Marketers don’t need to be convinced about the value of digital marketing.
As a growing brand, you probably know the necessity of developing a social media presence, and that mass advertising on broadcast TV and traditional radio doesn’t reach nearly as many people as it once did.
What you may not understand is why conventional TV spots don’t work anymore, and advertisers are moving elsewhere. It’s not just because social media is more popular—it’s also because those viewers went somewhere else—specifically, to streaming television.
The Great Migration
Viewers have been leaving cable and broadcast television for years —but they haven’t stopped watching. Sixty percent of adults now subscribe to at least one streaming service (e.g., Hulu, Netflix). Deadline reports another 20 percent of viewers “cut the cord” from cable just last year and now derive all their entertainment from streaming services over the Internet.
Our point? Any well-rounded marketing and advertising brand campaign needs to seriously discuss streaming advertising and its potential reach. Let’s take a closer look.
Streaming TV—What It Is and How It Works
Most of us don’t really need “streaming media” defined for us, but for marketing purposes, “streaming TV” encompasses any form of digital distribution of video content, whether it’s television shows, movies, news stories, sporting events, etc. Today, popular streaming platforms include Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Apple TV+, and many others. Many popular content companies are now providing their own streaming platforms (e.g., HBO Max, Showtime, Disney+), which may “piggy-back” on other streaming platforms like Amazon or Hulu for an added fee. Even YouTube qualifies as streaming TV by these definitions. Another umbrella term for streaming content is Video-on-Demand (VOD) because, with the exception of live-streamed content, most content is available at any time of day or night—whenever the viewer wants it.
Perhaps more significant from a marketing standpoint is not what is classified as streaming TV, but how it is paid for. Many viewers pay a monthly subscription to these services for commercial-free viewing (known as Subscription Video-on-Demand, or SVOD). However, many platforms like YouTube and Hulu offer free or very low-cost versions of their services by selling ad space. And some, like PlutoTV and IMDb MTV, only offer a free version with ads. We refer to these as Advertising Video-on-Demand or AVOD).
Maybe you’re starting to see the advertising potential here. Just as strategically-placed ads can reach many thousands of people on social platforms, now creating ads for AVOD platforms can deliver your branding message to a massive number of viewers who have left conventional television behind. By having your marketing agency do deep dive into research on the demographics and interests of viewers who watch specific shows, you can target your consumer advertising much more effectively than was ever possible with broadcast TV.
Los Angeles-based Marketing and Advertising Agency Wicked Bionic has owners with over 40 years of experience in entertainment and television. We can help integrate AVOD advertising into your broader marketing and branding campaign. Reach out to us for a consultation.
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About the Author
Dana C. Arnett, Founder and CEO of Wicked Bionic, spent 30 years in the entertainment business before starting the agency in 2015. The Los Angeles-based multicultural communications and advertising agency works with government and private-sector clients on strategic marketing and engaging media campaigns. Dana has always loved learning from other cultures, and that curiosity became the foundation for how Wicked Bionic approaches culturally responsive marketing – building authentic connections between organizations and the communities they serve.
