The advertising industry is constantly evolving by adapting newer and better ways to market a product or a service. OTT, CTV, and traditional TV advertising may leave one confused, questioning their origin and need. 

However, these are newer forms of advertising that are slightly different from the traditional practices of only advertising on TV. 

Let us look at what these terms stand for and the benefits of OTT advertising, especially for the healthcare industry.

What is OTT/CTV Advertising?

OTT and CTV are acronyms that stand for Over-the-top and Connected TV advertising. These are forms of advertising that are distinguished based on their mode of transmission. These terms are often used interchangeably since both OTT and CTV are alternative forms of advertising that differ from conventional TV advertising.

The primary difference between OTT and CTV is that OTT is content delivered using the internet, whereas CTV is broadcasted via cable or satellite TV subscriptions. Initially, OTT was only available on desktop and mobile devices, but when posting using CTV tools such as chrome cast, Amazon fire stick, and Smart TV, OTT advertisement can be streamed on TV screens.

The content for CTV/OTT advertisements is provided by streaming services such as Hulu or Netflix. Some of these streaming platforms provide premium commercial-free services, whereas others rely solely on advertisement to generate revenue. As a viewer, there is not much difference between traditional TV advertising and OTT or CTV advertisements. 

Online streaming services using commercials when the content is being streamed provides a unique opportunity to healthcare marketers. This can offer new opportunities for healthcare advertisers to market their services and products more engagingly and ensure viewer engagement promoting brand awareness.

The difference between OTT, CTV, and Traditional TV Advertising

Connect TV or CTV refers to any device connected to the internet and has access to forms of media that are otherwise unavailable on traditional cable television. CTV advertisements have targeted niche audiences. 

Devices such as Smart TV, Apple TV are prime examples of CTV tools used to stream content with advertisements. OTT TV has come a long way from delivering content online to streaming on many streaming platforms that provide content ranging from episode content to how-to tutorial videos, which can help healthcare providers showcase their services engagingly and fruitfully.

OTT/CTV enables healthcare advertisers to target niches and audience groups based on their IP surfing on their websites and other valuable data. OTT or CTV advertising targets people by analyzing factual data, whereas traditional media marketing relies on guesswork and assumptions about the viewership based on the time, location, and program offered by the cable provider.

IP-based device mapping and data from other referral devices used in the same household can analyze data for CTV/OTT advertising. The opportunity provided during the online advertising can target audiences based on age, gender, and demographics. Traditional media marketing based on the location and time of viewership is still doable with CTV and OTT advertising.

While the commercials aren’t skippable on CTV or OTT advertising, but since viewers have selected the shows they wish to stream, it makes them less likely to want to skip commercials in the first place. The viewers accept the commercials and streaming content as a complete package making them more willing to watch the commercials resulting in increased brand awareness.

Why Choose CTV/OTT over TV Advertising?

CTV/OTT: The Future of Advertising

The post-pandemic world has witnessed a significant shift in the mode of advertising and viewership, which needs to be included in your health system’s marketing strategy to reach a mass audience.

More and more people are subscribing to streaming platforms from traditional TV viewing. This presents a unique opportunity to the healthcare industry enabling them to reach a vast audience. This shift has resulted since people are constantly traveling and they want entertainment on the go. 

OTT content is streamed on mobile devices, tablets, and laptops due to its convenient nature. When consumers are home, they prefer to switch to Smart TV and stream their favorite shows instead of watching cable TV. Smart TV uses the internet and, with the help of streaming apps, showcases your favorite content.

Watching content on OTT is a choice that one makes, unlike passive viewership of whatever is being broadcasted on cable TV. This enables healthcare marketers to get their message in front of people who have actively decided to stream content. 

OTT advertisements are non-skippable, and since streaming viewers would instead not switch apps, they stick around and watch your commercials to resume watching their shows. This creates brand awareness and recognition for your health care system. Traditional TV can be channel surfed with the advertisements losing their impact; OTT eliminates this problem and doesn’t require annoyingly repetitive advertising.

Flexible Viewership and Targeted Audience

With CTV data being measurable, you can be sure that your money is going towards gaining valuable and targeted viewers, be it an anti-smoking campaign or an educational advertisement about getting kids vaccinated.

CTV and OTT data are available as a digital and traditional metric, including video completion rates, traffic on your streaming site, and recording the entire customer journey from first seeing the advertisement to making the final purchase.