Connected TV (CTV) — streaming television accessed through internet-connected devices and platforms — has transformed traditional television into a powerful performance channel. Platforms like MNTN, Vibe, StackAdapt, and Roku allow advertisers to reach targeted audiences with precision that linear TV cannot offer. For marketers, that means access to household-level data, flexible budgets, and detailed campaign controls, all without losing the reach and storytelling power of television.
A key challenge that remains is determining the impact of an ad that can't be clicked. For performance marketers, the most valuable conversions still happen offline. Connecting those high-intent actions back to a CTV ad impression has historically been difficult, leaving an incomplete picture of campaign performance.
That’s where CallRail comes in.
The challenge of tracking offline conversions
When a potential customer sees a CTV ad and later picks up the phone, there’s no click chain or cookie trail to connect that lead back to the campaign that drove it. Many advertisers still rely on traditional methods like vanity URLs or promo codes, but these methods are unreliable and difficult to scale.
This creates a blind spot for marketers managing performance campaigns. Phone calls and text messages often represent the highest-value leads, coming from customers ready to make a purchase or book a service. Without the ability to accurately tie those calls back to ad spend, marketers can’t fully understand ROI or optimize for the outcomes that matter most.
CallRail’s role in bridging the gap
CallRail makes offline conversions measurable by connecting the dots between a CTV impression and a phone call.
Using dedicated call tracking numbers within the CTV creative, every inbound call can be uniquely attributed to that specific campaign. When a viewer responds, CallRail captures rich insights including time, duration, and location, then uses Call Quality scoring and Premium Conversation Intelligence™ to qualify the lead. Businesses can immediately see which calls represent real opportunities — and which don’t.
These insights give businesses a complete view of how their CTV campaigns drive results, not just impressions or on-screen engagement.
The closed-loop use case: tracking and optimization
By integrating CallRail with CTV platforms like MNTN, marketers can create a closed-loop system that connects ad delivery to real-world outcomes.
Here’s how it works:
- Tracking and attribution: When a viewer sees a CTV ad and calls the number shown, CallRail automatically logs that lead and attributes it to the exact campaign, creative, and audience segment that influenced it.
- Feeding conversion data back to the platform: Qualified call insights — such as “Sales Opportunity” or “Booked Appointment” tags — can be pushed back into the CTV platform alongside online conversions like form fills.
- Campaign optimization: The CTV platform then uses this combined data to automatically refine performance — prioritizing households proven to call and convert, reducing spend on low-quality audiences, and identifying which campaigns drive the most qualified leads.
The result: Marketers can allocate their spend toward actual revenue-driving actions, not just vanity metrics.
Real-world impact
CallRail helps marketers deliver measurable, data-backed results by closing the loop between CTV impressions and inbound calls.
Key benefits include:
- Accurate ROI: Capture true Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) by including both online and offline conversions.
- Unified reporting: View all conversion data in one place for a complete picture of campaign performance.
- Smarter optimization: Use conversation insights to refine targeting and creative strategy.
Integrating CallRail into your CTV platforms makes it a measurable, performance-driven channel, ensuring every budget decision is informed by real-world actions. For marketers focused on inbound calls, closed-loop tracking is the key to proving what’s working and maximizing every campaign’s impact.
