Make use of alternative UA channels by utilizing mobile OEMS such as OPPO, OnePlus and realme
OTT or Over-The-Top, the means of providing television and film content over the internet addressing the requirements of an individual consumer is no longer an alien term for the urban layman in India. As per the Eros Now-KPMG report, an OTT viewer in India consumes 70 minutes of content per day on video streaming platforms, with a consumption frequency of 12.5 times a week. Additionally, 80% of TV viewers, especially millennials, now meet their entertainment needs from OTT platforms. Even PWC forecasted that India’s OTT video market will grow at a CAGR of 21.8% and reach Rs 11,976 crore in 2023. As of today, over 40 players in India offer original content across languages and this ever consistently expanding OTT industry is slated to have an audience of 50 million subscribers by the end of 2023.
India witnesses an upward journey
With rapid adoption and further evolution of internet infrastructure, OTT platforms have managed to directly engage with consumers without traditional barriers of distribution or media networks. Moreover, consumers unlike ever before, now have access to low cost internet data plans along with affordable smartphones and smart TVs. The onset of the global pandemic also amplified the acceptance, popularity and viewership of OTT video content in India, helping them overcome boredom. Consumers latched on to the options of streaming ad-free services at a low cost and downloading videos in multiple languages to watch offline on their devices; in many cases across multiple devices in a seamless viewing manner.
India- a hotbed of competition
Disney Hotstar (4.29 crore subscribers) and Amazon Prime Video (2.1 crore subscribers) continue to dominate the OTT arena as of August 2022. Infact Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+ Hotstar made a total of INR 31.55 Bn as investment in India in 2021-22. However, aggregated OTT services with players like TATA Play Binge offering one stop access to multiple apps including Disney+ Hotstar, MX Player, Voot, Zee5, and SonyLIV are also growing at a remarkable pace.
Players like Reliance Jio who recently confirmed that it would be streaming the entire season of IPL 2023 in 4k resolution free of cost for its Jio Cinema customers will further change the dynamics of the OTT ecosystem in India. After all, this will break Disney+Hotstar’s long standing IPL monopoly as Jio customers (who have the Jio Cinema app on their phones as default setup) will be able to watch IPL matches without paying for the Disney+ Hotstar subscription.
Advantage OEMs
Major Android mobile OEMs, such as Samsung, Huawei, Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo, with their own app stores offer users a new channel to discover and download apps. These app stores are pre-installed and placed on top of the Google Play Store on all new Android smartphones and cover nearly 90% of the total Android market share in India. Mobile OEM inventory is increasing rapidly, with a year-over-year growth of 3.8%, and shipments are expected to reach 1.43 billion by the end of 2022. Viacom18 Media Pvt., the joint venture between Paramount Global and Mukesh Ambani’s conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd., expect an audience in excess of 550 million to watch the weeks-long IPL games this year, free of cost- a development which has a strong potential to further place OEMs at a strong pedestal as its users could download the JioCinema app from any OEM smartphone using varied networks.
So why Mobile OEMs?
They offer a fully fraud-free user-acquisition ecosystem and a safe alternative to the overcrowded GAFA (Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon) app stores. Companies such as Xiaomi, Huawei, Vivo and Oppo are directly distributing applications to their customers via their own dedicated stores. OTT marketers are now able to grow on a global scale by reaching new audiences and accessing new markets- helping them achieve their growth goals.
By offering access to untapped markets at a better pricing, marketers can now reach their acquisition targets by offering a flexible CPI (Cost Per Install) pricing model, whereas third party ad networks such as Google and Facebook have rigid pricing structures which cannibalize app developers from leveraging ad inventories to grow and scale further.
Last but certainly not the least, Mobile OEMs are empowering OTT marketers to build trust with their audience amidst rising competition. Users who are brand-loyal to the OEM tend to view ads as more trustworthy and relatable.
OTT advertisers unlock the full potential of Mobile OEMs to acquire customers
Discerning audience is perpetually on a look out for fresh interesting content to watch and are open to subscribing to new OTT platforms in this quest. Through mobile OEMs, OTT marketers can intercept potential customers at strategic touch points throughout their mobile journey and drive conversions, making their user acquisition (UA) strategy more user-driven and meaningful.
One of the ways is to showcase any newly released premium OTT content including movies and sports through display advertising using screen grabs helping consumers easily navigate to their favorite and popular websites.
Connecting the right message to its apt audience and at the right time is equally paramount and this is where native ads such as push notifications come into play. They can be effectively used to promote new show launches or release of a new season of popular web series creatively to drive more subscriptions.
Additionally, to optimize the performance of UA campaigns, advertisers can consider tapping into alternative app stores and display their content with splash interstitial ads or featured banners. A case in point is that of Amazon Prime Video which leveraged exclusive App Store features on alternative app stores to promote broadcasting cricket matches on its OTT platform.
2023 will certainly witness more and more OTT marketers in India drive conversions by leveraging unique on-device placements and ad formats offered by mobile OEMs and ensure a high return on ad spends (ROAS). For those who are yet to get on this brandwagon, it’s time that they get Mobile OEMs on their radar and latch on to its growth and make it a really promising part of performance marketing.
Ready to unlock the full potential of mobile OEMs for yourself? Then contact us today!
This article was first published in financial express and can be found here.