What is the Halo Effect?

There's a hidden advantage in advertising most brands don’t fully tap into: the Halo Effect.

Think of your ad as the first domino in a line. The Halo Effect occurs when a single push creates a chain reaction across multiple channels, turning isolated efforts into a unified, high-impact campaign. In TV and CTV campaigns, exposure to ads on one platform often triggers action on others, such as Google searches or social media engagement.

Instead of treating each channel as separate, the Halo Effect proves the power of a multi-channel strategy. A well-designed plan can amplify every touchpoint. You can build a brand journey that hits multiple layers—awareness, engagement, and loyalty!

When someone watches a compelling TV ad, they may feel more inclined to search for the brand on Google or engage with its posts on Instagram. This is where channel synergy kicks in, as each touchpoint reinforces brand recall, creating a more cohesive story across digital platforms.

Over time, this adds up. The more often your audience sees your brand in different contexts, the more likely they are to act—whether that’s making a purchase, signing up for a service, or simply building trust. A strategic, interconnected approach across multiple channels keeps your audience engaged and more likely to take meaningful actions.

Exploring the Dimensions of the Halo Effect

Connected TV might resemble traditional TV at first glance, but it’s far more than just a broadcast on an unclickable screen. By using brandformance approach, where we combine linear and CTV, we create conditions under which exposure in one channel positively influences engagement across others.

Linear TV builds a foundation of trust and brand familiarity by reaching broad audiences with a memorable message. Viewers may not immediately take action, but consistent exposure on linear TV establishes brand recognition and primes audiences, setting the stage for increased engagement. Then, CTV activates that familiarity, inviting viewers to engage interactively. Whether it’s clicking on a CTV ad, engaging with a paid search result, or responding on social media, viewers who have seen linear TV ads are more likely to recognize and respond to the brand across multiple digital touchpoints.

With platforms like Simulmedia, brands can further quantify this halo effect by tracking the lift in metrics such as website visits or conversions, using cross-channel insights to compare the incremental increase in key performance indicators, like CPA or ROAS.

In a study conducted by Search Engine Land, conversion rates for paid social rose by 4% and paid search by 2% within 30 days of a CTV campaign. That’s just the beginning. After 90 days, paid social saw a 9% surge, and paid search conversions skyrocketed by 22%.

Measuring and Optimizing Halo Effect

Measuring the impact of CTV isn't a guessing game. Each campaign needs a clear objective from the outset. Whether you're aiming for brand awareness, more traffic, or boosting sales, the goal guides the strategy.

When focusing on offline sales, tools like Marketing Mix Modeling (MMM) help break down how much each channel, including CTV, contributes to the bottom line. On the other hand, for traffic or engagement-focused campaigns, platforms like Google Analytics provide post-ad insights, tracking everything from website visits to specific actions viewers take after seeing a CTV ad. However, they are often limited to basic, last-touch models, which disadvantages non-clickable environments such as TV or digital out-of-home.

Incremental lift studies are the most accurate way to measure CTV's Halo Effect. These studies isolate the direct impact of CTV by comparing the behaviors of consumer groups exposed to your CTV ads with those not while keeping all other things constant. These studies track critical metrics like the lift in purchases, web visits, and brand recall, providing a clearer picture of how CTV influences consumer actions across multiple channels.

And here’s where things get more interesting. A lift study might show that viewers exposed to a CTV ad are 15% more likely to convert than those who didn’t see the ad. It raises essential questions: Does a particular publisher outperform others? How many times does someone need to see an ad before taking action? Eventually, answering these questions moves brands from guesswork to data-backed decisions that would help them fine-tune strategies for maximum results.