Why Smart Marketers are Allocating Ad Spend to OTT Media
If a person from the year 2005 were to visit us today, they’d find that most things in our daily lives hadn’t changed dramatically over 13 years. Until they decided to watch a film or a television show, of course. Then they’d realize the way people consume content has been radically altered in a brief span of time. In 2005, you didn’t watch a movie on Netflix — you watched a movie from Netflix (and only after waiting two days for it to arrive in the mail). If you wanted to watch your favorite TV show, you had to view it live or record it. Hulu didn’t exist, and the very idea of video-on-demand was in its infancy. Now, just a bit more than a decade later, a video store is all but extinct. The idea of a snail-mailed subscription DVD service seems quaint and faintly ridiculous. We watch what we want, when we want, on the device we want. In other words, we watch Over-the-Top (OTT) media — and that’s something with profound implications for marketers. Cable vs. OTT Over-the-Top is a term to describe the process by which content is streamed directly to consumers over the Internet by media services. Much like cable technology revolutionized broadcast media by greatly expanding the viewing choices available to consumers, OTT media has transformed modern viewing habits. Instead of the need for a conventional cable or satellite over the top box, OTT media streams directly to the viewer, bypassing television and telecommunication platforms that have historically acted as distributors of video content. Today’s most popular forms of OTT media include subscription-based services such as Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Video. In addition to offering content created by TV networks and film studios, these OTT platforms also create significant amounts of original material, making them full-fledged competitors to traditional content creators and distributors. Why OTT media is critical for today’s marketers and advertisers This profound change in viewing habits, content creation, and distribution models hasn’t gone unnoticed by marketers and advertisers. Today, eight-in-ten U.S. homes have an OTT subscription, according to a PwC study, while emerging markets are embracing OTT at an even faster rate. Additionally, Ericsson projects that 75% of all mobile traffic will be dedicated to video streaming by 2023. OTT media is particularly popular with younger people, who subscribe to OTT services at even higher rates than the general public. As society grows younger and more tech-oriented, marketers are changing their media buying habits and designing campaigns optimized for OTT. In years past, marketers were hamstrung by single screens and a limited pool of content. Today, content is available on multiple devices and programming options have never been greater. OTT media platforms have led the way in using data analytics to accurately gauge what their viewers are interested in seeing. This has resulted in a proliferation of new films and series that are focused on niche audiences who have been historically underrepresented on broadcast networks and cable. Because this content is targeted and deeply relevant, viewers tend to be hyper-engaged — music to the ears of marketers and advertisers. The OTT model also allows for more control of how and where ad content is displayed, and how ROI is tracked — all key considerations for a multi-platform campaign. How multi-platform campaigns can derive maximum benefits from OTT media Recently there have been studies undertaken to gauge the effectiveness of multi-platform OTT advertising. The results are compelling: According to a joint study by market research firm Kantar Millward Brown and Hulu, OTT significantly outperformed in terms of ad performance. In cross-platform testing, OTT and mobile were the most successful in terms of reaching key ad objectives. Overall, among PC, mobile and OTT distribution, OTT ranked highest in aided awareness and brand favorability, while mobile ranked highest in purchase intent. OTT also plays an important role in preventing potential ad fatigue generated by a multi-platform campaign with high ad frequency. The aforementioned study showed little to no decline in an ad’s effectiveness even after up to nine OTT media exposures. Ultimately, the case for greater OTT focus in a multi-platform campaign comes down to a few key factors. First, advertisers need to reach people where they are — and OTT media is quickly becoming the default mode of content consumption, as traditional TV providers are losing millions of subscribers each year. Second, the tools available to create OTT strategies and measure their effectiveness are becoming ever more refined. Today, marketers can identify campaign targets via demographic segments across multiple platforms. The ROI from ad campaigns can be quantified by the use of measurement tools that show how OTT ads perform relative to other platforms. Taken together, all of this information helps marketers reach an informed understanding about how to optimize their campaigns and allocate their advertising spend. BIGEYE and OTT At BIGEYE, we’re proud to be a technology-forward marketing agency. We have the expertise and the tools to help you create the kind of compelling multi-platform campaigns that generate real, measurable results. We believe that OTT media is going to be an essential part of successful campaigns moving forward — and we encourage you to look for the next in our series of articles about getting the most from OTT strategies. Contact our media buying experts today to incorporate OTT media into your next campaign!
Optimizing Your Website Experience for Conversions
A client I once worked with offered a series of language classes for a relatively low rate, yet the business had an extremely low conversion rate relative to the number of people who visited the site. This was one of the most affordable language programs in town, but conversion rates were at a dismal 4%. He came to me for help in pinpointing why so many people who visited the site would leave before “converting” or in layman’s terms “purchasing classes.” When I audited his website, I discovered that there were no fewer than seven steps in the conversion process. And, that didn’t count the third-party payment system in place, which had a defective user experience as well. Since the language classes were a primary source of revenue, I suggested simplifying the checkout process. By making it super simple to go from the homepage to the checkout page, visitors would be more likely to do just that. Online conversion marketing describes the process of converting site visitors or browsers into paying customers. While a business can’t force a person to spend money with their business, they can do things to help reduce friction in the purchasing process, which often leads to greater sales. For the client, I suggested his business start by placing a clear call to action on the home page. “Learn More” offers a clear direction that anyone can understand. We integrated this call to action module to a prominent spot the home page, where visitors from any device could see it. However, we didn’t stop there. Using several different tools, we tested different layouts to determine the placement of the call to action to get the most clicks. We discovered that when it was just below the central image on the page, this drew the most attention for the audience. We even experimented with colors, ultimately finding that blue had the greatest impact on getting people to click the “Learn More” button. Then, instead of providing page after clickable page of information on the class options, we opted to include relevant information (and ONLY relevant information), as well as a “Sign Up Now” button on the second page. No longer would it require seven clicks to move a person from the home page to the checkout screen. Now, the user would be able to get there in two clicks. With the advice of the team at our Orlando marketing agency and a little bit of website redesign, conversion rates went up 40% in a matter of weeks. This added significant revenue to the company’s bottom line, all with minimal investment. If your business’s conversion rates are under 100%, then there’s always room for improvement. Try looking for areas of friction on your website, and work closely with a user experience designer who can help optimize your website for conversions. And, if you’re still stuck, reach out to the team at our Orlando marketing agency, who can help you learn to optimize your webpage for success.
