Ads launched its new programmatic Connected TV pause ad product. The technology represents a significant expansion beyond the company's existing display advertising solutions into the streaming television space. Developed through a partnership with OpenGlass.TV, this implementation enables seamless delivery and optimization across Connected TV platforms.

The launch follows Wunderkind's award-winning campaign with IPG Team Beauty and Ulta Beauty, which recently received recognition by AdExchanger. This collaboration served as the testing ground for the new pause ad technology throughout Q4 2024. Campaign results demonstrated considerable performance improvements compared to traditional streaming television advertising approaches.

Summary

Who: WunderKIND Ads, the advertising division of Wunderkind, partnered with OpenGlass.TV for technology development and PubMatic as exclusive supply-side platform partner. IPG Team Beauty and Ulta Beauty served as launch campaign partners.

What: Launch of programmatic Connected TV pause advertising product enabling addressable targeting through Private Marketplaces, featuring QR code integration, dedicated creative studio support, and Adelaide Attention Metrics for performance measurement.

When: Announced July 16, 2025, following successful Q4 2024 campaign testing with Ulta Beauty that demonstrated 79% cost reduction per store visit and 54% above-benchmark conversion rates.

Where: Available across premium Connected TV inventory through all major demand-side platforms, with PubMatic powering programmatic delivery and optimization across streaming television platforms.

Why: Addresses growing Connected TV advertising market where programmatic investment is increasing 72% among marketers in 2025, while traditional pause ad executions rely on direct insertion orders limiting targeting and optimization capabilities.

Ulta Beauty's campaign leveraged first-party data to reach targeted viewers across premium, brand-safe inventory. QR code integration provided seamless connection between television engagement and real-world consumer action. Cost per store visit decreased by 79% compared to other streaming television units and partners. Conversion rates exceeded benchmarks by 54%, indicating superior engagement quality.

Samantha Primack, Vice President of Addressable Strategy & Activation at IPG Team Beauty, emphasized the significance of the largest screen in households. "By pairing Wunderkind's innovative creative offerings with audience-first programmatic buying, we delivered a first-to-market experience for both existing and new customers," she stated. The campaign demonstrated scalability of first-party data on Connected TV combined with impactful creative execution driving above-benchmark results.

The programmatic approach differentiates Wunderkind's offering from typical Connected TV pause advertising executions. While pause advertisements have become standard across streaming platforms, traditional implementations rely on direct insertion orders. Wunderkind utilizes Private Marketplaces to ensure access to premium publisher CTV inventory. This methodology enables addressable targeting based on brand first-party data, custom audiences, and additional targeting parameters.

PubMatic serves as the exclusive supply-side platform partner powering programmatic delivery across premium Connected TV inventory. This arrangement ensures scalable, high-quality reach and performance optimization. Campaigns become available through all major demand-side platforms, providing broad accessibility for advertisers. Abbie Reichner, Regional Vice President of Customer Success at PubMatic, highlighted the partnership's impact on Connected TV advertising standards.

"By teaming up with Wunderkind, we're making it easier than ever for brands to reach and measure their impact with the right viewers with creative, non-intrusive ads during their favorite streaming moments," Reichner explained. The collaboration combines Wunderkind's audience targeting capabilities with PubMatic's comprehensive technology infrastructure. Natural engagement experiences emerge as brands connect with consumers during streaming content consumption.

Technical features include comprehensive creative support through Wunderkind's dedicated design studio. High-resolution static creatives and simple animations maximize visual appeal across Connected TV environments. The expert team constructs all pause ad assets, requiring only high-resolution materials, QR code destination links, and basic animation instructions from clients. This full-service approach adds value while ensuring exceptional creative quality.

Data-driven optimization provides recommendations for scalable audience segments based on specific targeting requirements. Adelaide Attention Metrics offer valuable insights into advertisement performance across Connected TV campaigns. Wunderkind's average Adelaide score reaches 64, indicating strong attention quality compared to industry standards. QR code functionality tracks user engagement and drives conversions through customizable implementation and comprehensive reporting metrics.

