AdExchanger The True Meaning Of Holistic Media, With Carat's Carrie Drinkwater
Feb 3, 2026
Carrie Drinkwater, Chief Investment Officer at Carat US and the agency's first-ever CIO, champions a consumer- and content-first approach to media buying. She breaks down what holistic media really means. She discusses TV, CTV and content convergence. She talks CTV targeting limits, sports and alternative reach tactics, privacy and data trust, and how AI tools reshape media investment.
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Family Game Shows Networks Faded
- Carrie played a family game where no one could name a favorite network, showing how 'network' recognition has faded.
- The story illustrates how viewers no longer think in terms of traditional networks.
CTV’s Identity And Placement Limits
- CTV often provides household-level signals, not reliable individual IDs, and placement visibility can be opaque.
- That means buying CTV requires different strategies: buy premium content for brand and open marketplaces for performance.
Match CTV Buying To Objectives
- Use CTV differently by objective: buy top shows and specific placements for brand goals and open, data-driven buys for performance.
- Combine content buys with geo or audience data to match campaign KPIs.
