OTT is streaming video content that people subscribe to and can access on demand over the internet. Standard streaming media content platforms include Freevee, Twitch, Hulu, Tubi, Paramount+, Peacock, Discovery+, Pluto, Roku, and Fire TV among others. This modern technology has taken over traditional satellite and cable providers due to its accessibility via mobile phones, personal computers, streaming devices, gaming consoles, tablets, CTV (smart or connected TVs), and more. That’s what drove many companies and businesses to incorporate a new marketing technique into their digital advertising strategies.
Almost every person nowadays has experienced OTT advertising, or Over The Top video content, or what is more simply known as streaming TV. Streaming TV ads, however, or OTT (Over The Top) ads, are the advertisement the viewer sees while watching streaming TV & OTT video content. Since many people have replaced the traditional cable and broadcast TV with streaming TV, marketers have been resorting to OTT ads to reach new audiences, increase sales, and boost awareness of their brand & service while delivering a clear & exciting message.
This is one of the most modern, popular, and effective ways to reach viewers and new potential customers of all ages and walks of life anywhere around the world. A good OTT advertisement is one that takes advantage of everything that this medium has to offer from visuals, to sound and motion. PLUS- businesses can use one of the most effective and successful marketing strategies of all: video and video content! Videos are proven to take brands to the next level by delivering information uniquely and straightforwardly. Through their OTT video campaigns, companies are now able to buy, target, and track their marketing strategy’s successes and failures while reaching and TARGETING modern audiences directly & precisely.
OTT advertising has taken viewer engagement and interaction to the next level, beyond social media and traditional TV. It allowed marketers to optimize campaigns, target competitors, and focus on their targeted audience while using digital and data-driven technologies. The younger generation rarely watches TV anymore unless it is a subscription-based platform.
With all that being said, one should take notice that there are many OTT distribution services. Here’s a breakdown as explained by The Trade Desk:
- OTT (over-the-top television): A catchall term for TV delivered over the internet as opposed to through broadcast or cable TV channels. OTT includes everything from streaming SportsCenter highlights on a phone, to watching I Think You Should Leave clips on a laptop, to binging Yellowstone on a television set through Peacock’s Apple TV app. Essentially, if you use the internet to watch it, it’s OTT, regardless of the device it’s viewed on.
- CTV (connected television): A subset of OTT, CTV is streaming video viewed on a television set, either with a smart television, a TV that directly connects to the internet, or by way of a streaming device, such as Amazon Fire TV Stick, Chromecast, and Roku. If it’s viewed on television and streamed via the internet, it’s CTV.
- SVOD (subscription video on demand): Streaming services that require a monthly subscription to view their content, such as Netflix, Disney+, HBOMax, and Amazon Prime Video.
- AVOD (ad-supported video on demand): Streaming video services that are funded by advertising. AVOD comes in two forms: (1) subscription services that offer ad-supported tiers, such as Paramount+ and Peacock, and (2) services that are free to consumers and ad-supported, such as YouTube.
- BVOD (broadcast video on demand): A subset of AVOD, BVOD is ad-supported streaming content that comes from traditional broadcasters. NBCUniversal offers free, ad-supported versions of some NBC and Bravo shows on its Peacock streaming service, for instance.
- FAST (free ad-supported television): Streaming services that are free to the consumer and ad-supported. FAST platforms offer a combination of linear and on-demand programming, and the major players are Pluto, Samsung TV Plus, and The Roku Channel.
Check their full article to better make sense of all the acronyms.
While the world is on a trend to follow trends, one should search for the most modern and successful ways and platforms to reach people and their business goals. Companies of all sizes and anywhere around the world are using this new marketing strategy to display their brand in an innovative and unique light. To make your ads relevant, meaningful, and personalized, you can contact a professional video production company and get started on your OTT advertising plan today!