Table of Contents
Overview
OTT refers to services that distribute television and media content via the internet as standalone products, separate from traditional cable companies. Similarly, Connected TV (CTV) is a way to distribute content via the internet but is delivered either natively on a TV (i.e. smart TV) or an external device (i.e. Roku, Chromecast, etc.). Many OTT services are available to use on CTV, such as streaming a show from Hulu on a Chromecast.
Both OTT and CTV are expanding spaces for programmatic advertising that present new opportunities to reach a uniquely targeted audience. Please let your Customer Success Manager know if you are interested in accessing this inventory.
How it Works
Specific best practices and recommendations are listed below.
Device Type (include): Connected TV, Set Top Box, Media Player
Placement Type (include): Video
Inventory (include): Deal ID
| Do... | Don't... | |
Targeting | ...buy OTT placements through a private deal ID ...add OTT to pre-targeting configuration and create separate line items targeting connected TV and game consoles via DeviceType, Brand, Model ...target pre-roll and mid-roll content via the “Playback Method” field | ...use pre-existing targeting line items used for other targeting (mobile, tablet, etc.) ...target above the fold or post-roll ...use 3P Viewability vendors--they don’t work with CTV |
| Audience Targeting | ...there is limited 1st and 3rd party data available in OTT, so expect limited scale if choosing to use it. IP Address based audiences are the most viable approach. | ...use user ID based audience targeting as they are not generally supported on OTT |
| Context | ...if using a custom bidding agent, use the publisher content and context information passed in bid request | ...use most contextual targeting. Signals such as content attributes, app name, app ID, full episode player, etc. have little or no coverage at all |
| Performance | ...use relevant KPIs to optimize towards, such as completion rate, CPCV | ...optimize towards irrelevant KPIs such as CTR, CPC, etc. |
| Format | ...use VAST and high quality MP4 | ...use VPAID, MRAID, FLV, WEBM these are not accepted on CTVs |
| Creative | ...use creative up to 30s non-skippable | ...use creative >30s or skippable ads ...declare a Video API in Buzz. The majority of CTV requests do not carry a Video API as they only support basic VAST. |
| Frequency Capping | ...use IP Fallback Frequency Capping to ensure maximum coverage for frequency capping | N/A |
| Brand Safety | N/A | ...use 3P brand safety solutions, as most will not work in CTV due to lack of data |