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OTT Media
Buying Strategy
Guide
Kochava Guides for Marketers
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Introduction
Over-the-top (OTT) advertising is more popular than ever before. With new streaming services
appearing regularly, advertising opportunities have grown considerably. As an advertiser, there are
options when it comes to OTT media buying. In this guide, we help clarify what OTT advertising is
and the dierent types of media buying methods. Additionally, we will explain what method will be
the most eective in your marketing strategy.
Platforms and Devices for Consuming OTT Content
The term OTT refers to television and film content streamed “over the top” of the internet, rather
than through traditional broadcast, cable, or satellite mediums. Viewers can consume OTT via:
• Connected TV (CTV) devices that are directly connected to the internet (eg, smart TVs)
• Devices that can be plugged into a TV to stream OTT (eg, Amazon Fire, Roku, and
Chromecast sticks, Apple TV, PlayStation and Xbox gaming consoles, etc.)
• And non-CTV devices like smartphones, tablets, and computers
All of these devices and platforms come together to create an expansive ecosystem of viewing
content for users and advertising space for marketers.
OTT Streaming Services
Devices for Streaming OTT Content
Desktop/Laptops Phones/Tablets
Over the Top (OTT)
Connected TV (CTV)
Smart TVs Streaming Boxes/Sticks Game Consoles
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What is OTT
Advertising?
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TV SHOW
AD
A user streams a TV show over
OTT platform/device.
The ad is served on the TV show to the user
USER SEES THE AD AND CONVERTS
PROGRAMMATIC OTT ADVERTISING
& MEDIA BUYING
DIRECT OTT ADVERTISING
& MEDIA BUYING
The owner of the streaming
service puts the ad impressions
up for auction (SSP)
The advertiser goes directly to the
platform or publisher and buys ad space
through their private exchange
Advertisers bid on impressions (DSP)
The highest bidder wins
the impression
The advertiser and streaming
service decide when and where
to place the ad.
What is OTT Advertising?
OTT advertising allows marketers to directly reach consumers through streaming services and/or
devices. Digital advertising space is bought and sold through an ad exchange between:
• Publishers who sell ad space
• Advertisers who buy ad space
Publishers and advertisers work together to determine where the ad will be placed, when it will
appear, and for how long advertisements will run.
All of these steps happen almost instantly, resulting in billions of ads being bought and sold each
day. Depending on the type of media buying method, ad spots will be filled in real time established
with an automated bidding algorithm or with direct negotiations.
Source: Brayer, Moran. “What Is Programmatic Advertising? How Does It Work?” Outbrain, Outbrain Inc., 3 Feb. 2020, www.outbrain.
com/blog/programmatic-advertising/.
Source: Croxton, Justin. “What Is OTT Advertising…The Ultimate Buyers Guide.” Propellant Media, 22 Jan. 2021, https://propellant.
media/what-is-ott-advertising/.
How does OTT Advertising Work?
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Types of OTT
Advertising
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Types of OTT Advertising
There are three main ways advertisers and publishers exchange advertising space. They
are programmatic, platform direct, and publisher direct. Each method has its benefits and
drawbacks. Understanding what those are will help determine which method best fits your
specific campaign goals.
Source: “Direct vs. Programmatic: A Breakdown of Media Buying.” SocialChimp, 2018, https://www.socialchimp.com/blog/direct-vs-
programmatic-breakdown-media-buying/.
Programmatic OTT Buying
Programmatic buying is the automated, real-time buying and selling of ad space within streaming
platforms or on a specific device. Ad placement can be automated with programmatic bidding
because of direct relationships between inventory exchanges and other OTT advertising platforms.
It is one of the most eective and cost-ecient ways for advertisers to enter the OTT space.
Advertisers can target audiences viewing OTT content across multiple services, platforms, and
devices, whereas with direct buying, the reach will be limited to the specific publisher or platform.
Many programmatic OTT platforms support sequential messaging and impression retargeting.