Richard Jones, Chief Revenue Officer at Wunderkind, described the product as transformative for Connected TV advertising landscapes. "Our programmatic pause ad format provides a non-intrusive yet highly engaging way for brands to connect with their target audience on the biggest screen in the house," Jones stated. The approach delivers exceptional results while maximizing return on advertising spend for brands across streaming television environments.

The timing aligns with significant growth trends across Connected TV advertising markets. Research reported by PPC Land shows Connected TV's share of media budgets projected to double from 14% in 2023 to 28% in 2025. Programmatic advertising investment continues expanding, with 72% of marketers planning increases during 2025. These trends reflect broader transformation in media allocation patterns as streaming consumption accelerates.

Industry analysis covered by PPC Land demonstrates Connected TV advertising effectiveness for consumer decision-making. Smart TV home screen advertisements show 105% year-over-year growth in consumer utility. Connected TV viewers increasingly find television advertising useful for purchase decisions, with 59% finding streaming advertisements helpful for shopping information. This represents 73% year-over-year growth in advertising utility perception.

The announcement occurs as Connected TV measurement capabilities expand across major platforms. Recent developments tracked by PPC Land include Nielsen's integration of CTV coverage into advertising intelligence platforms. Cross-platform competitive intelligence enables comprehensive tracking of advertising spend across streaming platforms alongside traditional media channels. Enhanced measurement supports strategic decision-making regarding creative development and platform selection strategies.

Privacy-compliant targeting solutions gain prominence as streaming advertising evolves. Recent partnerships demonstrate industry focus on addressable television advertising while maintaining regulatory compliance. Cross-system user addressability enables targeting across hybrid broadcast broadband television and Connected TV platforms through consent-based technology implementations.

Wunderkind's expansion into Connected TV represents strategic diversification from its established display advertising foundation. The company's advertising division delivers user-first experiences across curated premium publisher networks. High-impact advertisements deploy during natural content disengagement moments, creating non-intrusive yet effective brand connections. This methodology extends into streaming television environments through pause advertising technology.

The company's performance marketing solutions enable brands to scale marketing channels without third-party cookie dependence. Proprietary identity management technology supports web, email, and text marketing across customer lifecycle stages. Revenue performance guarantees distinguish Wunderkind from competitors in digital marketing technology sectors. This comprehensive approach combines advertising innovation with measurable business outcomes.

Connected TV pause advertising addresses evolving consumer viewing behaviors across streaming platforms. Multi-device engagement patterns show 93% of Connected TV viewers shopping on additional devices while consuming television content. This behavior increased 17% year-over-year, indicating growing cross-screen interaction during streaming sessions. QR code integration capitalizes on these behaviors by providing immediate action pathways from television to mobile environments.

The AdExchanger Programmatic Impact Award for "Trailblazing TV Campaign" validates the innovative approach demonstrated through the Ulta Beauty partnership. Recognition highlights effectiveness and industry impact of programmatic Connected TV pause advertising implementations. Award criteria evaluate innovation, performance outcomes, and market influence across programmatic advertising campaigns throughout the evaluation period.

For marketing professionals evaluating Connected TV strategies, this development indicates expanding programmatic capabilities beyond traditional streaming advertisement formats. Enhanced targeting precision combines with creative flexibility to deliver measurable business outcomes. QR code integration bridges television engagement with digital conversion pathways, enabling comprehensive campaign attribution across media touchpoints. Cost efficiency improvements provide compelling economic justification for Connected TV advertising investment allocation.

Key Terms Explained

Private Marketplaces (PMPs): These represent invitation-only programmatic auction environments where premium publishers offer their inventory to select advertisers. Unlike open exchanges, PMPs provide enhanced control over ad placement quality and brand safety. Publishers curate their audience data and inventory, while advertisers gain access to premium content environments with transparent pricing. This approach bridges the gap between programmatic efficiency and direct-sold advertising quality, offering scalable reach without sacrificing brand protection.

Supply-Side Platform (SSP): This technology enables publishers to automate the selling of their advertising inventory through real-time bidding systems. SSPs connect publishers to multiple demand sources simultaneously, optimizing revenue through automated auction processes. Publishers maintain control over pricing floors, advertiser approval, and inventory allocation while accessing broader demand pools. The platform handles technical integration, reporting, and payment processing, allowing publishers to focus on content creation while maximizing advertising revenue.

