Over-the-top or OTT advertising is advertising through streaming video services or devices. Some of the most popular OTT streaming platforms include Amazon Prime Video, Peacock TV, Disney plus, Apple TV+, HBO Now, Netflix, and YouTube. This kind of advertising is one of the most common in today’s market, and if you haven’t adopted this strategy yet, you’re missing out on one of the best marketing opportunities.
Currently, video streaming services account for around 25 percent of consumers’ collective time watching TV. Audiences are gradually shifting from mainstream media to streaming services, and advertisers are following them. Adopting OTT advertising strategies will keep you ahead of the game and help you attract your audience.
In the US, the average monthly cable bill is $217. During the third quarter of 2018, over 1.7 million customers ended their tv subscriptions. Cord-cutters are expected to exceed 55 million by 2022, and that’s a lot of potential customers.
With OTT, It Is Easy to Reach Your Niche Target Audience
With OTT advertising, advertisers can target specific niches instead of broad audiences. Niche targeting provides demographic data, which can give you an idea of who is watching your ads when they are watching, and what device they are using. These can help you identify and target a more engaging audience.
Reach A Wide Audience
A large population has shifted from primetime broadcasts to internet-connected devices to enjoy their favorite media. A study by Leichtman Research Group also showed that 87 percent of U.S. TV households have at least one CTV device, ranging from smart TVs and streaming devices to video game consoles and connected Blu-ray players. For advertisers, a treasure trove of customers awaits you on the OTT platform because streaming services are available to many.
More Interactivity with The Consumers
Unlike traditional network television advertisements, OTT advertising allows viewers to click on links, take surveys within the ads, and even open new tabs to search for specific products or services. For advertisers, this level of interactivity provided by OTT advertisements equals a clearer, shorter path toward consumer purchasing action. Advertisers can also include interactive elements in the static images and text-based “banners” that appear on many OTT platforms. These banners can be clicked on to reveal expanded content, such as product details, special offers, or even sweepstake entries.
OTT Features Advanced Attribution Capabilities
With OTT, your brand will never need to wonder whether viewers saw your ads. OTT advertising provides attribution in a way broadcast, and linear TV doesn’t. Through pixel-based tracking, you can determine whether a person saw an ad, went to an advertiser’s website, and the time they stayed there once they arrived. Your brand can acquire this data regardless of the device viewers use to watch the content.
You Can Find an Engaged Audience Across Multiple Channels
With OTT, advertisers can re-target their audiences across several platforms. You can re-target audiences on websites, social media, and other platforms where you run your ads. Which helps maximize your reach beyond streaming services as you keep your brand top-of-mind. This leads to more interest and recognition for your brand, eventually increasing lead conversions and sales.
Get More from Your Ad Spend
With OTT, you can save money by showing your ads only to interested audiences. Unlike TV, you won’t have to worry about whether your audience is engaged or watching. Ads only play when viewers are actively streaming, and those ads are far more likely to be relevant to them.
OTT Advertisement Delivers Content at The Right Time to Your Potential Customers
With programmatic technology, OTT advertising delivers ads at the right time, even when your customers are streaming at 3 a.m. This automated process identifies spikes in activity and responds with the perfect messaging. During the duration of your advertising campaign, OTT works to reach qualified consumers at the right time when they’re willing and interested.
People Will See Your Ads OTT Marketing
People usually change channels during commercial breaks. Streaming services rarely do this because viewers cannot just flip back to what they were watching after the commercials ended. Switching streams is inconvenient; most people are too engaged with the content they are streaming to constantly switch back and forth. For this reason, people streaming content are more likely to watch the entire ads shown. It’s estimated that 98 percent of OTT viewers watch the entire ad shown to them. Your OTT efforts are more likely to impact their intended audience.
OTT Campaigns Are Flexible
With OTT advertisements, you are not locked in when you pay. Many platforms will allow you to start, stop, and resume OTT campaigns at any point in time. With such flexibility, you can manage your campaign settings and the commercials you are running in real-time to obtain better results. Therefore, you can leverage the data you’re collecting on your OTT campaign to improve your ads.
Ability to test your campaigns
OTT campaigns are often flexible, and you can test different versions of them by targeting different audiences on different platforms. This is done using A/B testing, whose advantages are allowing you to know the best advert with the most user engagement and lowest bounce rates. This testing can also help you maximize your conversion rate.
Final Thoughts
The rapid adoption of platforms like Netflix and Hulu over the past few years, has led to the growth of OTT marketing. As shown, OTT marketing is an excellent way to reach your target audience and complement your existing and future inbound marketing efforts. Start implementing an OTT advertising strategy into your marketing plan to take your business to the next level.