What is streaming advertising?

Streaming advertising is the process of advertising a product via a video or music streaming site. These streaming sites include Hulu, Spotify, Amazon Prime Video, as well as many others. Depending on the duration of the media being consumed, users could see up to five ad breaks in one sitting. These ad breaks could span from fifteen seconds to ninety seconds, and they cover a wide variety of products and services. In one twenty-minute episode of television, you could see an ad for a heart medication as well as an ad for a new model of car. Streaming advertising is an innovative way to promote your product or service directly to your targeted audience. At Root and Roam Integrated Marketing Agency, we pride ourselves on our ability to advertise your company via the strategic process of streaming advertisement.

As mentioned above, a myriad of streaming services offer advertisements. From streaming music to streaming films, you will likely experience multiple breaks for endorsements. Overall, it is likely that any free streaming services will have ad breaks.These streaming sites will display advertisements to their viewers to make up for a loss in subscription revenue. However, most of these sites will have a paid subscription option that eliminates advertisements from their streaming experience entirely. If a user chooses to not pay for a subscription, then they will be subjected to advertisements to account for the discrepancy in revenue. Services that offer these types of paid ad-free subscriptions include Hulu and Spotify. In the case of Spotify, they title this subscription, Spotify Premium.

Specifically, Hulu offers a wide variety of different streaming plans. Their cheapest plan includes ads, while a secondary more expensive plan excludes them. The cost discrepancy between these two differing plans is about $7.00 a month. One might assume that advertisements are the largest source of revenue for streaming sites. However, this assumption is incorrect, as Hulu receives 54% of its total revenue from subscriptions.

Streaming advertisements offer more features than any other form of advertisement on the market. These features make streaming advertisement more methodical and user specific compared to cable advertisements. This form of advertisement is not only most agreeable for the product user but the company as well. By choosing to promote your products or services via streaming, you make your own advertising experience direct and efficient.

Some services offered with streaming advertising include:

Direct Product Placement pertains to the ability to include a direct link to your product within the ad. This can either be an embedded link or a quick response code (QR) within the advertisement. This direct product placement allows for the viewer to quickly act once they have seen your ad.

Audience Specification is the process of specifying whom you would like to see your product advertisements. When you begin to set up your advertisement, you will likely come to a screen asking for the demographic you are trying to target. During this step, you can specify the age range and the location of the people that you wish to view your ad. On some streaming sites, you have the option to choose which genre of media that your advertisement will interrupt. This simple step can create staggering levels of product engagement that are unmatched in other forms of advertisement.

Various Forms of Media are also a huge benefit to using streaming advertisements. Instead of following the same style as every other company seeking advertisement, you have the ability to try new things. As a company, you could choose to follow the standard fifteen second video ad, or you could try something new. Instead of doing a video you could do a slideshow-style advertisement. The sky’s the limit on streaming advertisement.

Within the past decade, cable television viewership has plunged from 76% to 56%. This plummet is almost entirely due to the creation of streaming sites. Streaming sites are beginning to take over as about 78% of American households pay for at least one streaming site, if not more. Logistically, the world of media consumption is turning to streaming rather than cable television, and advertisements are as well. Studies have shown that 34% of cable viewers watch commercials. However, of that percentage, 28% watch them on mute. Streaming is beginning to take over, thus streaming advertisements will officially become the new television commercial. 

Furthermore, streaming sites offer an immediate path directly to the customers that you wish to target. Not only have streaming advertisements been proven to have up to 96% view rates, but they have also promoted brand perception. Streaming sites can use data from the shows users have streamed, their location, as well as their age to present them with ads that best fit their preferences. Meaning your product will only be shown to the demographic of people who are most likely to need or want your goods or services. This algorithm allows for a streamlined process rather than advertising via cable television which is completely at random.

Streaming advertisements have quickly become one of the most efficient forms of product promotion out there. Not only does this system have higher viewership, but it has also manufactured results. Root and Roam Integrated Marketing Agency has experience in this form of advertisement and would like to help your company find success. From ideation to script writing, graphic creation to filming, if you would like to begin the process of advertisement expansion, please feel free to contact us!