How to Measure Lower-Funnel Impact from Performance TV Ads

For years, TV ads  were seen as a top-of-funnel branding play and a channel for awareness, reach, and recall. But that narrative is changing fast.

Today’s marketers are turning to Performance TV not just to start the conversation, but to close the deal. That shift is driven by advances in TV ad measurement: new tools, integrations, and attribution models now make it possible to track real, bottom-of-funnel outcomes like purchases, signups, and store visits.

So, how exactly do you measure lower-funnel impact on Performance TV? Let’s break down the metrics, methodologies, and technologies that can help you prove performance (and make the case for even bigger Performance TV budgets).

Why Performance TV Deserves a Seat at the Bottom of the Funnel

Traditionally, lower-funnel performance lived in clickable environments like search, social, and display. TV lacked direct click-throughs, making it harder to track outcomes like conversions or revenue. But modern measurement has changed the game.

By leveraging advanced pixel tracking, cross-device attribution, and third-party integrations, advertisers can now follow a viewer’s journey after they see a Performance TV ad, even if that journey takes place on another device or in a physical location.

With the right setup, Performance TV can drive and track performance outcomes across both digital and real-world environments. Here's how.

How Does Performance TV Measurement Work?

To understand how these lower-funnel metrics are captured, let’s look at a simplified example:

• Pixel placement: A 1×1 tracking pixel is placed on your TV creative and your landing page.
• Audience targeting: Your linear or streaming TV platform delivers ads to high-intent audiences based on predefined parameters.
• Event tracking: When someone watches your ad, then later takes an action (e.g. purchases a product), a view-through conversion is triggered.
• Cross-device attribution: The platform ties that conversion back to the original CTV exposure, linking households, devices, and timelines.

These insights allow you to optimize campaigns in real time and justify Performance TV investment with hard performance data.

7 Metrics to Measure Lower-Funnel Performance TV Impact

1. Sales and Conversions 

This is the core KPI for proving lower-funnel impact, showcasing that someone took meaningful action after seeing your Performance TV ad. 

Sales, whether they’re online, in-app, or in-store, are the most direct indicator of ROI. Today’s Performance TV measurement tools can attribute those sales back to ad exposure using cross-device tracking, view-through attribution, and dynamic pixels that pass order value for real-time ROAS optimization. 

But conversions go beyond just purchases. For lead-gen, subscription, or trial-based businesses, valuable actions like submitting a form, signing up for a newsletter, or starting a free trial matter just as much. These non-revenue actions can signal strong buying intent and move users further down the funnel. 

To measure both sales and conversions, advertisers typically implement a conversion pixel (via Google Tag Manager or directly in the site code) to track behavior and link it to Performance TV exposure, even across devices. 

Pro tip: Customize your pixel to track all conversion events that align with your business goals, not just purchases.

2. Installs

For mobile-first brands and app-driven businesses, installs are one of the clearest indicators of bottom-funnel success. With cross-device attribution and integrations with mobile measurement partners (like AppsFlyer or Adjust), you can tie app downloads and activations directly to Performance TV ad exposure. 

This is especially valuable for subscription services, gaming apps, fintech tools, or any business where mobile onboarding is a primary conversion goal. Whether tracked via QR codes, deep links, or device ID matchbacks, CTV is becoming a powerful driver of high-quality app installs.

3. Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)

ROAS is the gold standard for measuring campaign profitability. It’s calculated by dividing the total revenue generated by your Performance TV campaign by the total ad spend. Some platforms now offer dynamic pixel setups that allow your site to pass back order values directly to the linear or streaming TV platform, giving you a granular view of performance down to the dollar.

4. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)

Your CAC tells you how much it costs to acquire a new customer through your Performance TV campaign. To calculate it, divide your total campaign spend by the number of new customers attributed to Performance TV. Tracking CAC helps you compare TV's cost-effectiveness to other channels, and ensures you’re scaling customer growth sustainably.

6. View-Through Conversions

Unlike clicks, which are rare on Performance TV, view-through conversions track users who saw your ad and later converted via another device or session. This is crucial in multi-device households, where someone may watch an ad on their TV and later convert on their phone or laptop.

View-through conversions show the assist value of Performance TV in the buyer journey—and they’re a big part of demonstrating ROI beyond last-touch attribution models.

7. Footfall Attribution (In-Store Visits)

If you operate physical locations, this is one of the most powerful ways to connect TV to real-world results. Footfall attribution measures how many viewers visited a store after being exposed to your ad.

Using geolocation data from mobile devices (typically via third-party partners like Foursquare or PlaceIQ), you can determine whether ad-exposed households visited a designated store within a defined timeframe. Some advertisers use unique offer codes or loyalty integrations to enhance this data even further.

Lower-Funnel Performance TV is Here to Stay

Performance TV’s lower-funnel capabilities are evolving fast. Platforms are introducing new innovations like:

• Shoppable ads: Let viewers purchase directly from the ad via QR codes or on-screen CTAs.
• Retail media integrations: Major retailers are bringing their first-party purchase data into Performance TV, enabling closed-loop attribution.
• Brand + Performance hybrid metrics: With tools like brand lift studies and incrementality analysis, advertisers can show both awareness and performance gains.

All of this points to a bigger trend: Performance TV is evolving from a branding channel to a full-funnel performance engine. As Performance TV matures, advertisers don’t have to choose between impact and accountability. With the right metrics and measurement in place, you can prove that your Performance TV campaigns are driving real business outcomes.

Ready to prove performance on Performance TV? Get in touch with us to learn how tvScientific streamlines measurement and reporting.