Is 2019 going to be the breakout year for OTT advertising? It's possible. The pattern in the U.S. has long been for advertisers to follow consumer attention. With more consumers devoting a bigger portion of their media time to OTT programming, marketers need to develop a plan to advertise in that environment. 

Demographics of OTT Viewers

Last year, marketers spent about $70B on TV ads. About $2B of that spending appeared on OTT programming. According to the 2019 Consumer OTT Report, produced for OpenX by The Harris Poll, at least 52% of U.S. adults call themselves OTT users. Here’s how the data breaks out by age group:

• Ages 18–34 65%
• Ages 35 to 54 55%
• Ages 55+ 31%

With consumer behavior changing, advertisers should understand that 15% of OTT consumers no longer watch live TV. In addition, a significant portion of these consumers stream 2.5 hours of video content daily on smartphones.

Choice Versus Cost

The programming consumers value most on their cable or OTT channels includes movies (74%), news (49%) and scripted shows (48%). Consumers confess to being overwhelmed with the number of choices currently available to them. And new OTT providers are entering the SVOD marketplace regularly. Experts say most consumers have a strong preference on the price and channel front. They expect they’ll pay about $100 a month for access to 15 channels or services.

Right now, they are picking and choosing between various OTT services. Nearly half of viewers prefer to pay about $10 a month for a service and have no ads. At least 54% are interested in models that are free or cost up to $5 a month for limited ads per hour.

Advertising on OTT

Is there reason for advertisers to buy media space on OTT programming? Yes, analysts say. Over 70% of consumers remember seeing adds on OTT programming. Consumers who will accept advertising as part of a reduced-​price or free model do not want to see more than 10 minutes of ads in each viewing hours. That level of advertising is lower than what viewers currently experience during traditional TV viewing. However, your clients should know that consumers are more receptive to the idea of advertising when the messages are relative to their personal interests. 

The OTT advertising ecosystem is still in its early days. With more consumers interested in the quality programming offered by these sites, you can encourage your client to prepare for the future. Specifically, they should develop creative campaigns that work for the smaller screen smartphone viewing experience as well as the larger screen TV viewing experience. 

Because more consumers are noticing OTT advertising, your clients can move beyond basic branding campaigns. In the OTT environment, they should be developing creative messages designed to prompt consumer action. To learn more about consumers who watch SVOD, check out the AudienceSCAN profiles available on AdMall from SalesFuel.