OTT Advertising: Reaching Cannabis Consumers Where TV Can’t Go
The key to finding success in advertising is utilizing a marketing strategy that works. For cannabis, that’s OTT advertising.
Why?
Because OTT allows you to reach a highly targeted audience – and it’s easy to remain within its regulation constraints.
What is OTT Advertising?
Over-the-top advertising, also known as OTT, is the ad content that you see on streaming services before, during, or after the program you’re watching on the platform. Basically, OTT ads are commercials that bypass traditional TV networks (and their strict rules).
OTT ads do what TV ads can’t, which is break down geographical barriers and give you access to all sorts of devices, from smartphones to smart TVs and much more (Note: you may hear OTT and CTV used in reference to streaming video ads — CTV refers to Connected TVs, which is any TV screen where OTT ads play).
Another great thing about OTT advertising is the fact that it can be interactive, which fosters engagement and offers a personalized quality to the ad that TV ads just can’t accomplish. OTT ads are skippable on some platforms (after 5-10 seconds), which means that consumers control the ad content they consume. This, along with the personalized ad experience, makes viewing advertisements much more enjoyable.
Choosing Your Audience
Traditional TV advertising is like casting a wide net and hoping you get a good catch. When you advertise on TV, you select a timeframe for your ad to air and hope that the right viewers are watching. With OTT, you’re working with much more pinpointed targeting and sending your message directly to the people who you want to hear it.
Streaming services already have the data ready for you to utilize. They understand the demographics of their viewers, along with their viewing habits, time of day they watch, their interests, their location, and much more – and that’s all information that you can use to your advantage.
Enjoying More Freedom
We don’t need to tell you how many restrictions there are for cannabis businesses in the advertising space. That’s a struggle you likely know very well.
That’s why a lot of cannabis businesses are switching to OTT for advertising. This method comes with much more freedom and significantly fewer restrictions, as what each platform asks for compliance is a lot less than what traditional TV asks for.
And what do fewer restrictions mean? More creativity! And ads that are more creative attract not only the numbers when it comes to your audience, but these types of ads attract high quality leads that will turn into loyal customers who are genuinely interested in your brand and what it has to say. Showcase your personality and you’ll garner customers who value it!
Analyzing The Data
To make your ad campaigns the best they can be, you need to understand what worked and what didn’t. OTT lets you do exactly that by offering detailed analytical tools that offer insight into metrics like engagement, viewership, and conversions.
With information like that (which isn’t often provided by other advertising mediums), you can make decisions driven by actual data on where to direct your campaigns next.
Your Cannabis Business And OTT
If you’re ready to enjoy being able to target your audience on a detailed level, fewer restrictions, more creativity, and detailed data, then your cannabis business is ready to utilize OTT advertising. Let Cannabis Digital Solutions help you get started! Reach out today and we’ll help you create a plan perfect for OTT.
