It’s no surprise anymore that the world of OTT and the streaming video audience is growing exponentially and isn’t expected to stop anytime soon. According to EMarketer, 25% of U.S. households will be cord-cutters by 2022. This doesn’t include the younger cord-nevers that have only relied on streaming services for their video entertainment. However, from a marketing point of view, this ongoing change in the marketing asks the same question we have asked since digital marketing caused the audience fragmentation we have today; “Where should I advertise, and how do I know I am reaching the right target?”
Even in the traditional world of broadcast and cable television, there are multiple channels, interests, and times to choose from that can make honing in on the best placement difficult. Often the cable company or broadcast channel will offer their own version of “streaming audience” but this is very different from the modern way of advertising on OTT. Thankfully, with digital TV and streaming services you no longer have to choose a channel or a time slot. Now we simply pick an audience and speak to them, no matter the “channel” or time of day. This takes all of the guesswork out of the equation, and leaves only optimization of the ad and various audience targeting to find your best results.
Video has been one of the best ways of communicating to audiences because it combines visual and audio to create a more impactful, emotional response. Streaming and OTT viewing has continued to grow because of the additional benefits it offers such as on-demand viewing and multi-device viewing that appeals to the modern audience. In fact, the 2nd most used search engine in the world, YouTube (which is owned by Google), has 5 billion videos watched on their platform every single day! This just shows accessible, personalized content that can be watched on any device has a huge appeal.
Keep in mind some of the best practices for digital video advertising. Just like any ad it needs to be able to cut through the noise, connect with the audience, and give a clear message. Creativity and something that catches the attention of your audience is crucial to a good performing campaign. Like any digital campaign, make sure you are running A and B tests to optimize for best results. Lastly, keep in mind your audience may very well be double (or triple) screening and are more likely to take action on their 2nd screen rather than interrupt their viewing experience. It is crucial to have a way to track these visitors from secondary screens for accurate results. While it may seem like a daunting or foreign world to step into, the streaming and OTT audience is here to stay and should not be left out of your marketing strategy, local or nationally.
