How do you pilot a CTV platform against your current provider?

Why pilot instead of switch

Moving a CTV budget in one step replaces a known result with an unknown one. A pilot puts a share of budget on the new platform, keeps the rest where it is, and compares. If the new platform proves more incremental value, scale it; if not, you have lost little.

Set up a fair comparison

1. Same creative. Use the same videos on both platforms. Different creative is the most common reason pilots cannot be.
2. Same audience definition. Describe the target in plain terms (for example, adults 25 to 54 in the US, excluding existing customers) and set it up as closely as each platform allows.
3. Same measurement. Use one method for both: your own analytics, one third-party partner, or a geo holdout that assigns separate regions to each platform plus a control group.
4. Same window. Start and end on the same dates, and read results after the same delay.
5. Comparable budgets. Spend similar amounts, or compare efficiency metrics per dollar rather than totals.

Choose terms that let you stop

A pilot only works if leaving is cheap. Look for published "no commitment" or "cancel anytime" language and confirm it in writing. Vibe's pricing page stated "No Commitment"; MNTN described "fully at-will buying" and "No upfront commitments. No minimums."; Amazon stated that DVA+ has no minimum spend; Disney Campaign Manager stated a $500 per campaign minimum with billing after the ad starts. Check minimums too: Vibe's pages describe both a $50 per day figure and no minimums; confirm current terms with Vibe.

What to compare at the end

• Incremental conversions and iROAS from the lift test: the primary result.
• Attributed results from each platform: useful context, but not the decision metric.
• Cost per incremental outcome: media spend divided by incremental conversions.
• Operational effort: hours your team spent, speed of changes, quality of reporting and data exports.
• Reach and frequency: whether the platforms reached different households or the same ones.

Common traps

• Comparing platform-reported ROAS with different attribution windows.
• Letting one platform retarget your site visitors while the other prospects for new households.
• Running the pilot over a holiday on one side only.
• Ending the test when one side looks ahead in week one.

How to use this site in a pilot

Use the head-to-head pages to see where two platforms' published capabilities differ, the side-by-side builder for three to five options, and the re-weigh tool if your priorities differ from ours. Then confirm every term with the vendors: our facts are from their public pages on the date shown, not from a contract.