Thanks to growing internet connectivity, in addition to the increasing ownership of more sophisticated mobile devices that can stream high-quality video content, the OTT industry is on track to reach a sky-high value of US$52 billion over the next five years.
This growth is unsurprising as OTT can provide content to users when and where they want it– regardless of place, time, device or network– and as such content producers are focused on generating as many profits as they can from distributing content directly to consumers.
This is urging traditional content providers to rethink their strategy in this on-demand age; they need to evolve their marketing strategies to catch the consumers’ attention when their eyeballs are now on a wider variety of devices.
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At the same time, as OTT viewers also have the benefit of choosing what they want to watch at their own leisure, how these platforms contextualise their offerings to the viewers need to be laser targeted to be in line with their preferences.
However, all this needs to be done by balancing the line of understanding the consumer without making it appear as if they are too intrusive. Here are some ways in which OTT platforms can market their products to viewers with better contextuality to improve their ways of monetisation.
Customer is king
OTT platforms have upended traditional viewership, placing far more power in the consumers’ hands than ever before. Yet, while viewers now have greater control over how they want to watch content, addressability has become a greater concern.
This is as viewership has become more fragmented, therefore posing a greater challenge for marketing efforts as compared to their prime-time broadcast forebears. They now need to target different ads to different audience segments watching the same content.
To overcome this, OTT marketers need to gain a better understanding of their marketplace to determine the best messages that can resonate with this fragmented base. They need to do so by utilising richer data to create relevance amongst viewers in order to deliver the best possible customer experiences.
Messages should be present on all devices
OTT platforms were born in the digital age, and therefore many have been designed to be viewed on devices that can be connected to the internet. In regions such as Asia, traditional TV viewership remains dominant, however, most OTTs require smart TVs to be played or separate devices connected to more conventional TVs to power them.
However, portable devices such as laptops and smartphones seem more practical for many viewers, especially if they’ve subscribed to OTT services for their own personal use.
Mobile is already replacing TV as the go-to choice for video content and thus, marketers to rethink the channels they use to engage with customers. This is as mobile and desktop marketing require different engagement strategies than viewers; they need to keep in mind which devices are being used, as well as when and where they’re being used. Marketers, therefore, need to adopt a wider-reaching omnichannel strategy to reach as many consumers as they can throughout the day.
Minimising friction
Broadcast TV has traditionally been the medium for ads, and therefore viewers are more than familiar with the concept of needing to sift through a programme’s sponsors to be able to enjoy their content. However, OTT platforms – especially the on-demand kind – are perceived as a more attractive option as they’re typically less ad-heavy, or have no ads at all.
As such, when ads do appear, they need to be done by keeping viewing disruption at a minimum, which is best served by ensuring that the messages being receive relevant or well-targeted.
This is why understanding customers are paramount. By using the right data, marketers can better contextualise their messages according to the consumers’ viewing preferences so that they won’t seem disjointed at best, and at worst, intrusive.
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It is the challenge of intrusion that marketers need to be wary of. While using data to laser target consumers can help marketers sift through the audience clutter and target may help to ensure that the outreach is effective, using consumer data that’s not relevant to the content at hand can be off-putting and may even alienate consumers from the OTT platform.
Sophisticated solutions for today’s on-demand viewers
The upside is that we now live in a digital age where we can leverage more sophisticated tools to reach customers effectively.
For instance, SilverPush are artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, which – when coupled with computer vision – help ups understand large droves of complex data to get the right messages out at the right time to the right people.
This is done by using our technology to identify the specific context in video content and serve in-video ads which align with the advertisers’ core messages without detracting the user experience.
To illustrate how our technology’s been applied, we’ve worked with iflix and HOOQ to disseminate ads based on specific metrics – namely TV and film genres. What this does is help us make better recommendations to viewers based on what they’ve already watched and positioned them in ways that enhance their viewing experience.
OTT platforms are bringing video content viewership into a new era, and therefore marketers need to understand how they work to reach audiences effectively.
While this task is definitely more complicated than before, marketers also have the choice to adopt technologies which are designed to do the tedious legwork that can support valuable human operations and, in turn, help them add more value when conducting their outreach strategies.
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Image Credit: Will Francis
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