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How to Buy OTT Advertising?

With the hype of over-the-top advertising on the rise, it’s hard to ignore it in your marketing plan. Many people are cutting their cords and canceling their cable subscriptions, not to forget the increased appetite of streaming. By combining the linear TV with the interactivity of digital, OTT (learn what OTT means) has launched a new video category. 

Like any other form of advertisement, it’s crucial that you approach OTT advertising the right way for the best results. 

Here is how to do it.

1. Know what audience criteria matters

The targeting section can vary based on what OTT inventory you’re thinking of buying, and how you plan to purchase it. Research to see how the available parameters will affect your sales offer, KPI, audience, or any other factor of your marketing campaign. Remember that the OTT industry is still a work in progress. It’s still adapting to the marketer’s needs when it comes to lack of traditional cookies on OTT gadgets as well as matters of frequency capping. 

2. Decide where to buy OTT

There are two primary sources you can buy your OTT inventory from the publishers and platforms. Buying your inventory from a publisher helps you get ad spaces besides certain content across all gadgets that the web owner has its stand-alone channel. On the other hand, buying from a platform allows you to advertise against a wide range of content from various publishers, often from one type of OTT devices such as Chromecast or Roku. 

3. Buying: follow the programmatic wave or buy directly

At the moment, the advertisers who buy directly from the publishers are still getting the lion share. Although the purchase of OTT services through programmatic advertising is on the rise, it’s still under-indexed compared to other digital channels. If you’re interested in buying ads through the programmatic method, it’s best to test it now before the prices start rising as a result of high demand.

4. Take your time to design your ads

It’s crucial to make sure that everything is well polished. This includes your storyline, picture, sound, call to action. Also, remember to decide on the measurement and analysis essentials, with a big screen in mind. Your audience may see your advert in the 65-inch Ultra HD 4K screen, where the CTA won’t have a click-through option. You’ve got to be prepared to adapt to the new design style to gain benefits.

Look for opportunities where you can engage and test data-driven videos for customization. 

OTT reports a 97% completion rate, showing that many viewers are on discovery mode, and they are ready to watch what is displayed to them, as long as it’s interesting (Source: Innovid 2017 Global Video Benchmarks Report).

5. Understand data and performance abilities

The gurus in the industry have been working towards ensuring marketers have metrics for their OTT ad campaigns. 

New findings by Nielsen and comScore have come up with a consistent GRP (gross rating point) that marketers can use to compare demographics across linear TV and OTT. 

Verification tip: Use VAST tags or 1×1 tracking pixels to ensure campaigns are delivered as promised.

 Final Words

As an advertiser, you’ve got to keep up with all advertisement methods in the market. OTT advertising is slowly taking over, as many people switch from traditional TV watching to live streaming. The importance of OTT in the world of advertising can hardly be stressed more. 

Following the discussed tips will help you in purchasing your OTT ad spaces wisely.