Podcast Summary: The Marketing Millennials

Episode: How to Scale Your Brand with TV in 2026 (CTV Mini-Series Episode #1)

Host: Daniel Murray
Guests:

• Donna Lazzaro, Senior Director of Brand Media at Gab
• Anna, Platform Team Lead at Tatari
  Date: February 17, 2026

Overview

This episode kicks off The Marketing Millennials’ CTV Mini-Series, diving deep into the evolving role of television—particularly Connected TV (CTV)—in the modern marketing mix. Daniel is joined by Donna Lazzaro from Gab and Anna from Tatari to unpack how brands of all sizes can leverage TV as a scalable, measurable, and hybrid performance-brand channel. The conversation explores data-driven approaches, creative strategies, accessing premium inventory, and the shifting perceptions around TV advertising for growth brands.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introduction to Tatari and Full-Funnel TV

• What is Tatari?

  • Anna (01:51): “Most platforms just sell a slice of the TV landscape, so maybe that's programmatic streaming only or linear only while Tatari is a full convergent TV platform... helping brands buy and measure TV across programmatic streaming and linear... [and] optimize on a next day basis.”
  • Tatari provides unified measurement, enables direct publisher buys (lowering ad tech markups), and supports both targeted and broad campaigns (like lookalike audiences or Super Bowl spots).

• Supporting All Brand Journeys

  • Anna (03:21): “We help small brands scale on TV by making TV cheaper to test, easier to manage in house and measurable... And then for brands in a growth stage…[and] mature advertisers, we have specialized teams to support brands in those sorts of stages.”
  • Emphasizes different entry points: modest tests for newcomers, scalability for growing brands, and advanced deals for mature advertisers.

2. The Gab Brand and Entering the TV Space

• Who is Gab?

  • Donna (04:44): “Gab's mission is to help parents protect every childhood with safer tech for kids...launched its first phone for kids that doesn't have social media or Internet access, making it a safer option than traditional smartphones.”

• Why TV, Why Now?

  • Donna (06:34): “We felt that TV was going to be a great channel to add to our mix, provide more reach and scalability... help educate… build that trust with parents. I feel like there's this element to TV that adds credibility.”

3. TV’s "Halo Effect" and Incrementality

• Measuring the Real Impact of TV

  • Anna (08:50): “Tatari's data science team actually has a report that can put numbers behind this. So we have a halo impact report that is able to show lift or boost to any other marketing channels that are trackable.”
  • Daniel (08:00): “When you show up on tv, it has a perception you have more money and you're bigger than you are. Even if you're on a TV on a budget, it still makes you seem like you're bigger.”

• Data-Driven Decision Making

  • Donna (10:01): “We really wanted... data was really important to us to be able to measure this as we hope to scale it... looking at it as a long term play and holistic growth and adding that into our media mix.”

4. Filling the Funnel & Retargeting

• Cross-Channel Lift and Traffic
  • Donna (12:20): “We’ve had really successful big moments with TV...driven so much traffic to our site…a lift in branded search terms...our other channels help pick up, you know, that retargeting piece and really drive efficiency across a lot of platforms.”

5. Creative Strategy for TV

• Overcoming Creative Anxiety

  • Daniel (13:01): “How am I going to create a TV ad? Do I need a huge budget...it feels so much different than meta creative or just social creative.”
  • Donna (13:27): “We put together internally a few, a handful of concepts and then we partnered with our research team...picked some of those top performing or just leading indicators from our demo to then execute on. …We have all four running at the same time and it’s really helped us test and learn.”

• Leveraging Existing Assets & UGC

  • Daniel (15:04): “I mean using your existing creative that you have on like meta…stitch together UGC…it's like, okay, I'm thinking there's a potential this might go on TV, it might go on YouTube...let's actually shoot it in different ways so it's compatible.”
  • Anna (16:00): “We have quite a few brands that have tested UGC or existing social assets on tv...Has Gab tested that in the past?”
  • Donna (16:35): “We haven’t…UGC has done so well on our other platforms…we definitely went more of like the polished route which has still worked...But I definitely have seen just in my own viewing, I’ve seen brands lean into that quite a bit.”

• Longevity of TV Creative

  • Anna (17:15): “A lot of brands will sometimes worry about creative burnout...TV has longer creative longevity versus some digital channels.”
  • Donna (17:46): “We’ve actually been running all four since 2023...some are performing better than others...TV creative can last a lot longer than maybe burnout on these other channels.”

6. Accessing Premium Inventory & Fire Sale Opportunities

• Making High-Impact TV Accessible

  • Donna (19:05): “We've really leaned into the linear side…just for, you know, affordability and just the reach opportunities. We've booked hundreds of spots in college football below rate cards using, you know, Tatari's tool…fire sale opportunities…test into something that we've wanted to.”
  • Anna (20:47): “Tatari's media buying specialist team gets past quite a few fire sales or deals…If there's leftover inventory…So just having those discussions up front...when those flash deals do come up…you’re able to jump on them.”

