Over the past decade, live television audiences have been shrinking. The ability to record television programs signaled the future of watching shows at one’s convenience. This, of course, opened the way for streaming services. Today, most people watch live and recorded media via laptop, smartphone, tablet, smart TV, and a host of other devices that remove traditional television viewing from the equation. At the same time, businesses are moving away from the one-way advertising model offered by traditional television marketing in favor of OTT and CTV, which offer a more direct and quantifiable way to reach audiences and drive conversions, often at a lower price.

Connected TV (CTV) Marketing

Connected TV – or CTV – refers to any television set that used to stream media. CTV consists of smart TVs, connected devices like an Amazon Fire Stick or Roku box, and even gaming consoles, all of which have the capacity to use apps to stream video instead of relying on a traditional cable connection. The benefit of using CTV for marketing campaigns is that businesses can reach viewers with better targeting, so they know their advertising money is being used to reach people, instead of “rolling the dice” on buying spots on traditional cable networks. Additionally, CTV ads have measurable results, so businesses can really drill down into metrics and audience segments to see where they are getting the most traction.

Over-the-Top (OTT)

OTT is how over 180 million people in the United States receive their video content. Platforms such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and many other content providers have won over viewers by offering quality content to anyone with an internet connection and a device capable of streaming. Businesses that leverage OTT for advertising can reach viewers through popular content at a much better ROI than traditional television ad buys. OTT advertising also has a higher ad completion rate – nearly 100% – because viewers cannot skip advertisements, and the placement is more strategic than television advertising.

Moving Forward with CTV and OTT

More people across all age groups are “cutting the cord” to use CTV and OTT platforms simply because they want to be able to customize their viewing experience to their lifestyles with more content they want to watch with less of the shows and channels they don’t want. This has opened up the door to reach targeted audiences with branded content at a much higher conversion rate than traditional media ad buys.

At Outpace Digital Marketing, we help businesses of all types leverage video marketing to reach targeted audiences online, with quantifiable results. If you want to get the best ROI for your digital marketing campaign, reach out to the team at Outpace today.