The evolving face of in-app advertising & communication on OTT apps

OTT apps are going beyond their role of video platforms - creating real time engagement opportunities for brands and users. This ranges from gamification to contests.

The OTT market in India will grow at 21.8% CAGR from Rs 4,464 crore in 2018 to Rs 11,976 crore in 2023, according to PwC’s Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2019–2023. As the OTT universe expands so do brand and consumer communication touchpoints with in-app advertising and communication.

OTT apps have evolved from just being a content consumption platform now just like all utility apps such as Zomato, Myntra, and Flipkart now have their own in-app video segments. Apps now have interactive elements - not just for consumers but also for brands.

From gamification to quizzes and live voting - a number of new interactive options have been launched on some of the most popular apps. Here's a look.

Content & Contests

the Bigg Buzz challenge on Flipkart video was an interactive extension of the chat show Bigg Buzz on VOOT, which is known to give viewers a sneak peek into the life of Bigg Boss contestants. Hosted by actor Karan Wahi, the show released a new episode every Monday, providing viewers an opportunity to answer intriguing questions based on the current and past seasons of Bigg Boss.

Similarly, VOOT launched interactive campaigns for its fiction shows like Pinjara and Ishq Mein Marjawan, with UGC campaigns like ‘Shoot Karo Stars Se Milo’, as part of their in-app advertising strategy. In line with their #AsliFans concept, the UGC-driven IP was executed on the VOOT app, where the users were encouraged to re-enact their favorite couple’s best dialogues and moments and get a chance to meet and greet the stars.

Speaking about the initiatives, Gourav Rakshit, COO, Viacom18 Digital Ventures, said, "In the past year, India’s transition from offline to online space has been significant and the category game-changer is set to be interactivity which we believe is the future and the most significant edge held by OTT."

ZEE5’s Dadagiri launched its unlimited quiz contest on the ZEE5 platform where viewers had the opportunity to win exciting prizes, including an iPhone and shopping vouchers worth INR 25,000 every week. While the campaign intended to drive app installs for ZEE5 and enhance audience engagement, it also aimed to help raise awareness and recall for the latest model of iPhone.

To participate in the contest, the users could just log on to ZEE5 and answer 5 questions every day for a surprise gift.

Also read: Zomato’s association with Allu Arjun gets buzzing post the success of Pushpa

Gamification

VOOT brought Fantasy league in collaboration with Mobile Premier League. As part of the initiative, the points for this were scored basis the contestant’s performance in the show, and the longer the selected contestant stayed in the game, the more points were scored by the participants. Every day 10 winners were gratified by MPL. The matches for the league were streamed live on the Voot Select app.

SonyLiv had launched play-along or live quizzes for their KBC Play Along in collaboration with PlayerzPot to bring the interactive gaming experience to life. The winners stood a chance to win weekly prizes leading up to Tata Altroz.

To participate, users have to download the SonyLiv app, click on the banner of ‘KBC Play Along’, and select the play now option after logging in using Google or Facebook account.

Content Integration With In-App Games

Netflix launched its first in-app game venturing into the video gaming space. It kickstarted the process by testing two games - ‘Stranger Things: 1984’ and ‘Stranger Things 3’ in Poland. These were initially released for iOS, Android Devices, and Nintendo switch, globally

Netflix subscribers could access the games through in-app links to redirect users to the Google Play store for downloading. The games cannot be played outside of the Netflix application.

Overall, the interactive advertising techniques seem to help drive brand awareness and recall as consumers engage in the campaigns and become a part of the tactics executed, in a seamless way. Bringing an immersive experience for the users, the interactive ads for these OTT video streaming apps bring the opportunity for brands and marketers to fulfill their marketing objectives while building brand salience through impactful/relevant tactics.

As we move forward in 2022, the interactive ad strategy across OTT apps is here to stay with marketers already lapping on to it for optimum results, as part of their digital marketing mix and integrated strategy.