Nancy Grey of IRISTV on Why Context Wins CTV

CTV performs best when ads align with the moment, not just the screen. As content intelligence and AI mature, contextual precision becomes the real growth lever.

This episode unpacks how deeper content signals, better measurement, and scene-level alignment are shaping the future of CTV.

Key takeaways:

• Why contextual relevance outperforms blunt reach

• How IRIS TV’s content ID scales CTV intelligence

• What scene-level targeting unlocks for brands

• Where live sports and real-time CTV are headed

• How AI strengthens human-led strategy
  

Recorded live at ADWeek 2025 with Adam Katz and Nancy Grey.

EPISODE 54 TRANSCRIPT

Adam Katz
Welcome back to Breaking Through the Mayhem live from ADWeek. We have an amazing guest who's actually been on the podcast before.

Nancy Grey
Yes.

Adam Katz
Welcome back.

Nancy Grey
Thank you. I can't believe I got the second invite.

Adam Katz
I'm thrilled. How do you feel about being a returnee?

Nancy Grey
I feel very special. It's a small group of people here. So thank you.

Adam Katz
We love you. You're an amazing person and partner to work with. Thanks.

And we have a lot of respect for you. So tell us a little bit about what's been going on in your life the last few years at work and how's things been developing? You guys have been growing like crazy at IRIS TV.

Nancy Grey
Thank you. Yeah, it's been pretty calm. We haven't really been doing too much.

No, it's been a really exciting year. We were acquired by Viant at the end of last year. So we're about 10 months into being part of a larger organization, which has been amazing.

So we're working a lot to make Viant the DSP that will have all the bells and whistles, if you will, around the IRIS ID, which is our content identifier. And it's also really helping us grow our overall business. So onboarding more and more publishers so that there's more content for our partners to analyze and having the backing and the oomph of Viant behind us is really helping us grow our scale, which is going to help all of our partners.

So it's been great.

Adam Katz
I love that , and how has your role changed since the integration?

Nancy Grey
Yeah, so my role has stayed pretty consistent. So I'm still onboarding all of our new data partners and platforms. And the Vanderhooks, when they acquired us, did want to keep the IRIS ID ubiquitous.

So they want to help the open internet in general and not keep it only to themselves. So I'm continuing to integrate into curation platforms and bring on new data partners as well as publishers. So still doing all the same, but with a larger team.

So it's been great.

Adam Katz
That's awesome. I mean, watching your guys' evolution, obviously, we've worked with you guys for a long time here at Sightly. And it's been nothing but a pleasure.

What do you think is the biggest opportunity for you guys here coming up in the next few months?

Nancy Grey
So I'd say there's a lot of new things. So we've kind of gotten to the point where we have lots of publishers, we have scale, we have partners, all of these things that people are analyzing the video content, which is really exciting. I think as we get to the next level, we're going to get more sophisticated about how we're doing it.

So measurement, being able to really measure the outcomes of all of the great kind of data sets that we have with our partners is going to be amazing. And then I think what we're hearing a lot about, sports, live sports, live feeds, et cetera, is where everybody really wants to kind of get to. So there's some technology things that have to happen because to process all of that in real time is no small lift.

So that will be something we're working quite a bit on. And I think the next thing also, we're starting to work with more partners to do like scene level targeting. So instead of looking at a full video that could be an hour and a half long content, there's lots of different themes throughout the video.

So starting to work with other partners, SSAI vendors, ad platforms, et cetera, to be able to bring that to life. We're still a little ways out because it does take some collaboration amongst different technology partners to make it happen, but to be able to kind of put that right ad, right after a very intense scene that you're aligned with, I think will be the next big thing. But we had to kind of get to the point of targeting specific content first and then getting more granular as the scale increases.

Adam Katz
I love that next direction. That's going to be super fun.

Nancy Grey
Yeah, it's going to be exciting because I feel sometimes you get these ads and CTV is a lot about branding, but it also drives performance, but it can also have a negative effect. If you are watching a sad movie, as an example, and then you get this ad for like, come bring your kids to the park or whatever it might be. It's kind of a change in emotion.

So that relevance really matters to align the content with the ads that are running so that people feel like it's part of it. Like having a movie with a specific actor in it and then having an ad with that actor in it. It feels natural.

It feels like an extension of what you're watching. And I think it just makes people a little bit more comfortable and engage with the content that they're watching. So ultimately driving better performance, we all hope.

Adam Katz
I love that. Outside of IRIS, what's exciting you in the industry?

Nancy Grey
There's so much happening. So it's sometimes breaking through the mayhem, if you will, to kind of see what's going on. But I mean, I've always been in data, right?

So whether it was purchase-based data, identity data, et cetera, there's so much of it now. And now with the growth of AI, machine learning, what people can do with it, I think is really exciting. So I think that we're in data overload.

But I think the technology and the parsing of all that is becoming more and more sophisticated. So it's allowing advertisers to get more niche and really align with what they want to be around. So I think that will just continue to iterate.

I always wish I had a crystal ball of what's next, what exactly is going to happen. But CTV is not going anywhere. It's already surpassed linear.

