Tapping into streaming TV advertising

Streaming TV is a popular way to view on-demand and live content through dongles and remotes, like the Amazon Fire Stick, and through streaming services, like Hulu or HBO Max.

Streaming TV advertising has a low barrier to entry and a big pay-off: Advertisers can start with as little as 20,000 impressions per month, and in August 2022, Nielsen’s The Gauge reported streaming exceeded cable as the most popular TV form for the first time ever.

Here are five things to consider when tapping into this useful tool.

Audiences stream on a variety of devices, increasing the likelihood your ad will be seen. A smart TV, or internet-enabled TV, connects directly to services and apps. Dongles like Roku and Fire Stick plug right into your TV’s HDMI port, and gaming consoles like Playstation and Xbox connect to TV as well as play the games they’re designed for. Finally, laptops, tablets and phones, the latter of which most people carry all the time, are often used for streaming TV. According to Statista, 72% of consumers aged 18-34 use their phone for streaming.
Streaming TV grows in popularity year-over-year. In 2018, 22% of adults’ TV time was spent on streaming TV versus traditional TV. In 2022, that number had jumped to 41%.
Targeted advertising sets streaming apart from traditional cable. Targeting allows you to focus on only those who give the best chance for conversion. You can choose to target consumers based on gender, age, household income and more, as well as those with specific interests like car buffs or fitness enthusiasts.
You can choose to split your ads between large screen, like smart TVs, and small screen, like cell phones. Focusing only on large screen ads makes for an affordable advertising plan, with 20,000 impressions per month starting around $500. Large screen ads are typically non-skippable, and because streaming TV has feweradvertisers than traditional TV, brand recall is better. Adding in small-screen ads allows your advertising partner to view different data points, therefore allowing them to get a sense of viewerinterest, while also increasing brand awareness and customer engagement.
Consumer interest is in the numbers. Of all users, 4 in 10 will pause content to learn more, and 6 in 10 will conduct online searches while watching a live stream. In a case study for a hotel, which advertised on streaming services with a 60% large screen/40% small screen split, the hotel saw a 15% increase in room bookings following the campaign. More than 250 conversions were recorded through the free conversion URLs set up to track webpage visits on booking links.