Cable TV is disappearing from the lives of people as more and more people are now turning to streaming video apps. Be it convenience or reach, OTT platforms are winning over cable TV ads. Video & views on these OTT devices are growing at an ultimate pace. Consequently, if people spend their time on these platforms, then that is where marketers will go with a new technique called OTT advertising.
What is OTT Advertising?
OTT or over-the-top advertising refers to the advertising practices in which ads are directly delivered to the viewers via streaming video services & devices.
The term “over-the-top” here reflects that in OTT advertising, you reach your audience directly. It does not involve traditional TV providers who control media distribution.
With OTT advertisements, the media companies can work without any pre-planned broadcast schedules or geographic locations.
Why OTT Advertising?
OTT advertising platforms can meet a wide variety of marketing & sales initiatives due to capabilities like scaling, measuring & data-driven targeting. Out of the many advantages of OTT marketing, the following are a few reasons why businesses are investing in it:
Reach
It is well known how much time people are investing on OTT platforms. It is even speculated by eMarketer that by 2022, OTT monthly users will be around 197.7 million. In 2018, it was 170.1 million. This shows how much growth these platforms are showing.
So, it is only natural that your OTT ads will reach the masses if you include OTT advertising in your marketing strategy.
Targeting
Unlike traditional TV advertising, OTT ads can only be shown to the targeted audience or geographic location. This targeted approach will significantly save your resources and boost your efficiency.
Data analysis
The best thing about OTT platforms is that almost all of them provide data analysis services for their products. When you have knowledge of types of data, impressions, and their analysis, you’ll be able to target right.
Cost efficiency
OTT platforms are efficient in tracking the number of views any advertisement has got. So, you’ll have flexibility in budgeting.
Creativity
OTT platforms are distinguished for their high-quality videos. This is why many businesses create message-themed videos to target a select group.
In cable TV, you find three types of people:
- People who subscribe to a few premium channels and also stream videos.
- People who do not have TV channel subscriptions and only watch streaming videos.
- People who neither have premium TV channels nor have streaming services.
OTT advertising will help you reach out to all three of these groups. Moreover, unlike TV, OTT will not just leave your audience in the upper funnel. OTT is the ultimate weapon in your marketing strategy that can show you full-funnel performance.
How Does OTT Advertising Work?
OTT advertising works similar to other direct response channels, excluding the immersive experience, which is unique to TV. But, with OTT ads, brands can target the audience and get data analysis. OTT ad works cross-device as well. That is, the platform tracks users who visit your website after seeing your OTT ad.
What Makes OTT Advertising Effective?
This technique is a complete game-changer as performance is the primary aspect of it. It fills the gap in between pure branding tactics to the ones that can be measured & tracked. Many platforms also offer you a data-driven approach, while others provide you with precision targeting. To get the best results, make sure your chosen platform ensures the following:
Increases the standard for creative & content delivery
OTT is spread across from TV to many other internet-connected devices or OTT devices. But LRQ, i.e., Living Room Quality, presents ads exclusively on TV as it provides the most superior user experience. So, if your ads are not presented on TV screens, they’ll provide sub-standard results.
Safe branding
You need your ads to be presented on the OTT inventory of good quality. A low-quality inventory will minimize the effect of even the most amazing and compelling advertisements.
Targeting and tracking
OTT advertisements are the best when it comes to reporting & targeting. You should be provided with retargeting facilities on their devices and OTT. You should be provided with enough reports & analytics to keep a tab on the performance factors. There are many metrics that should be provided at all times, like:
- How many people saw the advertisement?
- How many visits to the website after viewing the ad?
- What does a person’s journey going from the top of the funnel to the bottom look like?
How much time does it take to launch an ad?
All you are required to do is create an ad with the right specifications, and then you can launch your ad. It involves four simple steps, which are as follows:
- Upload your ad.
- Set the respective targeting parameters.
- Display your ads on some or all other devices to keep your brand on top of people’s heads.
- Select your budget, campaign goals, and the ad campaign launch date.
What campaigns can be run via OTT ads?
Whether you’re just prospecting or retargeting or doing both, OTT advertising platforms are a one-place solution. It offers you:
- Performance TV retargeting: make use of the CRM data you have to retarget the users who are interested in your brand by flashing your OTT ads before them.
- Extend retargeting by extending the audience: just displaying your ad is not the end of it. After showing the ad to the viewer, they track other devices like desktop & mobile & flash your ads to immerse them in your brand.
- Audience extension is a prospecting play: audience extension is a flexible feature in OTT advertising. You can use it to attract new prospects or to retarget.
How to buy OTT ads?
There are two methods to buy OTT ads:
- Directly buy through a publisher
These are also known as “Walled Gardens” as they have closed ecosystems, keep control of their operations, and have a set fee.
- Programmatic buys
These involve real-time bidding across a network of OTT advertising inventory. They cost less than direct-buy. It’s the best choice if you want a combination of flexibility & value without worrying about where your ad will end up.
What are the challenges in OTT advertising?
OTT advertising is a new strategy and thus, has a few challenges of its own.
- Transparency: either you get access to the OTT inventory via a reseller or an aggregator. There’s no transparency for the brands as they’ll never be certain whether or not their ads are being shown on the premium channels or not.
- Measurement: since OTT ad campaigns run on TV, you’ll have a difficult time in attribution tracking. Contrary to other digital marketing channels, you’ll not find tracking clicks as simple. You’ll need a third party in your OTT advertising strategy to understand the full impact of your campaign.
- Media planning & targeting: you can buy an OTT media, but you need to have an understanding of it before you can formulate your OTT advertising campaign. You need to see how your OTT campaigns fit with your other media mix to impact your audience’s decision-making. Here, a cross-channel approach can do wonders for you. You can simply unify data strategy with sequential messaging across your media mix. You’ll provide your audience with a unified experience across all channels and also have a sequential retargeting strategy.
Conclusion
OTT has disrupted the industries, and it is for good. The way traditional cable TV is losing its viewers to streaming apps, it is only natural to tap them there. There are multiple apps available that provide ad-supported OTT services.
When you add this new channel to your media mix, you open the door to target new audiences in new ways. Moreover, you’ll be doing it before your competitors who lack your level of ad-savvy traits.
Since the OTT viewership is ballooning, the brands adopting OTT videos to meet sales and marketing goals will also see their opportunities ballooning.