What Is OTT Advertising? Ultimate Guide to Over-the-Top Ads

Asking yourself, “what is OTT advertising?” Well, you’re in the right place.

In this guide, we’ll cover the ins and outs of over-the-top advertising and answer some common questions, including:

• What is OTT advertising?
• How does OTT advertising work?
• OTT vs. CTV advertising
• Types of OTTs ads
• What are the benefits of OTT advertising?
• What are the best OTT advertising platforms?
• OTT advertising tips and best practices for success

So, just keep reading to learn more!

And if you want to learn even more about OTT ads, our award-winning team can help! Sign up for our newsletter, Revenue Weekly, to get the latest OTT advertising tips and tricks sent straight to your inbox for free!

What is OTT advertising?

OTT advertising is a form of online advertising that takes place on video streaming services and devices, like YouTube, Hulu, or Amazon Fire TV stick. With OTT advertising, you can promote your products and services to your target audience who watches content over the Internet instead of satellite or cable TV.

How does OTT advertising work?

So, how does OTT advertising work, exactly?

Video streaming services enable users to watch videos, movies, TV shows, and more for free or by paying a subscription fee. Many of these platforms allow advertisers to promote their products and services to people who use the platform.

When you invest in OTT ads, your ad will display when a user watches content on a video streaming platform. You can choose to promote your brand with a video ad, display ad, and much more.

For example, your ad can display as a short 15-second video during a commercial break or before a video.

With the right advertising strategy for your business, you can use OTT ads to increase your brand awareness and reach more members of your target audience on popular streaming platforms to boost your sales and revenue.

OTT vs. CTV advertising

You may have also heard the term connected TV (CTV) advertising while researching OTT ads. While the two terms seem the same, there are some key differences between OTT vs. CTV advertising.

CTV advertising is a form of digital advertising that occurs on TVs connected to the Internet that stream video content, in others words, smart TVs. While OTT advertising is a form of digital advertising that occurs on any device connected to the Internet that streams video content, including smartphones, smart TVs, tablets, laptops, and more.

Types of OTT ads

So, now that you know the answer to the question, “what is OTT advertising,” along with how it works, let’s dive into the different types of OTT ads:

• Banner ads: OTT banner ads display at the top or bottom of the screen when viewing content. They don’t usually interrupt the viewing experience.
• Overlay ads: Overlay ads are pop-up ads that appear at the bottom or top of the screen while viewing content. They are usually clickable and direct you to a landing page.
• In-video ads: In-video ads interrupt your viewing experience. Your content will pause and a video ad will play, from anywhere from five to 30 seconds. These ads can play before, during, or after, your video content.

3 key benefits of OTT advertising

So, now that you know the basics of OTT ads and how they work, you might be wondering how exactly they can benefit your business.

Check out three significant benefits of OTT advertising below:

1. Reach your ideal customers

With OTT ads, you can take advantage of audience targeting features to ensure that your ads reach the users who are most interested in your products and services.

For example, you can target specific users based on their:

• Age
• Gender
• Location
• Interests
• Purchasing history
• And more!

That means you can reach your ideal customers who are most likely to make a purchase, resulting in more high-quality leads and conversions for your business.

2. Measure your results with ease

With traditional TV advertising, it’s nearly impossible to measure the results of your campaign. But with OTT advertising, you can easily view essential data and metrics about your campaign to analyze how well it’s performing.

As a result, you can see which strategies, ad types, and platforms drive the best results for your business. You can then optimize and improve your campaign to earn the highest possible return on investment (ROI) for your efforts.

That means you won’t have to worry about wasting your time and resources on strategies that don’t drive the best results for your business.

3. Create personalized marketing messages

Creating personalized marketing messages that resonate with your target audience is the key to unlocking more clicks and conversions for your company. You can create various ads that resonate with specific users with OTT advertising.

Some platforms, like Hulu, enable you to create binge ads that display when a user is binge-watching a TV series. With ads like this, you can appeal to the users’ current actions, creating a more personalized experience that encourages more sales for your business.

Best OTT advertising platforms to boost your sales

Are you wondering which streaming platforms are the best for advertisers? Then check out these four best OTT advertising platforms below:

1. YouTube

YouTube is one of the most popular video streaming platforms in the world. Did you know that more than 40% of global shoppers purchase products and services they discover on YouTube?

With OTT statistics like that, advertising on YouTube is an excellent way to promote your brand and increase your sales.

