The Future of B2B Attention: How CTV, Native, and Intent Data Are Rewriting the Funnel

Writer: Weston Wheeler
Date: June 25, 2026

Today’s buyers, 71% of whom are Millennials or Gen Z, don’t wait for a sales call to start forming opinions. They stream videos, conduct self-directed research, and consume three to five pieces of content before they ever engage with a vendor. By the time a prospect fills out a form or takes a meeting, the decision is often halfway made. The marketers who win are the ones who show up earlier, in the right context, with the right message.

B2B pipelines now get built in channels most sales teams never see, and the combination of Simpli.fi’s media activation and Bombora’s Company Surge® Intent data is purpose-built to reach buyers there.

 
Reaching B2B buyers across the full customer journey requires the right mix of data, targeting, and cross-channel execution. Simpli.fi’s B2B Playbook maps out how to put it all together, from ABM strategy and intent data, to unified media activation across Google, Meta, and LinkedIn.

CONTENT IS KING

77% of B2B buyers complete significant independent research before ever speaking to a sales rep. That means the majority of your pipeline is forming in spaces your sales team will never touch: streaming platforms, editorial environments, and the open web. If your brand isn’t present in those moments, a competitor’s is.

Meanwhile, 47% of buyers consume three to five pieces of content before engaging with a vendor. That means brand perception is being determined far earlier than an initial call. The brands that earn positive consideration aren’t just publishing more; they’re publishing the right things in the right context.

Content drives 3.4x more leads per dollar than outbound, but volume alone doesn’t produce that return. What resonates with B2B buyers isn’t a product pitch: it’s thought leadership they can bring into meetings, data they can use to justify a decision, and insights that help them build consensus across a buying committee.

However, great content without the right distribution strategy is just noise, and that’s exactly where Simpli.fi and Bombora change the equation.

THE INTELLIGENCE LAYER THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING

Reaching a B2B audience with great content is valuable. Reaching them at the precise moment they’re actively researching a solution is a different advantage entirely.

Bombora’s Company Surge® Intent data is the connective tissue that makes the entire system work. By identifying which companies are showing truly differentiated, active buying signals, Bombora gives Simpli.fi’s campaign activations a targeting foundation that no data set can match. Your message isn’t just contextually relevant; it’s timed to the rhythm of the buyer’s research journey.

Simpli.fi then takes that signal and delivers it with scalable precision. With reach across 130 million U.S. households and over 3,000 targeting variables spanning demographic, behavioral, and household-level data, Simpli.fi connects Bombora’s company-level intent signals to the actual individuals making purchase decisions, served across premium streaming inventory where these B2B buyers already spend their time.

Bombora surfaces who’s in-market. Simpli.fi delivers the message that meets them there.

CTV: WHERE BRAND BUILDS DEMAND

Linear broadcast TV is built for reach. CTV with Bombora’s Company Surge® Intent data is built for reach, plus the intelligence to know when a buying committee is actively in-market.

The B2B decision-maker of 2026 isn’t reading trade journals in a corner office. They’re watching live sports, streaming on YouTube TV and Netflix, and consuming content across every screen in their life. CTV meets them there, at scale, in a lean-back environment where attention is high and clutter is low.

Awareness sets the stage; sequential messaging carries the story forward. Simpli.fi’s sequential CTV capabilities let brands move a buyer from a broad awareness spot to a solution-specific message as their research deepens. Layer in Bombora’s company-level intent signals, and that sequencing becomes surgical. You’re telling the right story to the right company at the moment they’re most ready to hear it.

The downstream result is site engagement, content interaction, and pipeline velocity that CTV generates when intent data is built into the strategy from day one.

NATIVE: BLENDING IN TO STAND OUT

Most B2B advertising interrupts. Native advertising earns its place in the feed, and Bombora’s Company Surge® Intent data ensures it shows up at exactly the right moment.

Native blends into the editorial environment where buyers are already reading, researching, and forming opinions. It attracts attention rather than demanding it. That distinction matters enormously in B2B, where buying committees are skeptical of overt advertising and deeply responsive to content that helps them build internal confidence.

Bombora identifies which companies are actively researching topics relevant to your solution, so when Simpli.fi deploys native content into those environments, it lands in front of audiences already primed for the conversation. Case studies, original research, POVs on business problems: these are the formats that move buyers from awareness to consideration, amplified by intent data that makes every placement count.

Simpli.fi’s proprietary site engagement measurement identifies which visits actually matter, so optimization decisions are based on genuine buyer intent rather than raw volume. That’s what converts native from a traffic play into a pipeline play.

CONNECTING THE JOURNEY

This new B2B buying cycle is a continuous loop of signals, content moments, and cross-channel reinforcement, and navigating it requires both the right media infrastructure and the right data underneath it.

Here’s the cycle in practice:

• Bombora Company Surge® Intent signals identify which companies are actively researching your solution, so every activation starts with the right audience
• Simpli.fi CTV reaches those companies at the household level, served across 130 million U.S. households, building brand awareness and emotional resonance before a buyer ever raises their hand
• Simpli.fi Native carries the conversation forward during active consideration, placing thought leadership, case studies, and original research in front of the full buying committee in the editorial environments where they’re already doing their research
• Simpli.fi’s proprietary engagement measurement separates genuine buying committee interest from other traffic, surfacing what’s actually working and feeding those insights back into the next cycle of activation

Familiar, easy metrics like clicks and impressions can prove that a campaign ran, but not much beyond that. What the new B2B cycle measures is more useful: which companies are actively in-market, which households are engaging, and where in the process your buying committees actually are.

STOP GUESSING. START SHOWING UP FIRST.

B2B buyers have already changed how they research, evaluate, and buy, but most marketing programs haven’t caught up. That gap is where pipeline gets lost.

Simpli.fi’s CTV and Native activation, paired with Bombora’s Company Surge® Intent data, puts your brand in front of the right buyers, at the precise moments they’re building their shortlists — not after the decision is already made.

Want to win B2B pipeline in 2026? Show up first. Get the B2B playbook at simpli.fi/b2b.

Weston Wheeler Sr. Content Marketing Manager | Simpli.fi Weston Wheeler is a strategic content marketing leader with roots in educational leadership and creative writing, fields that continue to shape his thoughtful, narrative-driven approach to brand storytelling. As Senior Manager of Content Marketing at Simpli.fi, he blends analytical insight with creative execution to craft compelling content that resonates across channels. With deep experience in digital advertising and a track record of success partnering with global agencies and brands, Weston endeavors to bring precision, empathy, and innovation to every project.