Two Ways OTT Streaming Has Changed the Advertising Industry
January 17, 2024
The OTT meaning is "over-the-top", which is exactly how marketing is designed around OTT platforms. Given that OTT streaming is the most popular way for consumers to watch movies and television series, it makes sense that advertisers are turning to OTT platforms as an advertisement channel.
Two Ways OTT Streaming Has Changed the Advertising Industry
1. Analyzing Viewer Data
In the past, marketing experts who ran ads on cable had to hedge their bets about the audience that would view the ad. Usually, this meant that ads were designed to appeal to the widest possible audience. However, with OTT platforms, it's very easy for market analysts to access viewer data that is collected by the platform.
Viewer data is an essential resource since it tells advertisers about the viewing habits of the target audience, demographics, and media preferences. With insight from viewer data, it's much easier to design an ad campaign that is tailored for a specific audience, which can then improve the success of the campaign.
2. Ad Format Variety
Cable commercials typically run between segments of a TV show or movie, but ads and commercials on streaming platforms are much more flexible. Modern marketing experts have the opportunity to explore various ad formats, such as ads that run before a show or after a show so that the episode is not interrupted. Advertisers can even choose to run skippable or non-skippable ads, depending on their target audience.
The diversity of OTT ad formats doesn't end with the timing of the ads. Marketing experts can choose from video ads, overlay ads, interactive ads, banner ads, and even sponsored segment ads. Depending on the OTT platform, native advertisements where ads are built into the platform's content can be an excellent choice.
How Does OTT Meaning Impact Ad Effectiveness?
Many OTT platforms are designed for niche audiences, which gives advertisers a unique opportunity to design an ad campaign that targets a nuanced audience. For example, advertisements on a platform like ESPN+ might focus on ads for sports merchandise, snack foods to watch during sports games, or other related products. Marketers can even customize the personality of the ad to be most appealing to the audience, such as by leaning into sports teams, celebrity endorsements, and more.
A Good Example
One of the best examples of effective OTT advertisements is YouTube. The free video platform, YouTube TV, and YouTube Music all use viewer data to target ads to each user. If you are listening to music on YouTube Music, you may see an advertisement for an artist in the same music genre; if you are watching a show on YouTube TV, you may see an ad related to products that are relevant to your age and gender.
Ads on OTT platforms are significantly more effective than traditional ad campaigns. When ads are backed by viewer-driven data, tailored advertisements can give the consumer personalized ads that are in line with their unique interests and ultimately improve the likelihood that the consumer will use a product. Contact Lightcast to learn more about designing effective OTT ads.
