OTT stands for “Over the Top”. It is a kind of streaming service that provides content over the internet. The service is delivered OTT of another platform.
As we consider a consumer, in some previous years, would like to take out a cable subscription. Consumers’ cable TV providers would be responsible for the supply and availability of only selected programming. However, in modern times, users can sign up for services like Netflix, Amazon Prime, or Spotify and access their offerings and enjoy the content over the internet. On the other hand, these days as we consider the role of cable provider now only provides an internet connection and cannot control what you consume. Now consumers don’t have to wait for a particular period to watch their favorite shows, they are just one subscription away to take control of the platforms. Such changes and separation have big implications for advertising.
Importance of “Over the Top”
However, it is a relatively new phenomenon, and therefore, it has a huge amount of growth potential than cable subscriptions. Currently, lots of companies have entered the OTT space and led to a wide variety of options for consumers and increasing quantities of ad inventory for marketers for growth. After it came into the ground, more people cut their cable subscriptions and move online. However, the way to reach these consumers will increasingly be via OTT services. How marketers or we can say the service providers and the consumers can take advantage of these platforms remains, widely, to be seen.
The largest platform providers
Most users probably interact with most regularly video OTT, the popular one these days. Services like Hulu, Netflix, or Disney+HotStar are video OTT services. They provide users with several programming options as the consumer want, both in terms of a licensed library of TV shows and films, as well as original programming.
Another popular OTT market is audio, through which consumers can access a massive library of recordings of artists and podcasts via an internet connection.
Moreover, most users now use OTT messaging services like WhatsApp, Telegram, or Signal. However, these are most common and allow consumers to share information via these OTT through the internet connection.
Apart from these services, similarly, Voice OTT services, like Skype or WhatsApp, are increasingly common instead of phone calls
OTT Marketing
Most of the services like videos OTT operate on a paid subscription basis. But a large number of the services also run advertisements or offer tiered packages. That allows consumers to either pay for ad-free experiences. Moreover, OTT marketing is much like common media advertising. Usually taking place between songs or episodes, sometimes it is quite frustrating when ads interrupt users’ entertainment. But it is delivered through streaming media on OTT platforms.
Commonly there are two main types of OTT marketing set-ups, which are
- Client-side
- Service-side.
In a client-side setup, the ad has been loaded by the viewport for the streaming media before the episode or film is shown. In another type, server-side ad insertion, it is not possible to block an ad because the ad is integrated seamlessly into the frames of the media. However, it is quite a technically challenging proposition to support server-side ad insertion, so it is still relatively uncommon.
Benefits of OTT Marketing
In legacy media ad buying, however, it can be difficult to measure the impact of ads. Apart from that, the viewers shift toward the OTT space. The ability and power to show personalized ads to consumers and track click-through rates. That means marketers are getting the benefits of old media in terms of attractive packages of content. But with a very modern ability to quantify impact and leverage measurement.