Streaming Service Ads: What Marketers Need to Get Started

Dec 11, 2023
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Looking to tap into the world of streaming service ads? This guide provides valuable insights to help you reach your target audience on popular platforms.

How FAST streaming works and why it has grown to become a viable alternative to streaming

Streaming TV has quickly risen to become the dominant form of TV consumption, revolutionizing the way over 80% of U.S. households watch and engage with content. With the rise of streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video, viewers now have greater control and flexibility over their entertainment choices, leading to a transformation in the advertising landscape. Discover how streaming service ads are a cost-effective way to speak directly to your target audience.

Want to learn more? Check out "Streaming Video Advertising: A Complete Marketer's Guide."

Benefits of Streaming Service Ads

Streaming service ads offer a multitude of benefits over traditional TV advertising. One of the key advantages is programmatic targeting, which allows marketers to customize their audience with precision. With access to data concerning user preferences, viewing habits, and demographics, advertisers can create targeted campaigns that reach the right viewers at the right time. This level of granularity ensures that advertisers can connect with their desired target audience in a more personalized and impactful way.

Another advantage is the digital nature of streaming TV, which provides access to valuable data for measurement and attribution. Advertisers can access detailed analytics and insights to understand the effectiveness of their campaigns, including metrics such as reach, engagement, and conversion rates. This data-driven approach allows for continuous optimization, ensuring that marketing dollars are spent efficiently and effectively.

Additionally, streaming TV advertising provides the opportunity for full-funnel retargeting. By reaching viewers at different stages of the customer journey, advertisers can deliver tailored messages that guide consumers through the entire conversion process. This not only increases the chances of conversion but also enhances brand recall and customer loyalty.

Further, streaming TV advertising is cost-effective for businesses of all sizes. Previously, advertising on TV was often limited to large companies with substantial budgets. However, streaming services provide a more affordable alternative, allowing smaller brands to compete and reach relevant audiences. With a variety of streaming platforms and ad-supported content options, businesses can choose advertising opportunities that align with their marketing strategies and objectives.

With these advantages, advertisers can optimize their campaigns, reach the right audience, and achieve their marketing goals more efficiently.

Best Practices for Streaming Service Ads

When it comes to advertising on streaming TV, several best practices can help businesses maximize their impact and reach their target audience effectively. By following these practices, advertisers can ensure their streaming commercials are strategically designed and executed to achieve their marketing goals. 

Targeting the Right Audience

To achieve successful results, it's crucial for advertisers to target the right audience on streaming TV platforms. By leveraging the vast amount of data available, businesses can identify and reach their desired demographic, geographic, and behavioral segments. This allows for precise targeting and ensures that ads are shown to the most relevant viewers, increasing the chances of conversion and maximizing the return on ad spend.

Customizing Ad Creative for Streaming TV

Streaming TV ads provide an opportunity to create and deliver highly engaging and interactive content. Advertisers should take advantage of this and tailor their ad creative specifically for the streaming TV platform they’re advertising on. By creating visually appealing and captivating ads, businesses can capture viewers' attention, effectively communicate their brand message, and generate better engagement.

  • Establish a Consistent Storyline: A clear and consistent storyline is essential for keeping viewers engaged. Start by introducing relatable characters or situations that resonate with your target audience. Develop a plot that unfolds gradually, building anticipation and curiosity.
  • Create Emotional Appeal: Use storytelling techniques to evoke emotions and make the audience feel something. Whether it's humor, nostalgia, or empathy, emotions can help viewers connect with the ad on a deeper level. This emotional connection will increase the likelihood of them remembering the brand and taking action.
  • Include a Direct Call to Action (CTA): While storytelling is important, it's crucial to have a clear and direct call to action. Tell viewers what you want them to do next, whether it's visiting a website, making a purchase, or signing up for a newsletter. Make it easy for them to take that next step by including a clickable link or providing clear instructions.
  • Keep it Short and Sweet: Attention spans on streaming TV are short, so it's important to keep ads no longer than 30 seconds. This time constraint forces advertisers to distill their message and focus on the most essential elements of the story. A concise and impactful ad is more likely to grab attention and hold the viewer's interest.

Utilizing Advanced Measurement and Analytics

Streaming ads offer advanced measurement and analytics capabilities, allowing businesses to track and analyze the performance of their ad campaigns in real-time. Advertisers should leverage these insights to gain a deeper understanding of their audience's behavior and preferences, optimize their campaigns accordingly, and make data-driven decisions to maximize their advertising efforts.

Unlike traditional commercials that reach a broad audience, streaming platforms allow advertisers to segment their content and target specific demographics or interest groups. This level of targeting ensures that the right message reaches the right people at the right time, increasing the effectiveness of the advertisement.

Incorporating Cross-Channel Strategy

To achieve a holistic marketing approach, businesses should integrate their streaming TV ads with other digital channels. By incorporating a cross-channel strategy, advertisers can enhance brand visibility, reach a broader audience, and reinforce their brand message across different platforms. This ensures a seamless and consistent brand experience for viewers, increasing brand recall and driving better results.

By following these best practices, businesses can capitalize on the opportunities provided by streaming TV advertising and effectively reach their target audience with impactful and engaging ad campaigns.

Make tvScientific Your CTV Partner 

tvScientific was co-founded by senior executives with deep roots in search, programmatic advertising, digital media, and ad verification. We think scientifically, and our results are driven by a belief in one, simple formula: Trust = Data x Transparency x Control.

With powerful attribution capabilities, real-time reporting, automated optimization, and built-in, always-on testing, we believe that tvScientific provides the most robust, transparent, tailored CTV advertising platform. Once you see it for yourself, we know you will too. Request a demo today.