Keeping your customers in mind when you advertise
We are living in an age of rapid online growth as the internet expands to eclipse traditional technology. At the forefront of this conversation is the transition of the entertainment industry as it shifts away from television, blu ray, and radio. As competition between streaming services grows steeper, companies are brainstorming ways to set themselves apart from their competitors.
Streaming services now differentiate themselves based on content and user experience. Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime and HBO — the ‘Big Four’ of online streaming — offer a wide variety of content across many categories. Then, there are genre-specific streaming services, which have recently broken through the long standing “Big Four” barrier of entry to the upper echelons of the world of streaming. Services like Disney+ and CrunchyRoll, which specialize specifically in family entertainment and anime/manga, respectively, have a clear-cut target audience and a distinct brand, which establishes them as serious competitors to other major streaming services.
Disney pulled most of its content from other streaming services when it created Disney+, drawing subscribers away from Netflix and Hulu. Netflix itself has begun producing “Netflix Originals” — shows and movies that are only available to Netflix subscribers. Just as streaming services broke away from traditional television, companies are slowly scaling back their business models to tap into niche markets. Content-specific streaming services are undoubtedly the near-future of the streaming wars.
At this time, it is critical for a streaming company to maximize revenue if they wish to remain ‘in the game’. For smaller, niche streaming services it is important to find the optimal balance between ad revenue and subscription costs. Newer streaming services should seize this transitionary period in the industry to explore novel advertising opportunities which could make all the difference in the growth of a company.
When it comes to advertisements, companies must focus on maximizing user engagement and experience. User’s want to see ads that matter to them. Fortunately, if you are a genre-specific streaming service you are in luck! Genre-specific streaming services know their target audience. From there, it is about fine tuning an individual’s experience. Show your users ads that they won’t be annoyed at. Show your users ads that they will actually want to click on.
If your company is breaking into the realm of streaming with a niche target audience, it is inevitable you will need to leverage ads to generate revenue. Before a company can worry about competing among the big players, they must first set themselves apart from the smaller ones. Advertising may seem like just another detail for a streaming service, but a good advertising strategy will go a long way.
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