For example, a video ad could be delivered on a CTV device, and then the same user could be
subsequently retargeted with a mobile display ad featuring a specific call to action. This multi-
channel, cross-device targeting can be highly eective in driving conversions.
PROGRAMMATIC DIRECT
PLATFORM DIRECT PUBLISHER DIRECT
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Pros and Cons of Programmatic Buying
PROS
PROS
CONS
CONS
• Costs less
• Track specific outcomes (installs, purchases),
with real-time data access
• Fast and simple campaign optimization
• Extended reach of ad space
• Straightforward
• More control over inventory
• Not Guaranteed
• Lack of visibility into those outcomes
• Costs more
• No cross-platform advertising
(for platform direct)
• Takes time for campaign optimization
and creation
• More room for human error
Direct OTT Buying
Direct OTT buying is when advertisers work directly with platforms or publishers to purchase ad
space. The price of the ad space is negotiated as well as the placement of the ad, when it will
appear, and the length of the campaign.
Platform direct buying is when advertisers go directly to major platforms such as Roku, Vizio, and
Samsung, and buy inventory through the platform’s own exchange.
While this is a straightforward way to buy ad space, it limits the campaign to that specific platform
and doesn’t allow for cross-platform advertising.
Pros and Cons of Direct Buying
Publisher direct is when advertisers go directly to the publisher platform like Hulu, Sling,
Paramount+, or Crackle.
This allows for more control over ad inventory. However, as with platform direct buying, publisher
direct buying limits the advertiser’s campaign to that specific publisher’s streaming service, even if
the ad may appear across other platforms and devices.
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Choosing your
Strategy
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What OTT buying strategy should I use?
Thankfully, you do not have to choose just one. There are instances where utilizing direct and
programmatic advertising together is advantageous. If you have a defined audience that you want
to target on a specific platform or with a specific publisher while advertising to a wider audience
with less targeted content, employing direct and programmatic buying could be useful. Adopt a
test-and-learn strategy to discover what works best with each approach.
The fixed CPMs and guaranteed delivery often associated with direct OTT buys are attractive.
Further, platforms such as Roku and Vizio and publishers like Hulu, have special partnerships with
Kochava that provide independent campaign measurement to understand the ecacy of ad spend.
Programmatic advertising oers ease of implementation and maintenance. For advertisers who
are new to the OTT space and are unsure what specific platforms or publishers to advertise on,
programmatic OTT oers a great launching pad.
Choosing your Strategy
Check out the Kochava Media Index, the largest database for the online advertising
industry, to find vendors that support CTV.
LOOKING FOR POTENTIAL OTT AD PARTNERS?
PROGRAMMATIC DIRECT
Reach
Extended reach across multiple platforms
and publishers
Reach limited to platform or publisher
Method
Real-time bidding (RTB)
Not guaranteed
Pre-sold
Guaranteed
Entry Cost Lower entry cost Higher entry cost
Pricing model Dynamic cost per mille (CPM) Fixed cost per mille (CPM)
Cross-platform Ads displayed across multiple platforms
Platform-Direct (No)
Publisher-Direct (Yes)
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Conclusion
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Conclusion
The OTT and CTV ecosystem oers advertisers expansive opportunities to drive growth with new
streaming services constantly entering the market.
Various approaches to OTT media buying gives marketers the flexibility to automate and
streamline their advertising or have a more hands-on involvement with their ad placement. Each
option has its benefits and drawbacks; however, it’s not an either-or decision. You can mix and
match your media buying strategy to fit your growth goals.
Once you start running OTT ads, no matter if they are through programmatic or direct methods, it
is important to measure those campaigns. Utilizing a partner like Kochava will help you extract the
most meaning and insights from your OTT marketing campaigns to optimize ad spend and future
campaign strategies.
With Kochava, see where users are engaging with your ads across every device and gain visibility
into installs, trials, subscriptions, views and events all within one dashboard. Viewing the full user
journey is essential in understanding the eectiveness of your campaigns.
Learn more about OTT and CTV with our guide: An Introduction to OTT & CTV.
Have questions? Contact us or email info@kochava.com
