Over The Top or Just Right? The Advantage of Streaming TV Advertising

By Ted Kohnen

Over-the-top (OTT) TV advertising refers to the use of streaming platforms and services to deliver advertising content to viewers. With the increasing popularity of OTT TV, it has become an important channel for businesses looking to reach their target audience.

One of the main benefits is the ability to target specific demographics. Many OTT TV services collect data on their users, including age, gender, location, and interests. This allows businesses to create personalized advertising campaigns that are more likely to resonate with their target audience.

Another advantage of OTT TV advertising is the ability to track and measure the effectiveness of campaigns in real-time. Traditional TV advertising is often difficult to track, making it difficult to determine the ROI of a campaign. With OTT TV, businesses can use analytics tools to track the performance of their ads and make data-driven decisions about how to optimize their campaigns.

In addition to targeting and measurement capabilities, it also offers greater flexibility than traditional TV advertising, which often limits businesses to predetermined ad slots. With OTT TV, businesses can choose when and how often their ads are shown, allowing them to better control the frequency and timing of their campaigns.

How to measure the performance of your OTT TV advertising 

Measuring the effectiveness of over-the-top TV advertising is crucial for businesses looking to optimize their campaigns and get the most out of their ad budget. Here are a few key metrics to consider when evaluating its performance:

  • Reach: This refers to the number of people who see your ad. It’s important to know how many people your ad is reaching to understand the size of your potential audience.
  • Viewability: This refers to the percentage of your ad that is actually seen by users. It’s important to track viewability to ensure that your ads are being seen by a significant portion of your target audience.
  • Engagement: This refers to the extent to which users interact with your ad. Engagement can be measured through metrics such as clicks, likes, comments, and shares. A high level of engagement can indicate that your ad is resonating with your target audience.
  • Conversion rate: This refers to the percentage of users who take a desired action after viewing your ad, such as making a purchase or filling out a form. Tracking conversion rate can help you understand the effectiveness of your ad in terms of driving desired outcomes.

To accurately measure the performance of your OTT TV advertising, it’s important to use a combination of these metrics. By tracking a variety of data points, you can gain a more complete understanding of the effectiveness of your campaigns and make informed decisions about how to optimize your ad strategy.

Understand the top challenges of over-the-top advertising: ad fatigue and fragmentation

Despite the many benefits of OTT TV advertising, it is not without its challenges. One potential issue is the potential for ad fatigue, as users may be bombarded with a multitude of ads. This can lead to a negative perception of the brand and impact the overall effectiveness of the campaign. Additionally, the fragmentation of the OTT TV market can make it difficult for businesses to reach their target audience, as users may be spread across multiple platforms and services.

Overall, OTT TV advertising is a powerful tool for businesses looking to reach their target audience. With the ability to target specific demographics, track and measure the effectiveness of campaigns, and offer flexibility, it is an important channel for modern advertisers. So, for right now it’s just right.

Ted Kohnen Chief Executive Officer

Named one of the ten most influential CEOs in 2021, and the recipient of multiple Agency-of the-Year recognitions, Ted is the CEO of global digital agency, Park & Battery. Over his career, Ted has been focused on helping hyper-growth start-ups and multi-national enterprises alike to activate their brands – telling their stories in meaningful and compelling ways to their most important audiences in order accelerate awareness, interest and action.

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