Programmatic Ads vs. OTT Ads: What’s the Difference?

Programmatic and OTT ads are different forms of digital advertising, yet they can be used to market the same products and services.

These digital marketing techniques offer different advantages to advertisers, so it’s important to understand how they work and how each can help you accomplish your goals.

This article will review the basic definitions of programmatic and OTT ads, compare their performance, strengths, and weaknesses, and provide recommendations on when to use each type of ad.

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What Are Programmatic Ads?

Programmatic ads are a type of ad that targets specific audience segments based on data collected by organizations. These ads are usually shown in high volume on multiple websites and typically use first-party cookies to customize their targeting.

Programmatic ads can be set up by anyone with an advertising budget who wants to target a specific segment of people.

For example, if you have a product for babies, you may want to target mothers of infants between the ages of 0-12 months old with programmatic ads.

You can identify this specific group through analytics software like Google Analytics or Facebook’s Audience Insights tool.

When you run a campaign, you’ll be able to enter your targeting criteria into the software, which will then show your message to targeted groups of people across different websites.

Benefits of Programmatic Ads

Programmatic ads are automated, meaning they don’t require any human oversight. They’re also highly targeted and waste less of your budget than traditional advertising methods.

The system is set up to deliver advertisements where users are most likely to respond positively to them. This means that they can be delivered at the exact moment when they will be most effective. Below are some benefits associated with Programmatic Ads:

• Increased ad efficiencies.
• Create effective cross-device campaigns.
• Provide access to unique data sets, both first- and third-party.
• Decrease overall advertising costs.
• Ability to optimize and target the right audience in real time.
• Higher ROI.

What Are OTT Ads?

OTT ads are a type of video ad that has become increasingly popular. OTT examples are typically pre-roll, in-banner, or in-feed ads and have been proven more effective than traditional display ads. They can be a great option for content creators and advertisers who want to get in front of their audience.

For content creators, OTT ads provide an opportunity to generate revenue from advertising partners. For advertisers, it is easy to reach out to people in a targeted way on sites where they already spend time consuming media (e.g., YouTube).

Benefits of OTT Ads

Here are several reasons to go with OTT advertising, but the main advantages include the following:

• Advanced audience targeting
• More impactful and shorter ads
• Non-skippable ads
• Open and more engaged viewers
• Costs less than traditional TV
• Reach a mass audience
• Hyper-targeting, retargeting, micro-targeting, and
• Integrated into your marketing mix with ease

Which One Should You Choose?

No one answer fits all businesses, so weighing the benefits and costs before deciding which ads work best for your business is important!

Programmatic ads are typically cheaper to purchase, but there is a risk of not having less control over targeting. On the other hand, OTT ads offer more personalization and are usually more expensive, but also more engaging for the end user.

OTT advertising is really just a form of programmatic advertising that is more centered around video using platforms such as connected TV compared to simple display ads.

In Advertising, Not to Be Different Is Virtually Suicidal

In conclusion, there are some key differences between programmatic and OTT ads.

Both types of advertising will allow you to target different audiences with different needs.

Both methods have strengths and weaknesses that must be considered when choosing the best method for your campaign.