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Top Strategies for Your OTT Advertising Campaigns

Top Strategies for Your OTT Advertising Campaigns

Sonal Agarwal
Sep 17, 2024
Top Strategies for Your OTT Advertising Campaigns

Can you recall the time when you had to wait through a loop of TV commercials while watching your favorite show on TV? Today, however, people prefer to consume content on demand, which has led to the introduction of content streaming services, over-the-top platforms, and connected TVs. The evolution of the digital landscape, the increasing number of cord-cutters, and the rising demands for on-demand streaming services are some examples of OTT advertising emerging as the hot new trend in digital marketing. 

Over the years, OTT platforms have revolutionized the entertainment industry, offering viewers a buffet of on-demand content at their fingertips. This shift in viewership has not gone unnoticed by advertisers, who are turning their attention towards this new advertising avenue. OTT advertising offers many benefits for advertisers. However, to maximize the benefits of this avenue, it is important to explore some of the best examples of OTT and CTV advertising to understand what works and then build strategies that are tailored to your marketing goals.

What Is OTT Advertising?

Over-the-top advertising is the delivery of ads to relevant viewers through media streaming services, which are offered directly to viewers via the internet. The short ads that play before video content are a popular example of OTT ads.  One of the best examples of OTT advertising benefits is that advertisers can leverage the capabilities offered by interactive ads and advanced targeting opportunities to effectively reach specific audiences viewing content.

OTT ads are an example of the most optimum marketing avenue from the perspective of ad campaign performance as well as branding.

Types of OTT Advertisements

Given below are several examples of OTT and CTV advertising and their typos that advertisers can use to captivate their audience.

  • Pre-Roll Ads

Play before the viewer’s content begins streaming, much like a trailer being played before the movie, pre-roll ads can be skippable or non-skippable as well.

  • Mid-Roll Ads

Examples of OTT and connected TV ads that are served mid-roll are most reminiscent of traditional TV commercials. Mid-roll ads appear in the middle of the streaming experience and offer viewers a chance to take a break, helping keep them engaged.

  • Post-Roll Ads

These ads are served right after the main streaming content ends, leaving a lasting impression as the viewer wraps up their viewing experience. Post-roll OTT advertising examples may include a 10-second ad for a smartwatch that is served after a popular move on the OTT platform, targeting a tech-savvy audience.

  • Banner Ads

Apart from OTT, banner ads are also popular examples of connected TV ads. Banner ads can be static or dynamic and are displayed within the interface of the OTT platform. 


Benefits of OTT Advertising

OTT advertising is more than just a trend; it offers significant benefits to advertisers, making it a must-have strategy for their marketing mix. OTT and CTV advertising are often used interchangeably. However, both advertising approaches have clear differences between them. OTT refers to content streamed over the internet, while CTV specifically refers to content viewed on a television or some other devices connected to the internet, like smart TVs, gaming consoles, etc. Understanding the differences between OTT and CTV advertising is crucial for harnessing the distinct advantages being offered by both approaches. The top benefits of OTT advertising include: -

  • Targeted Audience

OTT platforms have clearly defined audience segments based on interests, demographics, and viewing behaviors. This helps advertisers fine-tune ad personalization for different audience segments.

  • Extended Reach

People are spending increasing amounts of time streaming content through OTT platforms. OTT platforms allow advertisers to reach a wider audience, which includes the cord-cutters and cord-nevers.

  • Personalized Ads

Advertisers can utilize first-party viewer metrics and data collected by the OTT platform to build personalized ad campaigns, enhancing user engagement through ad relevance. Examples of OTT and connected TV advertising both allow advertisers to personalize ads to align them with the viewers’ preferences, viewing behaviors, and needs.

  • Increased Engagement

The interactive nature of OTT and CTV ads can help achieve higher engagement rates as compared to ads that are served on traditional cable TVs.

  • Rich Media and Interactive Advertising

Unlike traditional TV ads, which used to be simple video ads, OTT platforms allow advertisers to use interactive rich media ads that help immerse viewers into the ad experience, encouraging them to engage with the ad. This interactivity can go a long way in helping improve ad performance.

  • Less Wastage of Ad Spend

Another great example of OTT advertising benefits is that it allows advertisers to target their audience in a better manner, which also helps reduce the wastage of ad spends. Additionally, you can also track advanced performance metrics for your OTT and CTV ads, for example, the view completion rate, engagement rate, etc. in real-time, allowing you to understand what works for your audience and what does not.

  • Better Metrics and Data Analytics

Both OTT and CTV advertising platforms offer detailed overviews of important metrics to advertisers, so they can measure campaign effectiveness, and perform continuous optimization. For example, OTT or CTV ad campaigns can be monitored once they are live, and performance metrics, such as conversion rates, viewer engagement, etc. can be tracked in real time, allowing advertisers to refine their targeting and messaging in forthcoming ad campaigns.

Top Strategies and Practices for OTT Advertising

  • Understand the Audience to Tailor Ad Content

All examples of OTT and CTV advertising strategies begin the same way as any digital marketing strategy – by identifying and understanding the target audience. This involves understanding who the intended audience of the content is, what their preferences are, and their needs. Age, location, interests and viewing habits are also examples of OTT and CTV advertising data that should be considered for creating the right advertising strategy.

  • Leverage Precise Audience Segments

OTT advertising platforms provide sophisticated targeting capabilities and well-defined audience segments. Advertisers can utilize these audience segments to deliver personalized ads to specific audiences.

  • Build High-Quality Unique Content

Advertisers must focus on crafting engaging examples of OTT and connected TV advertising units that are not only engaging but also informational for their target audience.

  • Create a Cross-platform Advertising Strategy

Do not put all your eggs in one basket when making OTT ads. While most examples of OTT and connected TV ads are compelling, running the same campaign across different digital platforms can amplify your reach.

  • Track and Measure Performance

OTT ads allow advertisers to track and measure detailed analytics of the performance of their ad campaigns. It is important to use this to monitor key performance metrics and optimize your ad strategy as and when required.

In a world where the audience is quickly moving to online platforms for consuming their content, OTT advertising presents a tremendous opportunity for advertisers. By understanding the target audience, leveraging precise targeting, creating high-quality ad content, adopting a cross-platform strategy, and tracking the performance of live campaigns, advertisers can improve brand awareness and drive results. 

Expand Your Reach the Right Way
The last few years stood witness to the boom in Connected TVs and Over-the-Top platforms, which established themselves as the primary source of video content for a majority of the world’s population. As more people shifted to these platforms as compared to linear TVs, for brands and advertising companies, CTV and OTTs represented new opportunities to reach a new, diverse, and growing audience base. Whether it is brands or advertising companies, integrating connected TV into their digital campaigns can significantly improve the impact of their cross-channel marketing strategies.
Communicate Your Message Loud and Clear with ADCTV
Despite the significant growth OTTs and CTVs have showcased, the platform still has a lot of untapped potential that is just being discovered by brands and advertising companies. OTT and CTV brand experiences can help maximize returns on your dollar spends as your connected TV advertising campaign takes your communication to a variety of channels and platforms across the CTV landscape.Whether you are a brand or advertising companies, OTT and CTV advertising with ADCTV offer top features and capabilities to help you create immersive, interactive, and engaging connected TV advertising experiences. Companies can use turnkey templates, or build their own templates, to build engaging rich media ads for their campaigns, which are created with universally accepted ad tags. Additionally, ADCTV also offers transparent real-time reports that allow you to measure and analyze campaign performance and optimize ROIs.