Google’s Display & Video 360 (DV360) and Campaign Manager 360 (CM360) now offer household-level reach reporting, giving advertisers a more consistent way to measure digital video and connected TV (CTV) alongside traditional television.
Picture a family of four on the couch, watching a show on the living room TV. An ad comes on. Later, one of them sees the same ad on a phone, and another catches it on a laptop.
So how many households did that campaign actually reach?
Traditional digital reporting can count exposures across devices and users separately, making it difficult to understand how many unique households were reached. Google’s new Household Reach reporting helps address that challenge by bringing those exposures together at the household level.
The feature became generally available worldwide on October 13 across DV360 and CM360.
Why household-level measurement matters
Television has always been measured in households, while digital has usually been measured in devices and users. Put the two side by side and the numbers don’t always line up, which can make it hard for enterprise advertisers to compare what they invest in CTV with what they invest in linear TV.
There’s also the issue of overlapping audiences. A single household may encounter the same campaign across a connected TV, smartphone, and laptop. Without a household-level view, advertisers can struggle to understand how those exposures overlap.
Household Reach consolidates ad exposures across living room screens, connected TVs, desktop, and mobile into one household count. Because the household is the unit being counted, co-viewing and multi-device homes no longer inflate the numbers.
Importantly, household reach doesn’t replace individual-level measurement. It complements existing metrics by answering a different question: How many unique households did our advertising reach?
Understanding the new metrics
Household Reach introduces three core measurements:
- Impression Reach: Estimates the number of unique households exposed to a campaign.
- Average Impression Frequency: Measures the average number of ad impressions delivered per reached household.
- Incremental Household Reach: Helps advertisers understand the additional households reached within a defined campaign window.
Household Demographics is available in open beta as well, adding demographic reporting for Impression Reach, Total Households, and % Household Reach.
What you can do with it
Compare TV and digital reach. Household-level reporting gives advertisers a more consistent way to evaluate reach across linear TV and CTV, making cross-channel planning easier.
Manage frequency. Understanding how often households see ads across devices helps identify overexposure, reduce wasted impressions, and improve budget allocation.
Measure incremental reach. See whether campaigns are reaching new households or repeatedly reaching existing audiences to inform future targeting and investment decisions.
It’s a small change in the unit of measurement that can make a big difference to what you’re able to compare, plan, and prove. The same household, counted once, on every screen.
The real opportunity isn’t just counting households differently. It’s using that information to make smarter media investment decisions.
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