Keynes is a data-driven advertising platform focused on helping brands reach high-intent audiences through Connected TV (CTV). By combining programmatic media buying with advanced audience targeting and measurement, Keynes enables marketers to deliver more efficient, performance-oriented campaigns across streaming environments. The platform provides end-to-end campaign execution, from planning and activation to real-time optimization and reporting, giving brands greater transparency and control over their TV advertising spend.
- Adtech
- Connectivity
Keynes is a data-driven advertising company focused on Connected TV (CTV) — ads delivered through streaming platforms like Hulu, Roku, and smart TVs.
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About Keynes
Background
Keynes was founded in 2018 by CEO Dan Larkman, a seasoned operator in digital advertising with deep experience across ad tech, client services, and performance marketing. Prior to starting Keynes, Dan held leadership roles at SteelHouse and other adtech platforms, where he saw firsthand the limitations of both traditional television and fragmented digital channels.
Recognizing the rapid shift in consumer attention toward streaming and the lack of transparency and performance measurement in TV advertising, Dan set out to build a better solution from the ground up. Keynes was created to bring the precision, accountability, and data-driven approach of digital marketing into the emerging Connected TV ecosystem. Since its founding, the company has focused on simplifying CTV for advertisers—combining advanced targeting, real-time optimization, and clear reporting into a high-touch, performance-oriented platform.
Why We Invested In Keynes
CTV Is Becoming a Core Performance Channel for Midsize and Growth Advertisers
For more than a decade, midsize and growth brands have built their performance marketing strategies around search and social. Those channels have become increasingly crowded. Social CPMs continue to rise, and returns are plateauing as competition intensifies. As a result, advertisers are actively looking for new acquisition channels.
Connected television (CTV) has quickly become the next major performance channel. Historically, television advertising was dominated by large brand-focused budgets. A thirty-second spot during prime time was reserved for companies with millions to spend and agencies to manage the buy. Midsize advertisers simply did not participate.
That dynamic is now changing. Premium streaming inventory has expanded rapidly, CPMs have normalized, and measurement tools have improved, making it possible for advertisers to evaluate performance. As a result, CTV has opened up to midsize and growth brands, giving these advertisers access to premium streaming environments that were previously out of reach.
However, while access to CTV has expanded, executing effective performance campaigns remains difficult.
The advertising infrastructure behind CTV is fragmented across dozens of DSPs and streaming platforms, making campaigns difficult to manage. While measurement has improved, CTV is inherently non-clickable, making attribution more nuanced than in traditional digital channels. Transparency into where ads run and how those signals translate into performance is still limited. Most midsize and growth brands lack the expertise or resources to navigate that complexity. While self-serve tools have made it easier for them to launch campaigns, they have not made it easy to treat CTV as a true performance marketing channel.
Keynes: Making CTV Both Premium and Performance-Driven
Keynes was built to close this gap.
Keynes is a performance advertising solution for CTV that combines audience intelligence, AI-driven optimization, and transparent measurement. The platform enables midsize and growth advertisers to access premium streaming inventory through Keynes’ preferred partners, build precise audience strategies, and run campaigns that optimize in real time. Advertisers gain clear visibility into what ads ran, where they ran, and what outcomes they drove, establishing Keynes as a trusted partner for brands seeking measurable growth through CTV.
As a result, these brands can advertise on the same streaming platforms as the largest companies in the world while maintaining transparency and accountability around performance.
What Sets Keynes Apart
What differentiates Keynes is its commitment to treating CTV as a performance channel rather than purely a brand medium. Many CTV solutions focus primarily on impressions and reach. Keynes is designed around accountable outcomes. The platform combines AI-driven optimization with a high-touch service model, giving clients both the technology and the expertise required to drive measurable results.
That approach has resonated strongly with customers. Advertisers consistently cite Keynes’ transparency and proactive strategic guidance as key reasons they continue to expand spend on the platform, and many describe Keynes as one of the most trusted partners in their marketing stack.
Why We’re Excited to Partner with Keynes
CEO Dan Larkman and the leadership team are CTV veterans, with direct experience of how the market works and where it falls short for midsize and growth advertisers. When they set out to build Keynes, they focused on solving those problems directly by combining deep CTV expertise with a platform designed to deliver transparent outcomes.
Streaming advertising for midsize and growth businesses is still in the early stages. The market continues to grow quickly as inventory expands, measurement improves, and more advertisers begin to test the channel. As midsize and growth advertisers continue shifting budgets into CTV, demand for a trusted and performance-oriented partner will continue to grow. Keynes is well positioned to make streaming television as accessible and accountable for these advertisers as any other digital performance channel.
We are excited to partner with Dan and the Keynes team as they continue building that future.
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