Many of your potential clients have cut the cord and ditched cable TV in favor of streaming services like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime. While they might still see broadcast TV, via a digital antenna, they will not see your cable TV marketing.
Your law firm needs an effective strategy for leveraging connected television (CTV) advertising on popular streaming platforms. Otherwise, you will be missing an invaluable opportunity to build your brand.
Below, we discuss CTV advertising, including the unique benefits and some of the do’s and don’ts for success. PMP has been managing law firms’ traditional and digital marketing needs for more than 15 years. We are constantly innovating to help our clients help more people and grow their firms. Call us to discuss our advertising services.
What Is Over-the-Top Advertising?
An over-the-top advertisement is one that is delivered over the internet through a streaming app or service. The name comes from the fact that these advertisements bypass broadcast, satellite or cable TV.
Most of these advertisements are 15 or 30-second spots that consumers see while they are watching a show or movie. Consumers typically see a few of these ads in a row before the show or movie continues playing.
There are hundreds of CTV advertisers, but some of the most popular ones include:
- Hulu
- Netflix
- Disney Plus
- Peacock
- Paramount+
- Amazon Prime Video
- Apple TV
- HBO Max
What Devices Serve OTT Advertisements?
Consumers stream content through a variety of devices, including:
- Smartphones
- Smart/Connected TVs
- Xbox, Playstation and other gaming consoles
- iPads and other tablets
- Computers/laptops
- Streaming devices, like Roku, Apple TV, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV
What Are the Unique Benefits of CTV Advertising For Law Firms?
You need CTV advertising because it allows you to reach many potential clients. However, this form of advertising has many unique benefits that can help you to get a strong return on investment.
Better Targeting
Unlike broadcast or cable TV advertising, OTT advertising allows you to target your audience based on numerous factors, such as their location, demographic data and interests. This makes it easier to target the people who are more likely to turn into clients. You can meet more of your clients where they are likely to be, instead of casting a net that is too wide.
Consumers Watch More of These Ads
People who are watching cable TV can change the channel when commercials come on. However, they cannot do this with streaming ads. They must wait until the ads conclude for their show to come back on. Consumers are more likely to watch your entire ad.
Lower Cost to Get Started
CTV advertising costs a lot less than traditional television advertising. This makes it much easier to get started. That said, the cost varies by streaming service and how much targeting you apply to your ads. The more targeting you do, the more expensive it is likely to be.
Typically, you pay for OTT ads on a cost-per-thousand-impression basis. This is also referred to as CPM. The longer the ad the more expensive it is to serve.
Ability to Retarget
If someone sees a TV ad for your firm, you hope they will see an advertisement somewhere else, such as on a billboard or maybe on the radio. However, if someone sees an OTT advertisement on a streaming app, you can serve the ad on another device. You can even serve ads to people who went to your website and may stream a show later.
Detailed Analytics
You can get detailed analytics to track how your commercials are performing. This is invaluable information that can help you refine your strategy to get the most from your budget.
How Can Your Law Firm Get Started?
PMP can help your firm can get started with OTT advertising. We have years of experience and we know how to tailor a campaign to a firm’s goals.
Getting the most from your advertising is a full-time job, as there are so many factors to consider. Unless you are constantly monitoring the performance of your advertisements and making adjustments accordingly, it is going to very difficult to get the most out of your ad campaign.
What Are the Do’s and Don’ts of Over-the-Top Campaigns?
There are best practices with OTT advertising. For example, you need to have unique campaigns for different audiences. You need to avoid trying to be everything to everyone. If you try to be everything to everyone, you will not have the success you want, and it will be a waste of your advertising dollars.
Another best practice is to create compelling advertisements that will get viewers’ attention and stick with them. You need to show people that you understand their needs and your firm is there to help. There are many factors in creating compelling commercials, including the actors, lighting, colors and the words spoken.
You also need to remember the purpose of advertisements, whether they are on broadcast or streaming. You are trying to build a brand. You want people to think of your firm when they have a need for an attorney.
Another don’t is failing to track your campaign’s performance. You need to know what is working and what is not working and change things accordingly. You may need to adjust the targeting of your advertisements or play a different commercial. You can do A/B testing, the results of which can be invaluable.
Have questions about OTT advertising or other aspects of traditional or digital law firm advertising? PMP builds comprehensive strategies to help law firms grow.
