As the digital advertising landscape continues to evolve, it’s more important now than ever to make sure your campaigns are optimized for reach, engagement, and conversion — otherwise, your brand may get lost among the noise!
Over-the-top (OTT) advertising, also referred to as streaming TV ads, is one of the most effective channels for brands in 2023, with revenue expected to surpass $450 billion by 2027. But to reap these benefits, you’ll need to approach your ads with innovation and strategy — here are five ways to optimize your OTT ad creative and make the biggest splash for your budget.
OTT Ads: A Quick Recap
OTT ads are digital ads delivered to users through streaming video services like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video. These ads typically target specific audiences based on demographics, behaviors, geography, and technographic details. You can serve OTT ads through any device that supports streaming, including smart TVs, mobile devices, tablets, or laptops.
The most common types of streaming TV ads are pre-roll, mid-roll, and post-roll ads (served before, during, and after the main content, respectively), as well as banner ads (that appear above or below the main content) and overlay ads (that are clickable and overlay the main content but don’t interrupt the viewing experience).
How to Optimize Your OTT Ad Creative
Leverage OTT-Specific Creative
While it can be tempting to reuse assets you’ve already created for linear TV, we recommend developing OTT-specific creative instead. This is because, unlike traditional TV, you can leverage audience targeting with streaming TV ads, meaning your narratives, messaging, and CTA can be more tailored and relevant to boost engagement.
Experiment With Different Ad Lengths
The perfect ad length depends on your brand, message, and target audience, which is why you should experiment with creative ad lengths. For example, shorter spots might be better suited for mobile devices, while longer ones may perform better on TVs. Similarly, you might find the most success with 30-second pre-roll ads versus 15-second mid-roll ads, with the occasional six-second bumper sprinkled in to boost frequency for greater awareness.
From our experience, having spots with different lengths and creative variations is the key to a winning formula — this allows for maximum audience reach and inventory scalability. But, as always: test and learn.
Explore Interactive Elements
OTT offers interactive creative capabilities to attract, engage, and convert your audience. Here are some to consider:
- TV-to-mobile elements (like QR and text codes) can generate leads, promote an app install, and offer discounts.
- Browsable product galleries remove friction from the shopping experience and help users familiarize themselves with your brand.
- Clickable banners are crucial if your campaign aims to drive traffic to a landing page.
Keep Your CTA Simple
Because OTT offers advanced targeting, you can include CTAs (whether QR codes, URLs, text codes, or phone numbers) that reflect where users are in the marketing funnel. You’ll also want to keep your CTA concise so users know what step to take next.
Add Branding Elements Wherever Possible
Logos, taglines, jingles, and brand colors are essential components of any optimized OTT ad creative — after all, your goal is to increase user recognition for your brand. Because people may be multitasking while streaming content, you’ll want to ensure your ad grabs their attention and is memorable.
Your Winning OTT Ad Awaits
With these five tips, you’ll be launching A+ streaming TV ads that connect with consumers, drive engagement, and move you closer to your business goals in no time.
Creative is just one part of any winning campaign — targeting, budgeting, and measurement are other essential components that ensure your ads are delivering the ROI you need. For that, consider partnering with a media buying agency like Power Marketing. With more than 20 years of experience, we’ve helped major brands and regional organizations unlock big results.
