The Unstoppable Rise Of OTT & CTV in Asia
Industry Discussion | Authors: Tasha Kaur, Magnite and Suhail Ahmed, Dentsu
State of play, consumers and broadcasters
Digital consumption pattern has changed how we consume media, especially video content. Over-the-top (OTT) and Connected TV (CTV) devices are two very popular methods of accessing TV/video content.
The future of TV is becoming more digital and data driven. Over the last few years, broadcasters have realized that viewers are simply no longer glued to the traditional platforms, they are switching from analog to digital transmissions and are embracing the OTT space.
With COVID-19, there has been an increase in video viewing across platforms and user behavior is expected to remain unchanged. More than two-thirds (69%) of video viewers in the region watch streaming video at least once a week. OTT has moved from a niche offering into the mainstream, with premium content and low costs primarily driving cord cutting behaviour.
Source: Emarketer
The OTT landscape is fragmented with a mix of global, regional and local players like Netflix and VIU. Particularly in Asia, it is very much subscription led with an ad funded model. Different markets are in different stages of maturity because of challenges with audience verification, viewability and standard measurement.
Individual publishers in key markets are doing really well in integrating scaled audience data. TrueID in Thailand have scaled set top box inventory and direct connections with users, creating a large pool of accurate data that is well scaled (100M users in Thailand).
In Malaysia and Singapore, regional players like Viu, iQiyi, iFlix, WeTV, MeWatch, by their sheer size, are also scaling up their datasets quickly.
OTT users value premium, trusted & imported content. Korean dramas and Japanese serials have caught users’ attention and have made OTT services more sticky. There is a clear value exchange in place, whereby consumers are willing to watch ads in exchange for ad-supported free content. This provides broadcasters with an opportunity to create compelling and interactive content that can appeal to viewers and for brands to target and engage with audiences with new ad formats and new data signals to enhance storytelling.
At the IAB SEA+India Programmatic Council, we recently held a discussion to understand the rise of OTT/CTV buys in Southeast Asia and the challenges and opportunities in the emerging space. Here are some key points from our discussion below
Opportunities for marketers and the best way to plan for OTT / CTV campaigns
OTT / CTV buys are currently planned in silos while in some cases they are a part of the overall video strategy. Efficiency in media planning is key and there is an increasing need to break silos within the organization and agencies to enable data-driven buys and for increased media buying efficiency.
Advertisers need to commit to a TV-plus strategy that embraces all screens. There needs to be a converged campaign strategy that would enable brands to take their upfront and newfront commitments into consideration and then allocate budget accordingly to optimize reach and frequency against their strategic audience target.
OTT power lies in cross-channel reach. Marketers are not using the plethora of data to target within OTT, instead using it purely top-of-funnel to complement TV. Brands need to take a holistic approach to audiences with upper and mid-funnel metrics such as consideration.
Mode of transactions are still largely PMP and PG buys with pre-roll video ads. With SSPs starting to populate content genres, show names and content ratings across all OTT publishers, there is a consistent taxonomy being built out and this is on track to be rolled out on the demand-side by Google next year - a massive help in scaling video content context datasets.
One of OTT’s biggest benefits is allowing users to stream content over multiple devices. APAC being a mobile-first region with 60% mobile market internet share, content streamed on mobile devices provides the perfect opportunity for brands to reach and engage with an individual person utilizing key demographic and 1:1 targeting.
Consumers watching CTV content expect a lean-back TV experience.The recommended duration for CTV video ads which are mostly non-skippable is 15-30 secs.
CTV operates in a shared viewing context – while planning, brands need to look at households as a unit, and also key attributes such as aggregate household, urban & rural.
With plenty of OTT publishers across the region, brands need to consolidate OTT providers within one programmatic platform where possible and focus on the following key levers:
i. Manage frequency caps across inventory by user
ii. Add 1st and 2nd party data to create audience targeting outside of only demo-based
TV targets, aligned with OTT goalSuccess metrics for OTT buys are largely Reach and Frequency. Brands need to adopt a standard measurement framework and leverage audience verification via programmatic platforms.
Way forward
As the cookie world crumbles, marketers are seeking proprietary first party data to target and engage audiences. OTT as an emerging channel, provides a wealth of audience data, from demographic profiling through to interest and viewing habits based on genres and content. It’s imperative for brands to find and work with key broadcaster partners (ie Mediacorp Singapore, Astro Malaysia), to get consistent identifiers pass-back in a privacy-compliant manner for more precise and accurate targeting.
Brands need to take a test and learn an approach towards OTT/CTV buys. The success of emerging channel buys would come from maximising incremental audiences via deduplication of existing linear TV plans through a 3rd party data provider or tool.
With programmatic infrastructure for OTT being built across the ecosystem, there is an opportunity for brands to transact in a sophisticated non-guaranteed way.
