How To Advertise On Streaming Video Platforms: 14 Essential Tips

The pandemic has seen many people camping out in front of their televisions and other streaming devices. More individuals than ever before now spend large amounts of time binge-watching their favorite streaming video content. In an environment so ripe for reaching target audiences, streaming ad spend has increased this year and is still on the rise.

Advertising on streaming services, also known as over-the-top advertising, is distinct from its television counterpart in many ways. Taking the same, standard approaches to creating ads for this space may not be as effective.

We asked members of Forbes Agency Council to give us their No. 1 piece of advice for brands thinking about OTT advertising on streaming platforms. Here, 16 agency professionals weigh in on what businesses should keep in mind when investing in this marketing channel.

1. Be Bold And Disruptive

Disrupt—don’t use the traditional advertising approach. With so many advertisers moving to the streaming platforms, you need to instantly win the audience’s attention. Keeping your ad the same as your network television buy is not the best idea. Think out of the box and really get bold. – Christopher Tompkins, The Go! Agency

2. Create Ads That Feel Native To Viewers

Get your advertising creative to look and feel as native as possible to the person viewing it. If it looks and feels like a continuation of what they are binge-watching, it’s going to speak to them in their language and will be more likely to drive them to action. Using the levers of personalization and contextualization will increase conversion. – Gavin Baker, Baker Labs

3. Make It Concise And Engaging

Make it short, simple and concise but still engaging. People hate ads, especially before videos that they are streaming. If you can keep your ad between five and 10 seconds long, get your point across and still engage with your audience in a way that they will remember, your ad will stick in their minds. More importantly, it won’t anger them that they have to sit through a long, non-skippable ad. – Jason Hall, FiveChannels Marketing

4. Make Sure Your Audience Is There

Make sure your target audience is consuming those streams. Advertising on a platform that streams movies or TV shows is expensive. Before you do that, you want to be certain that’s where your customers are. Then, double-check your content. We’ve had clients that made this work for them. They went through nine different versions of an ad. – Danny Star, Website Depot

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5. Speak To People’s Current Emotions

Speak to the emotions that people are feeling. Comment on the moment at hand. Don’t shy away from what is real right now and what drives viewers to constant streaming. We are in unprecedented times, and content must acknowledge, reassure and offer support for whatever audiences are feeling right now. – Lynne Golodner, Your People LLC

6. Use Geotargeting And Build Dynamic Content

Advertising on streaming platforms is a far cry from traditional broadcast advertising. Streaming offers enhanced targeting, so brands should develop a strategy that’s similar to what they might implement on other digital channels, such as display or social. Determine your target audiences, use geotargeting and build dynamic content that speaks directly to each of your audience’s interests. – Carey Kirkpatrick, CKP

7. Make Bespoke Creative For The Platform

If you’re placing media within a streamer for a captive audience, take advantage of that opportunity. Beyond strategic media planning, creative can break through. Your creative can lean into storytelling and entertainment, drafting off of the themes this target customer clearly enjoys. – Marc Becker, The Tangent Agency

8. Leverage Attribution Tracking

If you do not have a way to measure and value top-of-the-funnel awareness, you need to put attribution tracking in place. This should be done ahead of advertising on OTT platforms, as it will be a wasted investment without measurement. – Megan Cunningham, Magnet Media, Inc.

9. Make Your Advertising ‘Binge-Worthy’

If your audience is on a content binge, your advertising needs to be “binge-worthy” as well: engaging, addictive, funny or emotional. The bar to grab someone’s attention on streaming platforms is higher than it might be elsewhere, so be careful that your story is worth the consumer’s time. – Craig Greiwe, Rogers & Cowan

10. Don’t Be Too Intrusive

Don’t be too intrusive and be more exclusive when you are considering streaming services for advertising. Pick the proper audience demographics for your market and don’t just approach the biggest names on the internet. Research to find out which exclusive streaming services your audience subscribes to. Do a survey or conduct focus groups so that you get to know your audience even more. – Solomon Thimothy, OneIMS

11. Know Where Your Content Is Shown

One of the most important things is to make sure that you are aware of all of the places that your content is going to be shown. The main reason for that is that you do not want to have your brand represented in a place you do not approve, and you need to specify all of this. Speaking to all of the managers out there, you need to ensure that you will know where your content appears. – Jon James, Ignited Results

12. Be Ready To Compete With High Production Quality

Consider that movies and TV shows have significant production budgets. Your video content has to compete with that professionally produced content. Make sure your budget and team can compete with the streaming content and deliver to your audience. – Jim Caruso, M1PR, Inc. d/b/a MediaFirst PR – Atlanta

13. Clearly Direct Viewers Back To Your Website

When advertising on streaming platforms, always make sure that you are still clearly directing viewers back to your website. This method of advertising differs from traditional digital marketing because users can’t just click through to your site and aren’t able to leave the screen to do this. – Spencer Hadelman, Advantage Marketing

14. Don’t Think Of Streaming Platforms As Broadcast Media

Consumers might be watching your ad on a TV, but the beauty of streaming services is the ability they offer advertisers to get very granular in their media placements. Have an extremely clear picture of your target audience in mind before placement, and then buy OTT spots that align with content your audience consumes. – Mary Ann O’Brien, OBI Creative

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Author: Expert Panel®, Forbes Councils Member