From the Big Game to the Dealership: Using CTV to Drive Local Action

Football season brings millions of engaged viewers together each week. Dealers can use connected TV (CTV) advertising to reach local, in-market shoppers during games and sports programs they already watch. By pairing precise targeting with a relevant offer and clear call-to-action, dealerships can turn football-season attention into website visits, leads, and showroom traffic.

Why is Football Season a Valuable Advertising Window?

Football season provides repeated opportunities to reach a large and engaged audience. The NFL averaged 18.7 million viewers per regular-season game in 2025, according to figures reported by the league in January 2026. That was a 10% increase over 2024.

Streaming also reached record levels around major football events. Nielsen reported in January 2026 that streaming accounted for 47.5% of television viewing in December 2025.

Dealers do not need to focus only on the largest games. The opportunity extends across live games, pregame shows, postgame analysis, highlights, and related programming throughout the season. 

How Can Dealers Use CTV to Reach Local Shoppers?

CTV’s targeting capabilities help dealerships focus their advertising budgets on the audiences and markets that matter most. Dealers can refine their audiences based on:

• Geographic location: Focus on specific cities and surrounding communities within the dealership’s sales area.
• Shopping behavior: Reach consumers whose recent activity may indicate that they are considering a vehicle purchase.
• Interests and demographics: Build audiences around relevant interests, household characteristics, and demographic information.
• Vehicle purchase intent: Prioritize consumers who are more likely to be actively shopping for a new or used vehicle.

For dealers in markets such as Atlanta, San Antonio, Tulsa, Dallas, or Austin, this can reduce unnecessary geographic reach. The goal is to focus the campaign on people who are more likely to visit the website, submit a lead, or come to the showroom.

What Should a Dealership CTV Campaign Include?

Targeting determines who sees the advertisement. The message gives them a reason to respond. The Moran Group can help dealers develop CTV ads that reflect their brand, local market, current inventory, and campaign goals.

Effective CTV creative can include:

• Sports-themed messaging: Connect the dealership’s message to the programming viewers are watching. 
• A clear offer: Promote a seasonal sales event or current new vehicle offers.
• Local details: Reference the dealership’s community, nearby cities, or advantages that matter to local shoppers.
• A direct next step: Encourage viewers to browse inventory, value a trade, schedule a test drive, or visit the showroom.

CTV should also support the dealership’s broader advertising strategy. A shopper may see the dealership during a game, recognize its name later in search results, visit the website, and then come to the store. Consistent local messaging helps connect those actions.

How Can Dealers Measure CTV Results?

The Moran Group tracks campaign performance and reports the results to the dealership. Depending on the campaign and measurement plan, reporting may include metrics such as:

• Audience interaction
• Branded search activity
• Store-visit tracking

Our team uses this data to understand what is working and recommend adjustments to the audience, budget, placements, or creative. This helps dealers understand how their CTV campaigns are influencing local shopping activity and supporting more leads and showroom visits.

How Does The Moran Group Support CTV Campaigns?

The Moran Group helps dealers reach local audiences across major streaming platforms such as ESPN, Hulu, Disney, Amazon, and more. We combine premium streaming inventory with geographic and audience targeting to reach shoppers who are more likely to visit the dealership’s website or showroom.

Our team can also help dealers create CTV campaigns that reflect their brand and sales goals. Throughout the campaign, we monitor performance and adjust the audience, budget, placements, and creative based on the results.

Contact The Moran Group to discuss how CTV can support your dealership’s sales goals.

Sources

• NFL: 2025 Regular-Season Viewership Increased 10%
• Nielsen: Streaming Reached a Record 47.5% of Viewing
• The Moran Group: Streaming and Programmatic Media

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