What changes did you and your team undergo as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, and how did you navigate through them? At a time when a large majority of B2B decision-makers were working from home and live in-person events had become a rarity due to the pandemic, CTV and OTT emerged as valuable options for B2B marketers to effectively reach their audiences. In 2020, connected TV (CTV) and over-the-top (OTT) platforms rapidly emerged for B2B marketers, and it continues to this day. If you’re on the fence when it comes to the implementation of CTV and OTT, this article’s content may be useful enough to help you make an informed decision!
The Meaning of OTT and CTV
For those who don’t already know, OTT is the abbreviation for over-the-top, which can be defined as video content served to viewers through the internet on various devices like smartphones, TVs, and laptops. Whereas, CTV is short for connected TV, which is video content viewed on television through streaming devices, smart TVs, and gaming consoles.
Initially, many B2B marketers were hesitant to embrace CTV and OTT, but the pandemic changed their perceptions. How much do you think CTV will grow in the near future? According to an eMarketer article, the expected growth for CTV ad spend this year is 40.1 percent, which is around $11.36 billion.
How Does CTV and OTT Work?
There are a variety of reasons why B2B companies should consider implementing CTV and OTT, but first it’s important to understand how it all works and some benefits to expect. For starters, CTV and OTT are known to offer key opportunities to marketers so they can engage with highly targeted audiences by leveraging immersive content. Then there’s CTV audience targeting, which delivers the significant impact of TV with the accuracy of digital analytics. Now, what are a few purposes of CTV and OTT worth noting?
- Identifies a target audience by leveraging location targeting, behavioral and purchasing data, and demographic data, which are further explained below:
- Location targeting: Used to locate physical addresses using verified B2B purchase data to serve relevant OTT/CTV ads
- Behavioral and purchasing data: Used to target users on the basis of keywords, context, and online behavior
- Demographics: Used to leverage combinations of demographic data to target an ideal audience
- Serves video ads on OTT/CTV devices
- Video ads are placed pre-roll, mid-roll, and post-roll while content streams on connected devices
What’s the Most Sought-after Content?
Based on what you know and have experienced during the ongoing pandemic, what type of content do you think has been the most sought-after? As a result of the evolving work-from-home environment and the implementation of various lockdowns around the world, the consumption of video content has skyrocketed. While other ad formats experienced a CPM decline due to lower marketing budgets, video formats rose by 2 percent. The main reason for this is because videos - are highly engaging and often interactive.
In addition, based on the research findings and reports that have been revealed thus far, 2020 was the best year for platforms that stream video content. Specifically, CTV and OTT experienced a 70 percent rise in ad spend between Q1 and Q3 of 2020. Several other noteworthy CTV and OTT statistics include but aren’t limited to the following:
- According to IAB’s U.S. 2020 Digital Video Advertising Spend Report, CTV ad spend has increased to $16 million per advertiser mostly due to it being the least impacted during the Covid-19 lockdowns
- It has been projected that by 2022, 35 million U.S. viewers are likely to watch TV through a streaming service like Hulu and Twitch
- Americans per month stream for a whopping 8 billion hours.
- It’s estimated that by 2022, the number of connected TV users will increase to roughly 204 million U.S. viewers
What Does CTV’s Future Look Like?
What do you think makes CTV and OTT brilliant choices for advertisers? If your guess is the rapid growth of CTV audiences, the measurability of digital videos, and/or the ability to deliver an impactful message that leverages sights, sounds, and motion on TV screens, you’re right on target! In the post-pandemic era, CTV and OTT are likely to emerge as one of the largest opportunities in advertising. If you’d like to get involved, there’s no time like the present, and we at Anteriad are more than willing to help you get started!
