Audience
Brand marketers and media buyers evaluating whether to shift advertising budgets from traditional television and digital display toward the emerging category of Connected TV.

Goal
In 2018–2019, SteelHouse was making a major strategic pivot from a traditional digital display advertising platform to a Connected TV (CTV) advertising platform. At the time, many brand marketers were unfamiliar with the category, so the primary goal of the deck was not just to sell SteelHouse’s product but to define and educate the market itself.

The presentation needed to explain what Connected TV was, why consumer viewing behavior was rapidly shifting toward streaming, and why brands needed to move advertising budgets into this new channel before competitors did.

Approach
I worked closely with the leadership team to build a narrative-driven presentation that positioned Connected TV as the future of brand advertising.

Because the category was still early, the deck first established foundational definitions and market context before introducing SteelHouse’s platform. The narrative walked brands through the shift from traditional television to streaming environments, highlighting the rapid growth of cord-cutting and the scale of streaming audiences.

The presentation explained core concepts such as OTT devices, streaming apps, and programmatic targeting, helping advertisers understand how Connected TV differed from traditional television advertising. SteelHouse CTV

The deck also translated SteelHouse’s technical capabilities into clear marketing outcomes.

Impact
The presentation became a key sales tool supporting SteelHouse’s strategic pivot into Connected TV advertising.

By helping brands understand a rapidly emerging category, the deck enabled the sales team to reposition SteelHouse from a display advertising vendor into a leader in CTV programmatic advertising.

SteelHouse had previously raised over $80M in venture funding and by this period was positioning Connected TV as the company’s future growth engine.

The strategy proved successful. SteelHouse later rebranded as MNTN, doubling down on its Connected TV platform. Actor and entrepreneur Ryan Reynolds joined as Chief Creative Officer and investor, helping expand the company’s visibility and brand storytelling around performance television advertising.

MNTN continued expanding the platform and ultimately went public through a SPAC merger in 2022. The company now operates as one of the leading Connected TV advertising platforms, with a multibillion-dollar market valuation and major brand advertisers using the platform to run performance-driven television campaigns.

This deck represents an early piece of storytelling that helped define the Connected TV advertising category for marketers during its formative years.