Local advertisers are turning their attention toward a different digital marketing channel: Over-the-top (OTT ). According to a report by Vevo, “The increasing volume of OTT impressions has elevated this channel from a fill-in audience reach extension play targeting audience segments hard to reach in linear TV, to a full-fledged marketing channel capable of delivering ad impressions at scale across demographics and market geographies.” Basically, watch out linear TV and digital ads; you have some competition!

OTT Ads' Effect on Local Advertising

Why OTT Ads?

Local advertisers love using OTT ads because they get to combine the best features of TV and digital ads:

TV: “Valuable and unique characteristics of a highly engaging medium”
Digital: “The ability to define and activate audience segments with first and third-party data and target, optimize and measure campaign performance”

Money Talks

Overall, Vevo says that OTT ads are the fastest growing digital ad channel right now. Vevo cites BIA’s 2022 U.S. Local Advertising Forecast, revealing that OTT ad spending in the U.S. is estimated to total over $2 billion by the end of 2022. That’s an increase of $1.009 billion over spending in 2020 (a growth rate of 43%).

Local Advertising Opportunity

OTT ads don’t stop at traditional TV views. According to Vevo, “Many advertisers target OTT viewers across a range of mobile, desktop, tablet and other devices.” When your clients create an OTT ad, they’re reaching more than just consumers sitting in front of their TV sets. So, if your clients think these ads have limited reach, let them know otherwise.

However, even with that reach, it’s never wise for your clients to put all their advertising eggs in one basket. It’s always important to create multi-channel campaigns. But you need audience data to do that.

We’ve got you covered. AudienceSCAN on AdMall by SalesFuel offers information on a OTT ad-related audiences: OTT TV Viewers, FAST TV viewers (free ad supported TV) and OTT Streaming Service Ad Responders. You can use the information in these reports to learn more about these consumers’ TV viewing habits, what other types of advertisements have driven them to take action within the last year, their opinions on various types of ads and more. For example, did you know that the top three performing ad types among OTT Streaming Service Advertising Responders last year were ads on their mobile ads or received via text, social media ads and traditional TV ads? TV ads are in third place! That information could be important in swaying your clients to run a multi-channel campaign the next time they want to use over-the-top ads.

How the Country Reacts to OTT Ads

Throughout the country, OTT ads are making quite the impression on consumers. The regions where OTT ad spending is growing the most are the:

Mid-Atlantic (D.C., DE, MD, PA, VA and WV): With 53% growth between 2020 and 2022
Northeast (CT, MA, ME, NH, NJ, NY, RI and VT): 47% growth
Pacific Northwest (CA, ID, MT, WA, WY): 42% growth, tied with…
Midwest (CO, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, NE, OH, SC, WI): 42% growth

The region with the lowest growth rate of OTT ad spending is the Pacific Southwest, but even that region experienced a 39% spending increase.

Additionally, the types of companies that are increasing their OTT ad spending the most in 2022 are general services, automotive, restaurants, health and finance, and insurance companies. That’s a broad range of possible clients for you to pursue.

So, whether your clients are diehard OTT ad fans or are considering trying them out for the first time, there is information here that you can share with them to make their next campaign a success.

Photo by Joyce Busola