7 steps to plan a successful OTT campaign

Since last year, OTT streaming services have experienced a sudden, but unsurprising surge. In its Media and Outlook Report 2020, PwC has pegged India to be the fastest-growing OTT market with a 28.6% CAGR and $2.9 billion in revenues in 2024. ^

Further, a report by KPMG forecasts that this growth will continue, especially within tier-three cities and rural areas that are increasingly embracing OTT content consumption. ^^

Against this backdrop, it’s time for marketers to continue increasing the OTT slice within their marketing pie. For the uninitiated wondering how to dip a toe into OTT advertising, here are seven steps to go about it:

1. Know your campaign objective:

   Being aware of a campaign’s goal is the cornerstone for a successful creative, and ergo, an impactful campaign. Identifying, for instance, a product launch, a brand-building or brand recall activity, or a campaign to increase brand salience, gives advertisers much-needed clarity before formulating a campaign strategy.

2. Learn from successful campaigns:

   Marketers can, and should look back at impactful strategies from past OTT campaigns. This is a great way to get inspired when it’s time to create a new campaign. A good starting point is the Hotstar Discover: Insights and Trends to know what worked for brands in the past. Using this readily available information can go a long way in devising the right strategy to reach consumers.

3. Create the right video creative:

   The CLIPS principle is especially helpful for brands aiming to create an effective video creative. The principle is explained below:

   • Clear brand role in the story: Aligning the communication to the context drives message association
   • Last frame, but also the first: Having the brand in all frames drives aided awareness
   • Integrate early: Integrating the brand’s key position quickly leads to better message association
   • Presence of a celebrity: Featuring a celebrity enhances brand recall
   • Simple and clear messaging: Displaying easy-to-understand, succinct messages also help in higher recall

4. Find ad formats that are right for you:

   OTT platforms offer a wide suite of formats. This is why choosing the most appropriate one can help in successfully targeting the desired segment. While Disney+ Hotstar’s pre-rolls and mid-roll formats are perfect to achieve specific marketing objectives, advertisers have seen significant impact from feature-rich formats like live-streaming billboards and long-form ads. It’s important to note that different ad formats help serve different objectives. That’s why, choosing the right format follows up well with the first step: knowing the campaign’s objective

5. Choose the relevant content and context:

   An ad’s target audience is essential to generate the desired impact. Having said that, the right context is as important in lending a helping hand to achieve it. The relevant context might mean integrating settings from familiar movies, web shows, or sports, and ensuring the right targeting options are chosen to reach the right audience. All of this helps the brand message and sentiment reach the targeted audience in ways that matter.

6. Invest in the right measurement solutions:

   Precise audience insights and creative testing, available on OTT platforms, enable advertisers to plan their campaigns more effectively. Measurement solutions, like Disney+ Hotstar’s Brand Impact and Business Impact, also empower marketers to get insights into a campaign’s efficacy.

7. Plan a follow-up campaign:

   A follow-up campaign sets the creative team up for long-term customer engagement through stronger brand association. It also allows marketers to employ insights garnered through measurement solutions for the preceding campaign.

    

   Executing a new campaign is like charting uncharted territory. However, with a well-defined objective, the learnings from the past campaigns, the right creative format and the tools readily available on OTT platforms, marketers can go a long way in ensuring impactful results for their OTT advertising efforts.

^ https://www.livemint.com/news/india/india-is-the-world-s-fastest-growing-ott-market-pwc-report-11603355739242.html

^^ https://home.kpmg/in/en/home/insights/2020/09/media-and-entertainment-report-kpmg-india-2020-year-off-script/covid-19-impact-media-and-entertainment-2020.html