OTT advertising strategy: 3 benefits of adding OTT video ads to your campaign

January 05, 2021

By Katherine Vasilopoulos
Sr. Product marketing manager

Behind the Streams: In this blog series, we’ll help you to gain insights and learn about the latest trends that are shaping OTT (over-the-top) video advertising, also known as streaming TV ads.

We read about the cord-cutting phenomenon daily, and we see it taking place in living rooms across the country. In fact, there are now 70MM homes using streaming TV that are watching an average of 102 hours per month.1 At Amazon Ads, we’ve seen our monthly viewers of ad-supported streaming TV content, also known as OTT (over-the-top) video ads, increase from 20MM+ to 50MM+ in 2020 alone. Audiences today are streaming their favorite video content more than ever.

In response, we’re seeing brands lean into streaming content with Amazon Ads to make the most of our scale, unique reach, and deep insights to drive awareness among audiences that matter. But brands want to know the impact of their campaign beyond just driving awareness. That’s why we’re sharing what we’ve learned when brands have added Amazon Streaming TV ads to their existing Amazon Ads campaign.

1. Reach new audiences when you add OTT video ads to your campaign

While it’s no surprise that OTT advertising can help drive awareness, our research shows that adding Amazon Streaming TV ads to lower-funnel campaigns, including Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, and Sponsored Display can also help brands drive more new-to-brand purchases.

On average, brands who add Amazon Streaming TV ads to their Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, and Sponsored Display campaign see a +21% increase in new-to-brand sales compared to times when they only used Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands.2

Key takeaway: Adding OTT video ads to your campaign can help your brand reach new customers, especially when paired with lower-funnel tactics.

Source: Amazon internal, 2020

2. Increase consideration for your brand by adding OTT video ads to your campaign

In addition to driving awareness and reach, our research suggests that OTT video ads can aid you in driving consideration for your brand when added to existing lower-funnel tactics.

On average, brands who add Amazon Streaming TV ads to their Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, and Sponsored Display campaign drive 2.5x more advertising-attributed detail page views compared to times when they only used Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands. Similarly, we’ve seen that brands who add Amazon Streaming TV ads to their campaign drive 2x more "Add to cart" actions compared to times when they only used Sponsored Products and/or Sponsored Brands.

Key takeaway: By adding OTT video ads to your campaign, you can increase the likelihood of customers viewing your brand page or adding your products to their cart.

Source: Amazon internal, 2020

3. Grow your bottom line by adding OTT video ads to your campaign

Brands often believe that a marketing strategy to drive sales only includes lower-funnel tactics. However, our research suggests that adding OTT video ads can be effective in contributing to conversion.

On average, brands who add Amazon Streaming TV ads to their Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, and Sponsored Display campaign see an 8% month-over-month increase in sales compared to times when they only used Sponsored Products and/or Sponsored Brands. Furthermore, our analysis shows that brands who add Amazon Streaming TV ads to their campaign see 2x more ad-attributed sales compared to times when they only used Sponsored Products and/or Sponsored Brands.

Source: Amazon internal, 2020

It’s time to add OTT video ads to your lower-funnel tactics

For advertisers, the takeaway is: adding OTT video ads to your campaign can result in success across the full marketing funnel. OTT video ads are not only effective at increasing brand awareness, they can also help drive consideration, new customers, and increased sales.

Want to learn more about Amazon Streaming TV ads and our unique behavioral signals? Check out our video ads page.

Sources

1Comscore State of OTT, 2020
2Amazon internal 2019 – results based on an analysis of more than 600 brands across 5 categories