Demand-Side Platform (DSP): These platforms allow advertisers to purchase digital advertising inventory across multiple sources through automated bidding processes. DSPs aggregate inventory from various exchanges, SSPs, and direct publisher relationships into unified interfaces. Advertisers set targeting parameters, budget constraints, and bidding strategies while algorithms optimize campaign performance in real-time. Advanced DSPs incorporate machine learning for audience prediction, creative optimization, and cross-channel attribution measurement.

Addressable Targeting: This methodology enables advertisers to deliver personalized messages to specific audience segments based on demographic, behavioral, or first-party data. Unlike traditional mass media approaches, addressable targeting utilizes data integration to identify relevant households or individuals across connected devices. The technology respects privacy regulations while enabling precise message delivery, improving advertising efficiency and reducing waste. Measurement capabilities track engagement across targeted segments, providing detailed performance insights.

First-Party Data: Information collected directly from customer interactions with brands through websites, applications, purchase transactions, and customer service touchpoints. This data provides the highest quality insights for targeting and personalization since it originates from verified customer relationships. First-party data includes email addresses, purchase history, website behavior, and explicit preference declarations. Regulatory compliance becomes simplified since customers provide direct consent for data collection and usage.

Attribution Modeling: This analytical framework assigns conversion credit across multiple marketing touchpoints throughout customer journey progression. Attribution models determine which channels, campaigns, and creative elements contribute most significantly to desired outcomes. Advanced models incorporate time decay, position-based weighting, and data-driven algorithms to distribute credit accurately. Marketing teams utilize attribution insights to optimize budget allocation, creative messaging, and channel prioritization for improved return on investment.

Cost Per Store Visit (CPSV): This performance metric calculates advertising spend required to generate one physical retail location visit. CPSV measurement combines location tracking technology with advertising exposure data to establish causal relationships between campaigns and foot traffic. Retailers utilize this metric to evaluate offline advertising effectiveness, particularly for campaigns driving physical store engagement. The measurement requires sophisticated attribution technology linking digital advertising exposure to verified location visits.

Adelaide Attention Metrics: These measurements evaluate the quality and duration of consumer attention directed toward advertising content. Unlike traditional viewability metrics that only confirm advertisement display, attention metrics analyze eye movement, scroll behavior, and engagement patterns. Adelaide's methodology combines human attention research with machine learning algorithms to predict attention probability across various ad formats and placements. Higher attention scores correlate with improved brand recall and conversion performance.

Cross-Channel Attribution: This measurement approach tracks customer interactions across multiple marketing channels to understand complete conversion pathways. The methodology connects television advertising exposure with digital engagement, social media interactions, and purchase behaviors. Advanced attribution platforms utilize identity resolution technology to link anonymous browsing sessions with known customer profiles. Marketing teams gain comprehensive visibility into channel effectiveness, enabling sophisticated optimization strategies across integrated campaigns.

Real-Time Bidding (RTB): This automated auction process enables advertisers to purchase individual advertising impressions as they become available. RTB occurs within milliseconds as web pages load, allowing precise audience targeting for each impression opportunity. Advertisers submit bids based on available audience data, while algorithms determine winning bids and deliver appropriate creative content. This technology enables efficient inventory allocation, precise targeting implementation, and dynamic pricing optimization across digital advertising channels.

Timeline

• Q4 2024 - Wunderkind and IPG Team Beauty launched first-to-market programmatic CTV pause ad campaign for Ulta Beauty
• February 2025 - 72% of marketers plan to increase programmatic advertising investment, with CTV budget share projected to double
• June 2025 - Nielsen launches CTV tracking within Ad Intel platform for comprehensive streaming measurement
• July 9, 2025 - Marketers struggle to adapt social creative for Connected TV campaigns, with only 25% developing tailored content
• July 14, 2025 - Nielsen expands CTV tracking to UK Ad Intel platform for September 2025 launch
• July 15, 2025 - LG Ad Solutions integrates with Viant to advance addressability across 45 million connected devices
• July 16, 2025 - WunderKIND Ads announces launch of programmatic CTV pause ads with OpenGlass.TV partnership