One of the most important shifts happening in performance advertising right now has nothing to do with a new format, channel, or technology. It has to do with trust.
As the industry moves away from third-party cookies, measurement frameworks are evolving, AI is becoming embedded across platforms, and channels like performance TV are moving from experimental budgets to core growth engines.
In that environment, advertisers are asking a simple but important question: Who can we trust to help us grow?
This week, I wanted to explore that question with Heather Carver, Chief Customer Officer at tvScientific. Heather spends her days working directly with brands and agencies navigating the realities of performance TV, measurement, and the broader shift toward outcomes-based advertising.
We focus on what buyers are frustrated by today, how platforms can build real trust, and why customer experience may be the next major differentiator in performance advertising.
Jason: As tvScientific’s Chief Customer Officer, what do you find buyers are most frustrated by in today’s adtech ecosystem?
Heather: The biggest frustration I hear from buyers right now is what I’d call opacity disguised as performance.
A lot of platforms promise outcomes, but they operate as black boxes. Campaigns may show strong results in a dashboard, but it’s often difficult for buyers to understand what is actually driving those outcomes.
Another challenge is optimization toward the wrong signals. Dashboards can highlight metrics that look impressive but don’t necessarily translate into real customer growth. And right now, many advertisers are rebuilding their performance feedback loops as the industry moves away from third-party cookies. They’re trying to understand which signals actually matter and which ones don’t.
For a lot of advertisers entering CTV, especially SMBs, there’s also an education curve. Many of them are coming from click-based channels where performance appears very immediate, even if that immediacy isn’t always durable.
At the end of the day, what buyers want is a partner who helps them understand performance and do more than just report it.
Jason: How do you balance automation and transparency? Can you actually have both?
Heather: You absolutely need both. Modern advertising operates across thousands of signals, placements, and optimization decisions. AI and machine learning are required to manage that level of complexity in real time.
I think the industry went wrong in assuming that automation requires opacity. In reality, advertisers should still be able to see the data behind their campaigns, understand the signals driving optimization, and influence strategy.
I love how we think about this at tvScientific: “trust but verify.” Automation should absolutely improve outcomes, but it should do so in a way that still gives advertisers visibility and control. Ultimately, we want to augment humans’ abilities to make better decisions.
Jason: What does a “great customer experience” look like in performance advertising?
Heather: I think a great customer experience starts with aligning on outcomes. Everyone involved in a campaign should be optimizing toward the advertiser’s actual business goals.
Education and partnership are also critical, especially as more advertisers adopt performance CTV. In many ways, performance TV is at a moment similar to where search was years ago. It’s transitioning from experimental spend to becoming a core performance channel.
Advertisers need guidance during that transition. The best platforms act as an extension of the client’s team and help interpret results, test new strategies, and continuously improve campaigns. When that relationship works well, advertising stops feeling like a series of campaigns.
Jason: What do platforms have to get right internally to deliver that customer experience?
Heather: Platforms must align across teams. Product, ad operations, customer success, and sales all need to be optimizing toward the same customer outcomes. Aligning those incentives helps unify the customer experience.
Data transparency is also essential. Buyers need the ability to validate performance and understand what is actually driving results.
And equally important is building a culture of partnership. That means inviting customers into roadmap conversations, testing new capabilities together, and solving problems collaboratively.
When platforms truly understand the broader business goals of their customers, they can help build long-term growth.
Jason: In your view, what ultimately makes buyers increase budgets? Better reporting, better outcomes, greater confidence?
Heather: I think it comes down to confidence that compounds over time. There’s a quote often attributed to Einstein, “Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it. He who doesn’t, pays it.”
I think the same principle applies to advertising partnerships. Budget growth happens when transparency builds trust, outcomes are consistently validated, and customers understand what is driving performance.
Short-term wins earn tests, while long-term trust earns scale.
Jason: As AI becomes more embedded in performance advertising, how should platforms think about using it without sacrificing trust or control for buyers?
Heather: AI is incredibly powerful for optimization, but it shouldn’t come at the expense of transparency. The industry may start using AI as a justification for hiding the details, but advertisers still need to understand what signals drive performance, how campaigns are optimized, and why certain decisions are being made.
The right model is AI that enhances expertise while keeping advertisers informed and in control.
When used responsibly, AI actually strengthens trust because it delivers better outcomes while giving advertisers greater visibility into how those outcomes are achieved.
Jason: Looking ahead, what will separate the platforms customers trust from the ones they move away from?
Heather: The biggest differentiator will be who is willing to play the long game. Platforms that focus on short-term metrics or opaque attribution might win early budgets, but those relationships rarely last.
The most successful companies will focus on educating their customers and building genuine partnerships. As more advertisers enter the CTV ecosystem, especially SMBs, trust becomes the real competitive advantage.
Customers truly trust platforms that treat their partners like extensions of their teams, helping them build sustainable growth beyond campaign performance.
Inside Performance Advertising with Jason Fairchild delivers unfiltered insights, strategic perspective, and hard truths from inside the evolving world of adtech—cutting through the noise to focus on what really drives outcomes. Subscribe here.