YouTube offers several advertising options, including:

• Display ads: Display ads appear next to a video, above the video suggestion list. Users can view these ads without disrupting their video.
• Overlay ads: Overlay ads are pop-up advertisements that appear at the bottom of a video and usually contain links to your website. Users can also view these text ads without disrupting their video.
• Skippable video ads: Skippable video ads play before, during, or after a video, and users can choose to skip them after a few seconds.
• Non-skippable video ads: Non-skippable video ads can also play before, during, or after a video but cannot be skipped by users. They usually play for about 15-20 seconds.
• Bumper ads: Bumper ads are short video ads that cannot be skipped. They usually play for about six seconds.

With various ad options to choose from, you can pick the ad type that best suits your business and marketing strategy and then watch your online visibility and sales grow.

2. Hulu

Hulu is another excellent OTT advertising platform. With Hulu, you can reach your target audience when they watch their favorite TV shows and movies.

Hulu also features a variety of ad types to help you promote your products and services. A few examples include:

• Commercial video ads: With commercial video ads, you can display a long-form video ad during one of Hulu’s scheduled commercial breaks.
• Pause ads: Pause ads appear when a user presses pause on their current video. Pause ads enable you to promote your brand in a format that doesn’t disrupt the users’ video.
• Interactive living room ads: If you want to create an interactive advertisement that captures your audience’s attention, Hulu’s interactive living room ads are the way to go. Users can click and scroll through your ad to explore your latest products and services.

If you want to boost your brand awareness by advertising on popular OTT platforms, Hulu is an excellent choice for your business.

3. Facebook Watch

Facebook Watch enables users to browse and watch original shows, live streams, and popular videos in sports, entertainment, and more.

With over five billion active users on popular social media platforms like Facebook, Facebook Watch is an excellent advertising opportunity for businesses.

Facebook Watch enables you to promote your brand with:

• In-stream video ads: In-stream video ads appear during a video on Facebook Watch. Usually, the first 15 seconds of your ad will play, and then the user can choose to skip back to their video.
• Newsfeed video ads: Facebook’s newsfeed video ads display in users’ newsfeeds as they scroll through their updates.

If you want to reach more members of your target audience on social media, then investing in Facebook Watch ads could be an excellent option for your company.

4. TikTok

TikTok enables users to enjoy countless hours of entertainment watching and streaming videos, which is why it’s a great OTT advertising platform.

A few examples of ads you can create on TikTok include:

• Video ads: TikTok’s video ads can play for up to 60 seconds and appear in users’ “for you” feed.
• Image ads: Images ads enable you to feature an attention-grabbing image with text that appears in users’ newsfeeds as they scroll through videos.
• Carousel ads: Carousel ads can feature up to 10 images that users can click and scroll through. They also appear in users’ newsfeeds.

Advertising on TikTok can help you create engaging advertisements that capture your audience’s attention and encourages more clicks and sales for your company.

OTT advertising tips and best practices for success

Ready to start launching your OTT ads or want to ensure your current campaign is set up for success? We’ve got a list of our favorite over-the-top advertising tips just for you!

1. Use audience targeting features

One of the biggest benefits of OTT ads are their ability to reach your target personas and ideal customer profiles (ICPs).

Take advantage of OTT’s advanced audience targeting features to ensure your ads reach the people most interested in your products or services.

For example, you can target users based on their location, age, interests, and much more.

2. Make it personal and relatable

Personalized and relatable content sells. Create different OTT ads for your various audience personas and ICPs. For example, if you have a group of people interested in your camping equipment, you can make an ad just for them and a separate ad that targets people who are interested in your running shoes.

Users also like to feel like a brand understands them. Make your messaging relatable by highlighting how your company can ease their problems and provide the solutions they need.

3. Use voice-overs and captions

Users may have the volume on or off during your ad, so it’s important to plan for both scenarios. Be sure to include a voiceover for those users who leave their sound on but aren’t looking at their device to ensure they hear your message.

On the other hand, add captions to your video for the users who turn the volume off and just watch your ad play.

4. Analyze and optimize your ads

To get the best ROI from your OTT ads, you’ll need to continuously improve your ad campaign. Luckily for you, OTT ads are super easy to track and analyze.

You can view crucial data about your ads, like how many people viewed it, clicked on it, made a purchase, and more.

You can then use this data to figure out which types of ads and messages drive the best results for your company and tweak your strategy as necessary.

Drive more sales with award-winning OTT advertising services from WebFX

If you’re ready to promote your products and services with OTT ads, WebFX can help!

With our OTT advertising services, you say goodbye to traditional TV advertising and say hello to data-driven ad campaigns with advanced audience targeting features.

At WebFX, our team of over 500 advertising experts can help you develop a campaign that advertises your products and services to your ideal customers across a range of popular streaming platforms.

Are you ready to level up your sales? Speak with one of our strategists by calling 888-601-5359 or contact us online to chat with us about the needs and goals of your business. We can’t wait to help your company grow!