So I think the big screen and really having that continuous attention of the consumers as they're watching TV and ads together will just continue to culminate and hopefully feel even more natural than it does today.

Adam Katz
And you guys are starting to do a lot more deals with bigger agencies and brands. What do you think has led to the prominence of you guys outside of just your data partners? Is it just being more known?

Is it people starting to understand the industry better? What do you think is leading to that?

Nancy Grey
Yeah, I think it's a couple of things. But I mean, I think we have been knocking on doors for many, many years. So small and mighty from that perspective.

Adam Katz
Nancy never gives up.

Nancy Grey
We're here. We're still here.

But I think it was also because it's so new. So not everybody saw the value, understood the need. So I feel like maybe we've caught up to what people are looking.

So we're a little ahead of the game. Because I remember when I've been at IRIS a little over four years and talking to people, they're like, I'm sorry, what? You go into a content management system and what happens?

So I think now that CTV is growing so much, all of the questions are coming. I want to do this. Same as with display.

First, you ran your first banner ad. And then it was like, well, how do I measure it? How do I target it more efficiently?

How do I reduce the CPM? So it's like all of these things happening in a new format. So I think it's just going to continue to iterate.

And it's super exciting.

Adam Katz
I love that. Obviously, you keep yourself excited, moving fast, et cetera. But how are you learning all these new AI platforms yourself?

How are you doing that, Nancy?

Nancy Grey
I don't know them all. So I think it's definitely an ongoing... In my mind, and what I want to do is have a half an hour blocked every day where I'm spending time.

Adam Katz
Just playing around.

Nancy Grey
You do that. It doesn't always happen. So you really do have to make time for it because I think if you don't embrace all this new technology, you're going to be left behind.

And I know a lot of people talk about AI is going to take our jobs over. I don't agree with that. I think AI is going to help us do our jobs better.

And I think if you don't adapt that, you might be left behind in a sense that people might be moving a little faster than you, but it's never going to take away the human interaction or the human touch of it. It's the... I don't want to say the busy work, but the number crunching and all the analytics that takes humans time to do.

You can utilize these new tools, but then you put the human touch to it and say, what kind of sense do I make of this data? What does this actually mean? And how is that going to resonate for my customers, for my partners, and even for your team internally?

So I think it will really help us just get things done quicker and still use all of the... People want to work with people they like, right? People want to engage with brands that they feel aligned with.

So I think all of that really requires the human touch to make all that come to life.

Adam Katz
I love that. What do you see next between Sightly and IRIS?

Nancy Grey
Well, we've been talking to the team about a couple of new things. So I think we really want to clearly continue everything that we're doing, but now have even more of an eye of how things are performing and really integrating it with all of the tools and products that your team has built through the years. So we chatted two weeks ago and we've had a few calls since then with the team of how do we bring it to life more visually too?

What kind of examples can we put in the platform so people understand, oh, if I want to align with whatever, an actor that did X, Y, and Z, kind of showing like, okay, this is the types of content, right? So we're kind of exploring how we can kind of bring it to life. Because everything we do, it's not tangible, right?

You can't see it. And we talk about AI, we talk about analyzing content and like all of these themes, but you see a taxonomy. That's basically what you see.

So to see a video or just kind of bring it to life with examples, I think we'll kind of tick and tie more aligned with all the other great stuff that you guys are doing. So we're super excited about that. And your team is unbelievable.

Everyone that we've worked with, just when you talk about culture and all of that, it's not just something you say, it's what you practice, right? And I will say from the engineering team to the business development team, the marketing team, it's such a stellar crew and you can just see the camaraderie amongst everyone. So kudos to you and the team on that.

Adam Katz
Thank you. I mean, listen, that's a hard thing to replicate, but sometimes you get lucky once in a while and it just all flows together at the same time. But you fit perfectly with all of us.

You're the perfect crazy and fun that could hang out inside the team. I think as we wrap up here, the one thing I was also curious about, what do people not know about Nancy outside of work that you want the world to know about you?

Nancy Grey
What do they not know? Everybody knows how much I love my dog, but I have to just shout that out.

Adam Katz
What kind of dog do you have?

Nancy Grey
Your crew is all about the doggies too. She's a rescue. She's like a black lab.

She's so cute. I love her so much.

Adam Katz
How old is she?

Nancy Grey
She's about six and a half maybe. But yeah, oh my God, she makes me so happy. She's adorable.

Adam Katz
You're all about the dog.

Nancy Grey
I'm all about the dog.

Adam Katz
Are you one of those people that could have more than one?

Nancy Grey
I don't know. So we've talked about, I feel like maybe she needs a friend, but I don't know if she needs a friend or if I need another dog.

Adam Katz
Have you asked her the question?

Nancy Grey
I've asked her. I'm still waiting for the answer. I'm not quite sure of her response.

I mean, I'd love to. But yeah, so she's definitely super, super cute and a big part of my life. And in general, I'm just a, I think more of like a people person, you know, like my family, my friends, like that's the number one priority for me and love just kind of spending time with folks and enjoying life.

Adam Katz
Well, you're the best. Thank you for joining us. Hopefully if we have you a third time, which we will, you'll have a second dog by then.

Thank you so much.