Disney+ Hotstar Amp Brand Outreach With CTV Targeting

For South Asian nations, including India, cricket is a profound enigma. As a result, cricket enthusiasts are in for an adrenaline rush next month as the major tournaments kick off. The ODI World Cup this year will be the ideal venue for companies to partake in both festive ecstasy and cricketing enthusiasm. As the holiday season approaches and these prominent tournaments are taking place, businesses have the perfect opportunity to take advantage. Brands can now leave their imprint by engaging with consumers in creative ways thanks to Connected TV (CTV) targeting.

A CTV Recap

As a part of programmatic advertising, CTV has risen to popularity in recent years. To explain CTV in short, simple terms, it is any device that can be connected to your traditional TV set, like a Smart TV. It offers online viewing and streaming experience via the internet. These ad formats are very cost-effective, easily trackable, and safe for brands. As such, they also offer a broadcast-quality experience. In a report by Exchange4Media, and a survey by Statista, the CTV advertising market is expected to grow by $45 billion by 2025.

CTV expansion is responsible for India’s rising content consumption. As a result, Disney+ Hotstar, the largest OTT platform in the nation, leads the curve. Disney in India has revealed that users can stream the Asia Cup and the Men’s Cricket World Cup on their mobile devices for free. In a statement, the company stated, “The move to lift the paywall for mobile-only viewers […] is aimed at further democratizing the game of cricket and making it accessible to as many mobile users in India as possible for the duration of the season.”

How will it benefit Advertisers?

CTV offers shared viewing. During peak sports tournaments like the Men’s Cricket World Cup or the FIFA World Cup, spectator emotions are high. This results in heightened emotional responses to the ads they are subjected to at that time. Disney+ Hotstar offers a subscription video-on-demand viewing experience. During live events like these sport world cups, Disney+ Hotstar switches to a hybrid model where, during commercial breaks, they display ad campaigns from brands. Viewers are also shown ads on their screens while live streaming the sports content, however, the ad does not cover the entire screen like traditional TV. They can access the brand’s website without disrupting their streaming experience. Here’s how it will help brands in their outreach strategies with Disney+ Hotstar

Brand Reach

As CTV popularity grows in India, more brands opt for CTV advertising. Disney+ Hotstar has a wide audience base in India. As such, the platform’s track record of offering the highest CTV results, brands are excited to collaborate with them in the upcoming cricket season. By combining their first-party data with the streaming platform, they will receive perceptive insights about their target audiences while controlling ad frequency and reach. This will help them understand how and when their ads are to be displayed so they reach the right cohort.

Audience targeting

Brands will be able to efficiently identify where and how the Disney+ Hotstar audience streams with first-party data. This will help them cater their ads according to not only the audience but the location as well so that they resonate with the population better. Advertisers will also be able to measure the campaign’s efficacy.

User actions

While streaming events like cricket or other sports, audiences are not constantly inundated with commercials. Hence, there is a high chance that viewers will watch the entire ad without skipping it. For the upcoming cricket season, Disney+ Hotstar has introduced video and display billboard ads. This will work in favor of the brands as audiences are more likely to remember the brand resulting in high brand recognition and loyalty. Although viewers might not convert into customers immediately, they will have gained a worthy prospect.

Cost-Friendly

CTV advertising is cost-effective for brands. This is because CTV ad format reaches only a single individual device according to the brand’s targeting campaign. It is unlike traditional TV advertising where viewers are subjected to the same ad around the network. Brands will be able to manage their cost per impression thanks to this ad format. At the same time, advertisers will be able to produce high quality, high performance, and targeted ads. Brands will benefit from this as the audience is more likely to respond positively to better quality ads, increasing loyalty and visibility. Advertisers with niche audiences will also enjoy a better ROI while eliminating any extra costs that might otherwise occur.

Disney+ Hotstar and CTV

Disney+ Hotstar is known for its sophisticated targeting capabilities. Therefore, this cricketing season offers marketers a fantastic chance to succeed with audience involvement. They ran 47 campaigns ICC T20 World Cup in 2022. The results can be used to measure the efficacy of their CTV advertising campaign. The analysis provides insightful information on how sports advertising affects brand visibility. Here are some of the analysis’s major takeaways.

By the numbers

The campaign delivered 25% higher results than the industry benchmark

• Sponsor brands were twice as high as inventory buyers.
• Brands with investments over Rs. 5 crores saw two times more impact on awareness and favorability
• Brands with supplementary campaigns like branded cards, billboards, etc. witnessed 1.5x and 2x higher impact on awareness and favorability respectively.

With Disney+ Hotstar, a number of brands have already found success, and they are grateful for the platform’s assistance in reaching previously untapped audiences. 

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