The Future of TV Marketing

Marketers have been trying to predict the future for decades. Print/newspapers had a lock on the game for centuries with the invention of the Gutenberg printing press in 1450 until the 19th century, when the Industrial Revolution introduced some new tools.  

Outdoor advertising in the form of shop signage had been around for centuries, but Outdoor advertising really took shape in the 1850s in train depots. Billboard advertising began in the late 1860s, after the American Civil War. By the 1890s, Sears & Roebuck invented Direct Mail marketing with their infamous catalog.

The first Radio advertising campaigns began in the 1920s, which gave rise to Television advertising in the 1940s. Then in the 1990s, digital advertising arose with the creation of the World Wide Web. Facebook launched in 2004, and by 2006 they figured out how to sell ad space on their platform.

With each new medium, advertisers worried that older platforms would be outmoded, but that never transpired. Print and direct mail had to make room for new media, but each of these marketing platforms is still around, and they each have a purpose in the 21st century. 

Streaming TV introduced OTT advertising in the past decade, and it’s the newest way to market to customers. 

What is OTT?

OTT means “over-the-top” and it refers to the process of streaming content to users over the web. Consumers with smart TVs can watch content on-demand, and that has opened up exciting possibilities for marketers. 

How can OTT help my marketing?

Commercial Airtime:

There are lots of ways a business can use OTT to reach customers. The Vacation Channel and Frequency Creative can place your videos on the Vacation Channel Roku App, which currently has more than 20,000 subscribers! The channel is marketed to users in drive markets around Coastal Virginia—the same geographic areas targeted by the Virginia Tourism Corporation. Viewers tune in to The Vacation Channel when they’re planning a trip to Coastal Virginia, where they see videos of all the exciting things to do while they’re visiting!

Custom Roku Channel:

Do you already have a library of videos? The Vacation Channel and Frequency Creative can build a custom Roku channel for your organization to showcase hours of video content! Whether you’re trying to create a comprehensive user experience or simply advertise to customers, we can help you create a channel for your original content. 

Examples

• The Vacation Channel
• Colonial Williamsburg TV
• Simply Corolla

Other possibilities:

• Colleges and Universities: Use Roku for recruitment to showcase virtual tours and campus life. Live Stream for access to on-campus events. 
• Museums: Create behind-the-scenes and educational content to reach wider audiences and provide educational enrichment.
• Destinations: Give travelers more than just a peek into your destination. Capture everything there is to see and do in your city, and give local businesses and attractions a place to feature the full experience.

Marketing your custom channel:

The Vacation Channel began developing custom Roku channels in 2020, and we have been testing the best way to grow Roku audiences ever since. By applying our digital marketing expertise to the Roku ad platform, we have devised a formula to help brands grow their Roku audiences. Our channels are seeing up to 86% growth per quarter with affordable monthly spending. 

Contact our team to learn more about custom Roku channel development and see if it’s right for you.