Marketing Tools Our BIGEYE Teams Gives Thanks For
Happy Thanksgiving! In a world growing more complex on a daily basis, the team at BIGEYE gives thanks for a few marketing tools that help make our lives easier–and give us more time to spend the holidays with our families. Google Analytics: Google Analytics is an all-around excellent tool. It offers numerous ways to allow people to monitor their websites, such as allowing them to measure bounce rates, time spent on particular pages, and website behaviors as a person navigates the page.[quote]For ecommerce companies, the tool also allows people to measure conversions and the amount each purchaser spends.[/quote] It even allows the user to set goals and manage the actuals against those goals. Facebook Page Insights: At the most basic levels, Facebook Page Insights for brands allow users to track page views and engagement with posts. It allows page administrators to measure page likes, total reach, post clicks and engagement. It also allows quick links to help promote big posts, and to easily create and manage Facebook ads. Optimizely: Though more of a user experience tool, Optimizely is a great resource for digital marketers working alongside their product teams. It offers easy website optimization to help marketers determine whether their website home pages are easy to navigate. Using A/B tests, it helps determine whether different layouts might be more helpful to your business. MailChimp: MailChimp is a leading tool for email marketing. It helps businesses of any size keep track of their email marketing strategies by allowing companies that use it to track email open rates, click rates and subscriber numbers. Therefore, it allows marketers to implement testing strategies to help optimize their emails, and allows them to consider both the frequency of the emails and the content therein. Alexa: As a free tool, Alexa helps marketers keep tabs on their competition. It helps marketers determine who their competitors are, and what those sites’ traffic and activity looks like. And, all it takes it knowledge of a competitors’ website; it helps determine global rank, rank within the U.S. and where people are finding the site. This can help marketers figure out what working–and what’s not. SocialMention: SocialMention easily allows people to conduct social listening, allowing them to pull from a multitude of sources to figure out what people are saying about a given product or trend. Using just a keyword, it can help users learn what people are saying about the given keyword, pulling from sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and Ask Jeeves. BrandWatch: SocialMention is a great tool for figuring out what people are saying about a given keyword, but BrandWatch is a great tool for learning how social media users are talking about brands. While there may be some overlap between the two services, BrandWatch is much more involved, offering visual interpretations of data and helping brands figure out larger patterns. Without these types of tools, our jobs as marketers would be much more difficult and far less efficient. The team at our Florida ad agency gives thanks for these uber-helpful marketing tools, all of which continually help us produce the best marketing strategies for brands of any size. In search of more info? Contact us today for a consultation – after you’ve enjoyed your turkey and all the trimmings!
It’s not so black and white: New insights about Black Friday
Years ago, Black Friday marked the day when stores would stop operating at a loss for the year, and would enter “the black” in terms of the year’s sales. Merchants and their employees would leak deals to consumers to lure them into stores with special offers. This was all done in an effort to clear inventory in preparation for holiday sales, where the companies made a high percentage of their sales for the year while people spent money in anticipation of the holidays. But Black Friday doesn’t operate like that anymore. These days, Black Friday is more of a kickoff signal for shoppers to begin a month-long holiday spending spree. Deals that used to only last during the 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. regular brick-and-mortar store hours have moved online, and may last through the weekend and into the following week, with an event called Cyber Monday. (The original theory there is that while people had off on Black Friday after Thanksgiving and could visit the stores in person, Cyber Monday served to capitalize on peoples’ Monday morning shopping habits when they returned to work and were sitting in front of their computers). Today, Black Friday is more of a ritual to get people into a spending mindset. And spend, they do… Black Friday weekend in 2012 racked up $52.4 billion for merchants across the country. If your company is planning to take part in Black Friday, then our Florida Advertising Agency has some ideas to help you make the most of it. First, all businesses should know that it is typically cheaper and more cost-effective to run an online campaign than a print one. Companies must plan print campaigns months in advance, and must pay for advertising space in their local publications. On the other hand, these companies can build online campaigns in mere hours with no printing fees, and such campaigns have the capacity to reach far more people. If you do opt to run an online campaign over Black Friday weekend, it’s also important to know what you’re up against. You are in competition against a large number of massive Internet retailers (think Amazon, for starters), many of whom attract buyers through free shipping. But as we all know, the Internet is a big place, and is big enough for all types of commerce. Address this by developing a creative and attention-getting marketing strategy. If you need some ideas, don’t hesitate to contact our Florida marketing agency so that we can help you get your gears turning. Finally, if you want to make the most of Black Friday, you don’t need to put all your eggs in one basket. Continuing to run sales through the holiday season will help you clear your inventory and drive sales throughout the New Year. A mix of online and in-person discounts will help drive a diverse group of people to your store both online and in-person. Black Friday can be a big moneymaker for your business. It provides a platform for innovative marketing opportunities at both your retail location and at your store. As the BIGEYE team gears up for another Black Friday to help drive commerce throughout the United States, we wish you the best of luck with sales. And of course, happy shopping! See how we can revolutionize your digital marketing strategy.
