We have witnessed a massive adaptation of live streaming services. TV viewers have mainly cut the cord with traditional satellite TV connections and are streaming their favorite shows and movies conveniently through other modes.

Ad-supported streaming services are a go-to choice for modern advertisers looking to reach a wide and engaged audience. Gone are the days of those surprising and unpredictable commercial breaks interrupting your favorite shows. Streaming platforms are experimenting with new ways to integrate ads into the content itself. Let us take a closer look at how advertisers are cashing in on the opportunities to advertise their brands on streaming platforms.

Before that, let us have a look at the benefits of in-content advertising on streaming platforms.

Benefits – Advertisers

• Targeted Reach: Contrary to what happens in traditional advertising, in-content ads on streaming platforms come from highly targeted campaigns. As streaming platforms collect huge amounts of user data based on viewer habits, the kind of content they consume, demographics, and so on, advertisers can cash in on the opportunity to deliver ads that are relevant to the audience watching a particular show.
• Enhanced Engagement: As we stated, the ads are highly targeted; in-content ads are creative and more immersive. Sponsored scenes, strategic placements of products, and even dynamic ad insertions can grab the eyeballs of your audience, driving more engagement for your brand.
• Measurable results: Advertisers can track real-time insights and analytics from the streaming platforms. You can track metrics like clicks, impressions, and conversions, so you can measure and gauge the effectiveness of your campaign. The insights help you improve your ads and optimize them as per the preferences of your audience.

Benefits – Viewers

• Less intrusion:  content advertising on streaming platforms is not only beneficial for the advertisers but also for the audience. Viewers always hated those predictable commercials on conventional TV sets. Streaming platforms offered them relief. Your audience no longer has to wait for a barrage of ads, as they might just encounter a seamlessly integrated product placement or a sponsored scene between their shows.
• Enjoy Free Content: In-content ads on streaming platforms generate huge revenues for the platforms, and thus, the audience can enjoy free content. It is best for those viewers who cannot afford the charges of premium subscriptions.

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Let us now look at how advertisers are leveraging in-content ads on streaming platforms.

1. In-scene/product placement

A relatively new technique, in-scene ads are placed when a product is showcased in the content a viewer is consuming. The product is not shown as a commercial ad but within the primary content. Advertisers pay a fair price to the streaming platform to place their product strategically in the scene. At times, the product also plays a role in the plot of the fictional program, and the brand can amplify the same through social media.

2. Dynamic Overlay

Another technique advertisers are using is dynamic overlay. As the future of advertising is poised to tailor attention based on specific customer personas, dynamic overlays can help achieve the objective. Dynamic overlay, aka frame ads, serves as a border around the primary content being shown.

Advertisers use two types of dynamic overlays: first, the ad can wrap around the primary content, something that we usually see while watching a sports match; and second, an interactive frame ad wraps around the primary ad delivery video.

3. Click-to-contact

As you might have guessed from the title, these ads let users explore more about the product or service by clicking on it. Regardless of who is in control of the data—the platform provider or the client—once the user clicks the ad, he automatically enters the marketing funnel, where he might be converted into a customer.

4. In-stream interactions

It is perhaps the most dynamic ad delivery option, and these kinds of ads allow brands to personalize them according to the user’s persona and past behavior. One platform using this type of ad delivery is YouTube. The platform pulls data from the user’s browser or past history and strategically interrupts the content to serve an ad relevant to the user.

The Future of In-Content Advertising on Streaming Platforms

The future of in-content ads seems promising, and they are poised to bring more sophistication to the table. Very soon, viewers will already be interacting with ads directly within the platform, and this feature will see a boost in the near future. With artificial intelligence disrupting the advertising space, advertisers will customize not only according to demographics but also according to the emotions and feelings of the viewers.

That said, in-content advertisements reflect a significant shift in the advertising landscape. It offers advantages for all the stakeholders, but it demands a delicate balance to be successful. Overall, in-content ads on streaming platforms have the potential to become a powerful marketing tool.

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