• Allocating Budget for Agility

  • Daniel (22:03): “Brands should have like an allocated special like budget that they can tap into all the time that's meant for these type of fire sales or quick campaigns or opportunities that go up.”
  • Donna (22:47): “With that test budget we know that like these fire sales would fall into that…being aware too of the time of year you're in. So if it's college football, being aware that some of those could come through…”

7. Seasonality & Audience Targeting

• Moments That Matter

  • Donna (24:52): “We have two big moments. Holiday...and then back to school...really leaning into heavier investment during those times…also more so during holiday...there's a few different networks that, you know, we lean into, you know, Hallmark…”

• Blending Upfront Research & Agility

  • Anna (27:13): “Upfront planning work, finding the correct audience...But then…the ability to be nimble and agile based on performance is also super important.”

8. Brand vs. Performance – Blurring the Lines

• TV as Full-Funnel
  • Daniel (28:02): “I do believe, strongly believe that all marketing is performance marketing even if it's brand because you have to...if you're not do performing, you're, you're probably something's happening.”
  • Donna (28:41): “...definition evolved…there is a brand and performance element...we’ve definitely seen TV as the scalable channel that feeds the whole funnel and so definitely have seen the effects of it in our performance…also on the brand awareness side too.”
  • Anna (30:19): “The way that GAV has approached measurement framework has been really amazing to see…making sure that the campaign is set up for success...”

9. Advice for Brands Entering TV

• Donna’s Advice (31:19):

  “Define what success looks like. Really understand the reporting options...start small with a test budget…and just continue to test and build out that core plan.”

• Anna’s Advice (32:03):

  “Debunking a lot of the TV myths has been really fun…accessibility of data, performance data, specifically…the barrier to entry is lower than expected…let the data talk for itself and allow it to really frame up how you optimize your TV strategy.”

10. Memorable Quotes: Marketing Hills to Die On

• Donna (33:15):

  “Consistent brand presence and like an always on brand does more than you think it does for the full funnel.”

• Anna (33:52):

  “TV is not just a funnel filler and not just an awareness driver. It can also be used as a doctor tactic as well to drive lower or mid to lower funnel performance for brands and really help brands scale for all areas of their life cycle.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On TV’s perception lift:

  “When you show up on tv, it has a perception you have more money and you're bigger than you are. Even if you're on a TV on a budget, it still makes you seem like you're bigger.” — Daniel (08:00)

• On measurement:

  “Data data is definitely leadership savor language.” — Daniel (11:17)

• On creative production:

  “We have four concepts [for TV ads] and having we have all four running at the same time and it's really helped us test and learn. And we found that some have landed better on different networks…” — Donna (13:27)

• On fire sale agility:

  “Tatari's media buying specialist team gets past quite a few fire sales or deals…So just having those discussions up front...when those flash deals do come up…you're able to jump on them.” — Anna (20:47)

• On “hill to die on” in marketing:

  “Consistent brand presence and like an always on brand does more than you think it does for the full funnel.” — Donna (33:15)
  "TV is not just a funnel filler and not just an awareness driver. It can also be used as a doctor tactic… help brands scale for all areas of their life cycle.” — Anna (33:52)

Key Takeaways

• TV (both CTV and linear) is more accessible, measurable, and performance-oriented than ever before, thanks to evolving tech platforms and buying structures.
• Brands at any stage can benefit from TV with the right entry strategy, whether that’s modest test budgets, fire sale spots, or data-driven campaigns.
• Creative flexibility and nimbleness—testing multiple formats and including existing social/UGC assets—lower barriers and optimize performance.
• Consistent presence, data-informed agility, and understanding moments of audience intent (seasonal or cultural) are crucial for unlocking brand and business growth via TV.
• The line between brand and performance channels is increasingly blurred—TV can and should serve both full-funnel needs.

Where to Connect

• Donna Lazzaro: LinkedIn (search “Donna Lazzaro”)
• Gab: Follow Gab’s socials for content and updates
• Anna (Tatari): LinkedIn; reach out for a Tatari platform demo

Episode Timestamps

• 01:51: What makes Tatari different from traditional TV buying
• 04:44: Gab’s mission and unique value proposition
• 06:34: Why Gab added TV to its media mix
• 08:50: The “halo effect” of TV and data-driven measurement
• 13:01: Addressing creative barriers for first-time TV advertisers
• 19:05: Linear TV, premium inventory, and fire sales
• 24:52: Budgeting for seasonal spikes and major moments
• 28:41: TV as a blend of brand awareness and performance
• 31:19: Advice for brands adding TV to their marketing mix
• 33:15: Marketing “hill to die on” moments

This episode is packed with practical insights for growth-minded marketers considering TV, blending strategic vision, tactical detail, and a refreshingly candid tone throughout.