How TV advertisers can find success with OTT

Marlene Grimm, Head of Customer Success, International, TVSquared, explains why advertisers need to find the right blend of linear and OTT

By Jenny Priestley

Published: September 17, 2020

Marlene Grimm, Head of Customer Success, International, TVSquared, explains why advertisers need to find the right blend of linear and OTT

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We're in a crucial and dynamic phase for the TV industry. The concept of TV viewing is expanding to include a wider range of platforms and delivery mechanisms that allow audiences to watch video content wherever, whenever and however they want.

TV advertising is evolving in parallel, and advertisers are keen to explore opportunities with over-the-top (OTT) streaming services and connected TV (CTV), with the spending optimism score for these platforms jumping from 37 to 59 last year. And this was before the pandemic lockdown saw the use of streaming platforms escalate, making them an even more attractive prospect for advertisers to reach consumers seeking new sources of entertainment and distraction.

OTT advertising has a variety of benefits. It provides the same premium, full-screen, brand safe, storytelling experience as linear TV but it is addressable, meaning advertisers can target specific audience segments in the same way they can with digital advertising. It also allows advertisers to engage with incremental audiences they wouldn't be able to reach through linear TV, such as cord-cutters or cord-nevers. But getting started with OTT advertising can be daunting for brands that are used to the linear way of life, so here are three ways to find success with OTT.

Employ a test and learn strategy Advertisers shouldn't be afraid to jump in and try OTT advertising and discover what works best for their brand. They can start slow, taking a small portion of their budget to test a number of variables such as genre, time of day and creative length. Then by consistently measuring they will discover where they can yield the highest level of response and then optimise their campaigns to ensure spots are reaching engaged and responsive audiences.

Once comfortable with a test and learn strategy, the agility and flexibility of OTT platforms allows advertisers to scale up their investment and maximise ROI.

Find the right mix of linear and OTT For the majority of brands OTT advertising won't replace linear TV advertising, it will complement it. Linear TV remains an effective medium both for brand building and driving performance, reaching a lot of people in a short amount of time, but when combined with the incremental reach of OTT it is even more powerful.

When used in tandem, advertisers will see significant lifts in brand metrics such as awareness and favourability. Brand awareness is boosted by reaching incremental audiences only available via OTT platforms, while favourability is increased when target audiences are reached across both linear and OTT, ultimately reinforcing brand messaging.

But OTT isn't just about upper funnel branding activity, it can also be measured and optimised against lower funnel performance goals. As OTT becomes an integral part of the wider TV mix, advertisers need to find the optimal combination of linear and OTT to deliver on their KPIs at all levels of the funnel.

Explore multiple publishers To make the most of OTT, advertisers need to explore multiple publishers as response rates and performance can vary widely between streaming services. What works for one brand won't necessarily work for another, even within the same vertical.

Advertisers can be put off by the apparent complexity of working with multiple providers due to the fragmented nature of the OTT ecosystem and potential variations in tracking and reporting between different publishers. But the technology now exists to remove the friction from this process, making OTT far more scalable. When working with multiple publishers, however, advertisers must pay attention to ad frequency which can build quickly when targeting viewers across multiple streaming services. Bombarding viewers with ads will ultimately impact performance, so advertisers should make sure frequency capping is implemented across all OTT platforms.

The global OTT market is set to grow over 8 per cent each year until 2023, when it will be worth more than $34 billion, and advertiser interest in OTT advertising will continue to increase as the market expands. By starting small with a test and learn strategy, leveraging OTT alongside linear to find the optimal media mix, and exploring multiple publishers to find the right fit for specific brand needs, advertisers can ultimately find success with OTT.

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