Back in the day, when you wanted to catch your favorite show, you had to watch it when it aired — or set up your VCR, and later your DVR, to record it. Many of us even had to get up to change the channel!

Television has changed a lot since then. You don’t even have to watch it on an actual TV anymore! Thanks to streaming, we can now watch almost any show any time we want — and on many different devices.

By 2024, streaming platforms are estimated to have 210 million subscribers (Nielsen). With so many people watching and subscribing, OTT (over-the-top) services, like Hulu, Netflix and Disney+, have not only changed the game for TV and movie fans but also for small business advertising.

What is OTT advertising?

OTT stands for “over the top,” named so because OTT services bypass broadcast television providers, which have traditionally held total control over media distribution.

This gives OTT advertisers the ability to make direct connections with their audience, without the need to plan for pre-planned broadcasting schedules.

The benefits of OTT advertising

Target the right audience

Not everyone is going to connect with your message, want your product or need your services. With OTT advertising, you don’t have to waste your ad budget by advertising to everyone.

Unlike traditional TV ads, OTT ads can be targeted to a very specific audience, like homeowners who make at least $100k a year and live in a single ZIP code.

Get guaranteed views

There are a lot of ways to get around most ads these days. On broadcast TV, a viewer can simply turn the channel. Online, a user can install an ad-blocker or close the browser window.

But for people streaming video, it’s a different story. Subscribers that don’t pay for ad-free services can’t skip or fast forward through ads. With OTT advertising, you’re investing in ads that you know will actually be viewed.

Access analytics to increase your ROI

When it comes to digital advertising, rarely do advertisers knock it out of the park on their first try. Usually, for an ad to be its most effective, it needs to be fine-tuned and perfected, based on what’s working and what’s not.

OTT advertising combines the power of traditional TV advertising — which is memorable and provides an emotional connection — with the power of digital advertising — which offers pinpoint targeting and detailed analytics.

With OTT advertising, you’ll have the data you need to make your ads as effective as possible and maximize your ROI.

Integrate OTT advertising with your overall strategy

Most marketing and advertising channels work well on their own, but they tend to work best when you combine them with your other strategies and objectives. OTT advertising is no different.

Once a user has seen your OTT ad, you can keep reconnecting by re-targeting them through social media, your website, search engines and even more OTT ads. OTT ads help to bring more high-quality leads into your advertising ecosystem.

OTT advertising best practices

Keep your ads short

One big benefit of OTT advertising (as previously noted) is that OTT ads aren’t skippable. But, in most cases, viewers are only required to watch about 30 seconds of an ad on streaming platforms.

If your ad is too long, there’s a strong possibility that viewers won’t finish it. For the biggest bang for your buck, keep your ads short, sweet and 30 seconds or fewer.

Format your ads for every device

Thanks to streaming platforms, people can watch TV on many, many different devices, from TVs themselves to smartphones, tablets, laptops and beyond. Your ad needs to look great on all of them.

Make sure that your ad is formatted for every viewing device. And, test it out before you put it out there.

Take advantage of pinpoint targeting

Don’t waste your time and money advertising to people who don’t fit in your customer base. Instead, make the most of your investment by targeting people most likely to pick up what you’re putting down.

On most of the larger OTT platforms, you can target subscribers based on demographics, location, behaviors and interests. You can also create custom audiences based on third-party data.

Personalize your message

Once you’ve identified and targeted the right audience, you can create more personalized content just for them.

Think about who they are, what they’re interested in and what kind of pain points they may have when creating your OTT ads.

Make your brand go further with OTT advertising! Our marketing team can help you get started.