How to know the real value of your CTV campaigns

If you’re running CTV campaigns in 2025, you already know the truth: CTV drives action. It builds intent, nudges users closer to conversion, and influences mobile installs far more often than most marketers realize.

But here’s the frustrating part about measuring this accurately. Most attribution systems weren’t originally built for cross-device journeys. And while consumer behavior evolved, the attribution waterfalls were a bit slower to catch up. Because users can’t “click” their TV screens, CTV gets pushed to the bottom of the attribution chain.

Equal attribution priority windows help you know the real impact of your CTV efforts, giving CTV campaigns the right opportunity to be evaluated when their influence is strongest.

Why CTV Gets Under-Credited

The core issue is structural. Traditional attribution waterfalls prioritize:

1. deterministic clicks first,
2. then deterministic views,
3. then probabilistic clicks,
4. and only after all that do they consider probabilistic impressions (where CTV lives).

Since CTV typically relies on IP-based probabilistic matching rather than device IDs, it sits at the very bottom. That means it loses attribution to almost any mobile interaction, even if the CTV ad is what created the intent. This can be especially tricky when there’s activity during the cross-platform look back window. For example, if a viewer sees a CTV ad, and after they are served a mobile ad, they install–all within the window–the mobile ad receives all of the credit. 

In other words: CTV is doing the work, but mobile channels are getting the credit.

This creates two problems for marketers:

1. You dramatically undercount CTV’s true contribution
2. Your budget decisions become skewed toward the channels that “appear” more effective

That’s where equal attribution priority windows come in.

What Equal Attribution Priority Windows Actually Are

Equal attribution priority windows give CTV impressions a fair chance to be evaluated in the attribution flow, rather than being automatically ranked below other touchpoints. Within this defined window, if a user sees a CTV ad and later installs the app on mobile—even if other mobile interactions happened in between—the CTV impression is still eligible to receive credit.

This leads to three important outcomes:

• CTV-driven conversions surface in reporting instead of being lost to lower-priority signals

• Cross-device budget decisions become more accurate and reflective of true user behavior

• Mid- and upper-funnel activity gets appropriate recognition in the overall user journe

It’s important to note that raising CTV’s attribution priority doesn’t override deterministic touchpoints. When deterministic clicks are available, they still take precedence. The equal-priority window only applies when the attribution decision involves competing probabilistic signals, ensuring CTV is measured fairly—not preferentially.

How to Use Equal Attribution Priority Windows

Let’s look at how this plays out with real MMPs. 

Activating Equal Attribution Priority with AppsFlyer

1. Enable Cross-Platform Attribution in your OneLink template.
2. In your integrated partner settings (e.g., Adikteev), toggle ON the Equal Attribution Priority Window.
3. Set the duration up to 6 hours.
   
   

   💡 Tip: I recommend setting your equal attribution priority window to the full six hours. A large percentage of users convert within a few hours of exposure. A shorter window almost always misses meaningful influence.

4. Turn on View-Through Attribution and configure your lookback window up to 72 hours.
5. Generate your Cross-Platform Impression URL so that CTV impressions can be properly linked to mobile installs.

Once everything is set up, cross-device behavior finally lands in your reporting, where it belongs–not in a blind spot.

Activating Equal Attribution Priority with Adjust

Adjust takes a different approach. Instead of a self-serve toggle, attribution priority changes must be requested directly. Clients can ask their Support representative or Technical Account Manager to update the backend settings.

Adjust can prioritize CTV impressions above mobile impressions, above mobile impressions plus clicks, or even above search ads, depending on your strategy.

If you’re a heavy CTV advertiser, this prioritization makes a noticeable difference.

Activating Equal Attribution Priority with Singular

Singular gives advertisers the option to adjust attribution priority so that CTV impressions are evaluated more fairly within the attribution process. By default, probabilistic impressions—including CTV—sit lower in Singular’s priority order, which can make it harder for CTV influence to appear in reporting even when it plays a meaningful role.

To ensure CTV touchpoints are considered appropriately, you can choose to increase their attribution priority within a controlled 24-hour window, reflecting the period where probabilistic accuracy is strongest.

Here’s how to set it up in Singular:

• Open the configuration settings for any tracking link that supports CTV partners.
• Enable the option to raise the attribution priority for CTV impressions.
• Keep the 24-hour limit in mind, since probabilistic match quality declines after that period.

Double-check that your lookback and view-through windows align with your campaign objectives.

Once activated, CTV impressions are simply given the chance to be evaluated during the timeframe where they are most meaningful—helping ensure your cross-device reporting isn’t missing relevant touchpoints.

My Experience: Why This Setting Changes Everything

When brands turn on this setting, the difference is immediate. Campaign reports become clearer. CTV’s role becomes measurable. And every decision about scaling, optimizing, or reallocating budget becomes more confident.

Equal attribution priority windows don’t artificially inflate CTV performance. They simply let CTV compete on equal terms with mobile just long enough to reveal the truth about how users actually behave.

If you haven’t explored this setting yet, you’re almost certainly undercounting your CTV performance. Give your campaigns the credit they deserve, and see the full picture of your cross-device impact.