What Is OTT Advertising and How Does Its Analytics Work?

24 Feb

What Is OTT Advertising?

OTT (Over-The-Top) advertising refers to video adverts delivered through internet-based streaming platforms rather than traditional cable or satellite television. Popular OTT platforms include YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Netflix (ad-supported tiers), and regional streaming services.

OTT advertising enables brands to reach audiences across smart TVs, mobile devices, tablets, and desktops, combining the impact of television with the precision of digital targeting.

In simple terms, OTT advertising is digital video advertising served via streaming platforms, offering premium inventory and data-driven targeting.

How OTT Advertising Works

OTT ads are delivered through programmatic platforms or direct deals with publishers and streaming services. Advertisers can target users based on demographics, interests, browsing behaviour, viewing habits, location, and device type.

OTT ads usually appear before, during, or after streamed content. Because they are delivered via the internet, advertisers can optimise campaigns in real time based on performance data.

Key Benefits of OTT Advertising

Advanced Audience Targeting

OTT platforms use first-party and third-party data to deliver ads to highly specific audience segments, reducing wasted impressions compared to traditional TV.

Premium Viewing Environment

OTT ads appear alongside high-quality, long-form content, which increases viewer attention and enhances brand perception.

Multi-Device Reach

Brands can reach audiences across connected TVs, smartphones, tablets, and desktops, ensuring consistent messaging across screens.

Lower Media Wastage

Unlike linear TV, OTT allows advertisers to target only relevant audiences, improving cost efficiency and campaign effectiveness.

OTT Advertising Analytics: What You Can Measure

OTT analytics combines traditional TV metrics with digital performance tracking.

Impressions and Reach

Impressions represent the total number of times an ad is served, while reach shows the number of unique viewers exposed to the campaign.

Frequency

Frequency measures how often a user sees an ad. OTT platforms allow frequency capping to prevent overexposure and ad fatigue.

Video Completion Rate (VCR)

VCR shows the percentage of viewers who watched the ad in full. OTT ads typically achieve higher completion rates compared to social media video ads.

Engagement Metrics

Some OTT formats allow clicks, QR code scans, and companion banners, enabling brands to measure direct engagement.

Audience Insights

OTT analytics can provide demographic and behavioural insights, such as age groups, gender, household segments, and viewing patterns.

Attribution and Conversions

Advanced attribution models can link OTT ad exposure to website visits, app installs, and offline conversions using deterministic and probabilistic data matching.

Incremental Reach Measurement

OTT analytics can measure how many additional users were reached beyond traditional TV, helping brands optimise cross-channel media strategies.

Why OTT Analytics Matters for Marketers

OTT analytics allows marketers to move beyond awareness-driven TV campaigns to measurable, data-led video strategies. Brands can track campaign performance, optimise frequency, identify high-performing audiences, and prove ROI.

For sectors such as real estate, automotive, finance, and retail, OTT analytics provides actionable insights into audience behaviour and conversion pathways.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the difference between OTT and CTV?

OTT refers to content delivered over the internet, while CTV (Connected TV) refers specifically to streaming content viewed on smart TVs and connected devices.

2. Is OTT advertising expensive?

OTT CPMs are generally higher than social media but lower than premium linear TV. Costs vary depending on targeting, inventory quality, and market demand.