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Let's Talk About OTT Advertising
Chances are, you've already heard whispers about OTT advertising and what it has been doing for brands. Not only is an OTT marketing strategy more cost-effective than traditional TV advertising, but it also offers hyper-targeting capabilities and delivers an extensive viewer reach. What's more, viewers are even more engaged and open to receiving ads on OTT platforms.
In fact, a recent report by The Trade Desk reveals "nearly two-thirds (67%) [of respondents] said they would choose ad-supported TV over an ad-free subscription [and] another 26% would pay for a service that shows some ads." Moreover, about 41% admitted that they would prefer to see commercials in each show if it meant watching TV for free. So, let's talk about the benefits of OTT advertising and why it matters to your brand.
What is OTT Advertising?
Over-the-top (OTT) refers to the process of content going over traditional cable and reaching viewers directly via the internet. The most popular examples of this are streaming services like Netflix (the OG), Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max, Disney+, etc. If you have internet and a supporting device, you can watch the content no matter where you are. To bring this content to TVs in particular, devices like a Smart TV, gaming consoles, or connected-TV (CTV) devices like Roku and Chromecast are used.
OTT advertising, however, refers to the process of using these services and devices to hyper-target and locate specific audiences, deliver messages that resonate personally with the viewers (based on viewer data), and receiving results/feedback after to inform future decisions.
To say that OTT marketing and advertising is becoming popular may even be an understatement. No matter the industry, it's skyrocketing in advertising — playing an essential part in marketing strategies today and expected to continue to do so in the coming years.
Why OTT marketing is predicted to trend in years to come
One of the main reasons OTT marketing is predicted to continue trending through the coming years is the growing content viewership on mobile, smart TVs, and streaming services. Forbes reports that "videos streamed through over-the-top (OTT) services, like Hulu, Netflix, HBO Max, Disney+, Peacock TV, and other video streaming platforms, account for 25% of the collective time consumers spend using their TVs, according to a recent Nielsen survey."
Why Are Businesses Investing in Advertising on OTT Platforms?
Many businesses are choosing to invest in OTT over traditional TV advertising due to cord-cutting households. Not only has the number of cord-cutters increased substantially over the years, but households are even subscribing to multiple services at a time. According to Deadline, "The number of U.S. broadband households subscribing to two or more OTT services has more than doubled, [with] nearly half (46%) of all broadband homes [possessing] multiple OTT subscriptions."
Aside from consumer interest, businesses are driving results with OTT marketing for the following reasons:
- OTT ads can reach a substantial amount of people at a lower cost than traditional TV
- Many companies see more significant results with OTT ads
- Call-to-actions (CTAs) can be placed in ads for consumers to click right away—since OTT ads are on phones, tablets, laptops, etc.
- Receive faster responses to your ads
- OTT ads can reach target audiences anytime, without having to choose timeslots for linear TV.
- Advertising on OTT platforms can be used to reach audiences young and old—from Sesame Street to Ted Lasso.
Why You Should Add OTT Buying Into Your Marketing Mix
The truth is you can take your pick of reasons to add OTT buying into your marketing mix just by reading over why other businesses are heavily investing here. However, the following reasons are of the most important reasons to consider OTT marketing sooner rather than later.
Reach a Targeted Niche Audience
With OTT marketing, you can reach a targeted niche audience — meaning you can spend more time catching the right viewers and less time trying to convince uninterested parties to be interested in your offer. While traditional TV must cater to a broad audience, advertising on OTT platforms can help to target narrower audiences and ensure your messages are delivered to the right people.
This means you can rest assured that your ad dollars are going directly to the audience that will purchase from you. Just make sure you're using demographics, location, interests, and online behaviors to find your niche audience with OTT buying.
Increase Consumer Engagement
Studies have shown that 94% of participants kept a smartphone on hand while watching TV. We are a multi-tasking society for sure and OTT marketing allows for retargeting on multiple platforms. So, seize the moment(s) by layering into your OTT campaign a healthy mix of social media and keep your website fresh. Many brands are even using scanning codes to reach viewers who are on their mobile watching TV.
Additional benefits of advertising on OTT platforms include bringing users to you more easily, increasing traffic from clicks, and enabling users to click and act immediately.
Minimize Ad Spend Waste
Finally, you can reduce the long-time challenge marketers have been fighting since the beginning — ad spend waste. There isn't a business today that isn't struggling with wasting their ad spend on marketing methods that aren't right for their brand and goals. The problem is that with many advertising opportunities, you don't have access to regular, real-time data that allows you to adjust and optimize your strategy instantly. You can, however, with OTT marketing.
With OTT ad targeting, you can stretch ad spend further. OTT ads are less expensive than traditional TV ads. They have better targeting abilities, making it easier to deliver your message to more people who are likely to be interested in your brand.
Have You Heard About Motto?
OTT and Motto go together like peanut butter and jelly — there's no better match when looking for the best results on your campaign. Motto is an analytics platform that reduces the gap between your OTT marketing efforts and the conversions you seek. How? By giving you real-time data and insight, you need to continuously update, adjust, and optimize your OTT advertising campaigns.
Get The Most From OTT Advertising With an Agency Partnership
Even better, an expert ad agency can help you design effective OTT ad campaigns to ensure you're getting the most out of your experience. Armed with a team of specialists, your business can count on years of knowledge and expertise to drive the best results when advertising on OTT platforms.
About the Author
@Janine Pollack is the Integrated Marketing Director at MNI Targeted Media and self-appointed Storyteller in Chief. As content lead for MNI’s Insight Lab, she leads numerous webinars to bring to life the brand's commitment to knowing more so we can do more. Prior to MNI she worked with Fortune 500 companies and world-renowned institutions on thought-leadership events and content.
