In the old days of traditional broadcast TV, advertising was integral to the whole system. It funded all the great shows we remember and created some memorable advertisements.
But what now? In the age of streaming, how can businesses get their messages to this different audience? Let’s explore OTT content and how businesses can use it to find new customers.
What is OTT?
The term OTT means over-the-top. In this context, it refers to video content streamed directly to the consumer. It bypasses a traditional cable TV provider. Content is delivered via the internet. Some of the ways you can view OTT content include through a smartphone, a streaming stick plugged into a dumb TV, or directly to a Smart TV.
This is still a growing sector. More and more people are becoming “cord-cutters.” These are consumers who are happy to wave goodbye to traditional cable providers. In 2010 in the US, 91% of households paid a cable provider for their television services. By 2021, this had dropped to an astonishing 60%.
Another phenomenon worth mentioning is “cord-shaving.” This is when consumers sign up for lower pay-tv packages and use streaming services too. That gives streaming a huge audience. It’s not limited to services that provide high production value content, such as Amazon Prime Video. Platforms such as Twitch fall under the OTT umbrella too.
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The early days of streaming were ad-free. In fact, one of the attractions of services such as Netflix was that there were no ads. That’s no longer the case. Many ad-supported services have sprung up over the years. Even Netflix now offers an ad-supported service at a lower price point.
The rise in cable cutting and the expansion of ads on streaming services can’t be ignored. Businesses need to take notice and make OTT advertising a part of their marketing strategy.
What is Amazon OTT advertising?
Amazon OTT advertising shows video ads before, after, and during video content. They can be found on Amazon-associated platforms like Prime Video, IMDB, and Twitch. Unlike traditional TV ads, these can be targeted at specific audiences.
Amazon is just one of several online marketplaces. However, it is the biggest. Businesses that sell on Amazon have the most to gain from Amazon OTT advertising. Many of the features integrate well with Amazon’s marketplace.
Businesses using Amazon OTT advertising have access to a raft of reporting metrics. This means you can see the numbers that are viewing your ads. Crucially, you can see if people are buying your products on Amazon after seeing an ad.
There’s a lot here for companies that sell on Amazon’s marketplace. However, it’s not just for businesses that sell products. OTT advertising gives any brand access to a huge audience. So it’s worth exploring for companies that sell services like cloud contact centre solutions by Dialpad, for example.
How do Amazon OTT ads work?
You can start advertising this way through Amazon DSP. It’s a demand-side platform that allows you to run ads dynamically alongside video, audio, and other web content. You don’t need to choose what content your ads appear with. The process is automatic and based on who it is you want to target.
There are a few steps to take when launching a campaign.
- Establish your key performance indicators.
- Pick your target audience.
- Launch your campaign.
- Monitor and alter based on performance.
Image sourced from Amazon
Amazon holds extensive data insights about what it is that people are looking for. That’s because they have one of the largest marketplaces in the world. Millions of people search daily for items on their platform. It’s that data that’s used to target your ads.
Viewers can’t skip Amazon OTT ads. In that way, they behave more like traditional TV ads. That means your messages aren’t easily ignored. Viewers will need to watch the ad in its entirety before continuing to watch the content.
How can Amazon OTT advertising help you boost sales?
Advertising in this way gives your business a unique method for reaching an audience. Let’s explore the myriad ways Amazon OTT advertising can help to boost your sales.
Excellent targeting
Knowledge is power. Amazon uses voluminous amounts of data from their shoppers and users to find the perfect target audience. If you use Amazon OTT advertising, your advertisements will run for viewers with the highest chance of conversion.
Amazon targets ads using the following three methods.
- In-market: This is based on what products viewers have looked at on Amazon’s marketplace. If they’ve been looking at products in the same category as your brand, they’ll see your ads. For example, if a viewer has been looking at packaging solutions, they can be targeted with ads for custom shipping boxes.
- Lifestyle: Amazon uses purchase history to determine what other products a customer may be interested in. They can form an idea of the customer’s hobbies and interests. If your brand’s products or services may appeal to the customer, they’ll be shown an ad.
- Retargeting: This is for when a customer has viewed your product on Amazon but has not purchased it. They’ll see an advertisement for the product they’ve already shown interest in.
Geographic and demographic data are also taken into account. Imagine you sold winter apparel. You would want to target people in Vancouver but not necessarily people in Phoenix. However, imagine you sold an entirely different product. A business phone service Vancouver companies could use would have the same appeal to businesses in Phoenix.
Choose genres
A great advantage of Amazon’s advertising platform is that it’s automated. That may worry some business leaders as it could seem like there’s a lack of control. Brand integrity could be damaged if ads are shown along with the wrong kind of content.
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Worry not. You can pick up to five genres along which your ads will not appear. For example, a Canadian-based phone provider won’t want their ads for business Voip providers Canada shown next to kids’ shows produced for the Indian market. They can block that genre to ensure their ads get in front of the right eyes.
At the time of writing, this feature is only available in the US.
Competition focus
Amazon OTT advertising allows ad conquesting. Ad conquesting means that if a customer views a competitor’s product on Amazon, they’re shown an ad for your product. This can be a powerful tool to help you beat the competition. It’s worth noting that this is only truly effective if you’re selling on Amazon’s marketplace.
Video Creative Builder
The production of ads can be costly. Thankfully, Amazon offers Video Creative Builder. It’s a user-friendly way to create video advertisements from a selection of templates. You can customize these templates with your own assets to make them true to your brand personality.
All you need to do is log on to your Amazon advertising account to upload the assets you require. You can then insert them into the templates and tweak things like logos and backgrounds to create a quality ad. You can even include Amazon star ratings or testimonials.
You can create relevant ads featuring the Amazon Prime-eligibility logo. You can also display product information from your Amazon product page. From the Amazon DSP, you can choose your target audience and monitor how your ad is performing.
Ads run on and off Amazon properties
Video content on Prime Video, Twitch, and IMDB could have your ads running alongside it. Millions of viewers access content on these platforms each day.
Screenshot from Amazon
Amazon has a list of approved third-party providers that can get your message out beyond Amazon platforms. So that means you don’t need to worry about putting all your eggs in one basket.
Budget efficiency
Every business must be budget conscious. It’s worth mentioning that OTT applications integrate with Amazon Publisher Services. That means you can avoid additional fees. You’re able to easily see what you’re paying and monitor how your ad campaign is performing.
You only pay when someone sees your advertisement. This makes OTT advertising less costly than traditional TV ads. With cable TV, you pay whether your ad is seen or not.
In recent years, Amazon has vastly expanded the number of live events it shows on its platforms. With OTT advertising, you can get your ad delivered alongside premier events without paying Superbowl ad money.
Amazon OTT Advertising: A powerful tool
If your business is selling on Amazon, you have to pay attention to Amazon OTT advertising. Even if it doesn’t, there’s an audience here that shouldn’t be ignored. Amazon’s network is wide and captures a ton of customer data. That’s a powerful tool for getting your ads seen by the right audience.
