OTT Video Advertising: Why Brands Can't Ignore It

Over-the-top ads are the ones that appear when you watch video content via the Internet, either using your smartphone, TV, or game console. Unlike traditional TV commercials, which are always the same for everyone, OTT ads are unique and are not shown randomly. This is one of the most significant benefits of OTT advertising. Let's review each one in more detail.

Marketers choose the audience to which they want to show ads according to different data - age, geolocation, purchases history, etc. This is how the right messages reach the right recipients, increasing conversion chances. And unlike traditional commercials, OTT targeting ensures that ad spend never wasted, and each engagement is with a high-probability potential customer. 

While advertisers don't receive any tracking data from commercials, the OTT advertising platform provides detailed information about how users interact with ads. For instance, it is possible to check how many users clicked on an ad or skipped it.

OTT ads can be shown in different formats - for instance, pre-rolls (before the video), midrolls inserted in the middle of the video, or banners that don't oblige the user to stop watching the content. This makes OTT ads less irritating than traditional commercials, especially considering that they have a higher chance of being relevant.

Thanks to the detailed analytics marketers have available to them on OTT platforms, there is always the option to change existing marketing strategies. You can find out what works well and discover weak points that need adjustment, making your ad strategy more effective and making better use of your marketing budget.

There are two methods of inserting OTT ads into video content:

Client-side ad insertion (CSAI): This method inserts the ad onto the platform before it sees it. It is the most common method of ad-loading, but there is the chance that an ad blocker will prevent your ad from being seen by your target audience.

Server-side ad-insertion (SSAI): Ads are shown in real-time with no interruption because they are "stitched" to the content. This method is more secure and ensures your ads will be watched instead of auto-blocked by an ad blocker or other service.

Is OTT advertising an ideal solution for marketers and brands with no drawbacks? It almost is! However, you should be aware of the fraud that may occur because OTT ads are not fully secured. More methods are being implemented to decrease the number of issues and hack attacks. However, fraudsters still invent new ways of stealing advertisers' time and money, and fraudulent traffic remains one problem. Therefore, it's always necessary to partner with OTT platforms that make fighting fraudulent traffic one of their top priorities.

OTT advertising will only grow and expand as more viewers cut the cords to traditional linear TV and switch entirely over to video-on-demand. This is a signal for increasing numbers of brands to change their advertising focus to OTT. While the pandemic stimulated the development of OTT services because people started consuming more content on-demand, OTT advertising will continue gaining momentum while improving analytics, transparency, and eyeballs. If you want your brand to keep up with the latest trends, become more successful and attract more customers, it's high time for you to experience all the benefits of OTT advertising.