The way viewers today watch television has drastically transformed over the previous years and decades. Some say that the era of traditional TV is over. But, what we have now is not the end of conventional television, but rather a shift in viewing habits. Usually, families gather around their TV sets after dinner and watch the shows in prime time. Then, when subscriptions emerged, linear broadcasting was replaced by cables, and it was not too long before Internet-powered gadgets and phones were introduced. It is where Over the Top advertising or OTT advertising and TV ad tech platforms popped up on the scene, forever changing the relevance of online advertising on TV.
But what is OTT advertising? In order for this business to thrive, there is a need to run advertisements. Among these is the so-called SSAI advertising or Server-Side Ad Insertion. It is one of the ad insertion methods in OTT.
In this article, we will dig deeper into the role of OTT streaming in advertising, touching on points that include what OTT advertising is about, its benefits, the concept of SSAI, and so much more. Are you ready?
OTT Advertising Explained: What This Is About
Before we head over to the details, it is vital that you know what OTT advertising is. OTT advertising refers to individualized content provided to the viewers’ television sets while watching the same TV show. Therefore, OTT advertising is targeted ad delivery on Internet-CTV sets enabled by programmatic OTT technology.
Thanks to OTT, advertisers can expand their audience reach that previously was only available on traditional TV and optimize their campaign budget. In fact, according to data published in advertising magazine Adweek, some experts predict that the money from OTT ads is bound to increase anywhere from 45 to 60 percent. Thus, if you are an ad tech pioneer and you know how to launch an effective OTT ad, you will be enjoying the great rewards in the near future.
How OTT Ads Look Like
Unlike YouTube ads, OTT ads are not always skippable as they are watched until the end of the ad. Most frequently, those video ads overlay video content, helping brands share their messages with unique and relevant viewers.
For programmatic platforms that support different kinds of ad formats, serving a video or banner creative will not be a problem. At the same time, video ads and banners are so far the most common of those. With time, when connected TV or CTV and OTT capabilities broaden up, it will be possible for advertisers to present ads dynamically. It will be possible to use interactive creatives that users can interact with on the TV screen, such as tapping to open, skip, and more.
What are the benefits of Over the Top advertising? Read forward.
Advantages Of Over The Top Advertising
OTT advertising is a win-win for everybody involved in this. Consumers like this because they no longer have to pay for television that is limited in terms of content and convenience. Subsequently, advertisers love this because it has massive revenue potential and because such targeted advertising can significantly promote brand awareness. In addition to this, OTT also offers the following.
1. Targeting
OTT enables shorter but more relevant advertisements because it knows where the audience is located geographically. OTT platform can break these audiences into segments for better metrics, and it can tell them which devices they are using most often to access its content.
2. Dynamic Ad Insertion
This lets you interchange banners or video ads in linear, live, video-on-demand, or VOD content. VOD is a media distribution system that enables access to videos without traditional video playback devices and limitations such as broadcasting schedules.
3. Advanced Analytics
With all of the data acquired about your OTT audience, you can use this to find which OTT ads are working for you and which ones are not to optimize future ads with the insights you acquired.
This time, we head over to determine what SSAI is as an OTT ad insertion approach.
SSAI As An OTT Ad Insertion Method
SSAI or Server-Side Ad Insertion pertains to a technology that seems to “stitch” advertisements into long-form content. It is why marketers call this approach “ad stitching.”
Server advertising or SSAI is used chiefly in OTT and CTV videos for integrating ads into the stream. How does this technology work?
How Server-Side Ad Insertion Works
When you decide to watch a movie, TV show, or news broadcast, here is what happens after your click “play.”
First, the video player sends a request to the SSAI provider with user-specified data. They include geolocation, Internet service provider, search engine queries, current trends, and other information.
Second, the ad decision server creates a manifest that instructs the player. This manifest includes the streaming advertisements, duration, and beacons or markers that activate ads.
Third, the content delivery network or CDN sends the content with a specific manifest to the video player. The ads are then sent to the CDN in multiple quality versions to adapt to the viewer’s Internet connectivity.
Fourth, the player automatically sends requests to the ads when playback hits beacons, and the CDN server forwards these ads into the stream.
Lastly, the ads create reports about user behavior. This report may include what part of the ad was seen and if the person interacted with it.
Final Words
SSAI is considered a great form of advertisement delivery system for CTV, OTT, and other video streaming services. This innovation and technology optimize the ads for the viewers. Furthermore, it also helps avoid ad-blockers and, consequently, improves ad revenue.
Despite the many challenges, from management to functionality, OTT advertising is loaded with several opportunities. The opportunities that OTT advertising offers, while still relatively limited until today, will definitely continue to develop, presenting advertisers with brand new ways to reach their audiences.
Furthermore, considering the increasing share of this technology in the advertising market in the coming years, unlocking its full potential may soon become one of the most in-demand and lucrative opportunities for many advertisers.
