With the rate at which over-the-top (OTT) is growing, it's in every company's best interest to advertise on the platform. Even when it's a small OTT campaign, your brand can benefit from significant elements like higher consumer engagement, extensive local reach, hyper-targeting, advanced insights, and even non-skippable ads.
The average revenue per user is nearly $85.85, and the OTT market will likely grow at a CAGR of 11.01% in the next four years. User penetration on OTT platforms will likely increase from 43.1% to 49.9% by 2026.
By now, the benefits of OTT are undeniable. If this information has you wondering how to advertise on OTT, here are some helpful tips to get you started!
OTT and TV Use the Same Commercials
OTT's success with customers and brands by no means indicates TV is ineffective. It simply means you have one more channel to reach your audience. Since it takes five to seven impressions for customers to become familiar with your brand, it helps to have another outlet to reach customers. Using both services allows you to reach a broader group of people while benefiting from the targeted services offered by OTT.
There is no significant difference between OTT and TV commercials, besides slight contrasts such as OTT ads tending to run a little shorter and OTT ad spots being more cost-effective.
You can utilize the same commercials for OTT and TV. All you must do is keep it flexible to align it with the proper length on the medium. When done correctly, flexibility will also allow you to target according to the analytics data gathered by OTT.
The Benefits of Advertising on OTT
Running commercials on TV and OTT platforms will help extend your company's reach and get your presence out to groups that may be difficult to reach through TV alone. Take, for instance, generations like Gen Z and Millennials.
While you'll likely have no trouble reaching most Baby Boomers on TV, an incredible 98% of Gen Z and 95% of Millennials are on streaming services.
Moreover, TV substantially increases brand awareness, while OTT offers a more dedicated audience using targeted analytics data to reach specific customers and provide more insight into their behavior.
Together, you can do the following:
- Increase your reach with TV and retarget on OTT
- Use the data you collect on OTT to resonate with your audience on both TV and OTT ads
- With one commercial, you'll reach more people by tapping into the part of your audience still on cable while reaching those who have cut the cord.
Create Commercials with OTT in Mind
When developing a commercial for the first time or as an update, it would be helpful to keep in mind this new platform during the process. You can increase your potential on two channels with a powerful track record.
Although OTT commercials tend to be more successful when they're shorter — 30-second ads work well on both platforms. Shorter 15-second ads are only often preferred over 30-second ads because they tend to run about half the price while being about 75% as effective.
The three most important keys to creating a TV commercial that will stand out in Portland are to:
- Keep your audience in mind — including the differences between those on cable and those who use streaming. Flexibility early on in the process will allow you to make minor modifications to ensure you resonate with the right people.
- Be memorable — whether your audience resonates best with humorous or emotion-evoking content, bringing that element to your commercial will significantly improve its effectiveness.
- Consider interactive opportunities — a lot of OTT is becoming more interactive. For instance, a pet store may offer viewers the option to watch a cat commercial or a dog commercial. Making affordable alternatives can be a big move from TV to OTT.
Get Help Creating And Distributing Commercials on TV and OTT
With TV's reach of a shocking 90% among adults combined with OTT's digital marketing potential, there's no better time than now to integrate the two channels. Many people also use both channels, as 79% of consumers subscribe to both TV and streaming services. That will allow you to reach more people and target/retarget viewers with the two mediums.
It's also a big reason why it would be more beneficial for your brand to partner with experts on TV and OTT.
A full-service media partner can help you create and distribute commercials on TV and OTT. That will ensure you have OTT in mind from beginning to end and gives you the unique advantage of tapping into expertise in both.
