Battling Signal Loss in Advertising with Content

Content as the Great Unifier

The targeting tools advertisers once relied on, third-party cookies, static audience segments, and deterministic IDs, are falling apart. Most advertisers now experience up to 70% signal loss, according to industry reports. That’s not a future problem, it’s today’s reality: wasted impressions, rising CPMs, and misfired messaging.

But while identity signals falter, content stays honest. What someone is watching in the moment reveals more about their current mindset, mood, and intent than any outdated demographic label.

Identity Targeting? Often Wrong.

This chart shows how off the mark identity-based targeting can be. When advertisers tried to reach people watching home décor content using common demographic signals, the actual audience didn’t match the assumed one. For example:

• Half the viewers labeled "men" were actually women.
• Many who were tagged as “married” were not.
• Parents, homeowners, and even college students were frequently miscategorized.

That’s not a small error. It means you could be showing the right ad to the wrong person—or worse, paying a premium for targeting that fails to reach anyone relevant at all.

The Alternative: Content as the Signal

Instead of guessing who someone is, Qortex uses Advanced Video Intelligence to understand what they’re watching, right now.

• Inferred Audiences: Pre-built audience segments generated from real-time video themes, language, and context.
• Content Alignment: Predicts which types of content will generate the strongest response to your creative, from awareness to purchase intent.

From Assumptions to Accuracy

Legacy systems might assume someone watching home décor videos is a 45+ married homeowner. But Qortex sees that person for what they’re actually doing: engaging with content that signals an intent to decorate, shop, or remodel, whether they’re 22, renting, or just obsessed with before-and-after reveals.

That’s the power of content as the unifying signal. It bridges platforms, escapes identity traps, and scales with every moment of engagement.

Don’t chase who you think they are. Reach them where they are right now.