ads2OTT, a home grown OTT advertising exchange is set to launch in India in October 2020 aiming to provide a one-stop solution for brands to advertise across OTT platforms.

“This is India’s first integrated OTT ad exchange medium that will enable advertisers from nook and corner of India to place ads in OTT platforms that they would want to target,” says Arun Tyagi, Founder, ads2OTT under the aegis of 361 Degree Entertainment & Media Pvt Ltd. “India is one of the most promising OTT markets in the world”.

The demand for content streamed via OTT is increasing day by day in India. Today, India ranks number two in digital video consumption in the world. With 8.43 hours of consumption per person per week, the second-most populous country is way above the global average of 6.8 hours. For example, Amazon Prime has reach in 4000 towns and cities in India. Indian OTT market is currently pegged at $2.3 billion with over 300 million subscribers.

There are over 50 OTT platforms in India and poised to grow to $5 billion in the next three to four years. According to Counterpoint Research, India has 620 million active Internet users and expected to grow to 850 million by 2022. India also accounts for the fastest adoption of smartphones now used by over 500 million users.

Though there has been a substantial increase in subscription numbers, the potential of the advertising revenue is yet to be realised. Today brands and agencies are facing a challenge to reach out to multiple platforms in existence. Hence, there is a need of an exchange that offers ad inventory available across platforms, under one roof.

ads2OTT’s futuristic construct, promises to fulfil advertisers’ requirements of focused advertising, which is both impactful and result oriented. With one seamless transaction you can reach viewers across any part of India, with high-quality and on-demand content across popular TV shows, movies, LIVE sports and more.

The focus is to go beyond metros and target regional and local advertisers especially in tier 2 and 3 markets. The exchange will specialise in helping brands, agencies and advertisers understand and navigate this revolutionary media landscape.

Shivi Chopra, Co-Founder, ads2OTT says, “The rise of OTT platforms has presented a great opportunity for advertisers. The advent of the festive season along with the upcoming IPL will boost advertising and brands will look at investing in the OTT space in a big way.The question is no longer about whether to invest in OTT but rather How and How much. OTT offers a formidable combination of the impact of television along with the power and precision of digital. Our prime focus will be to help regional and local brands to experience the efficiency and effectiveness of the category. At the same time, we will be catering to national brands who are looking at conveying their brand’s message or extending their existing broadcast reach. We are extremely bullish about the future of OTT and the exponential ROI it will generate for advertisers.”

Economic downturn and budget limitations could force marketers to adopt creative solutions to attract users. In the near future, ads2OTT will experiment with innovative formats such as in-show monetization, with shoppable content embedded directly in the stream as there is a need to think holistically.

Advertisers will aim to capitalize on the OTT boom but will have to become more particular of the media sources and their proportion impacting the consumer mind space. Brands are increasingly allocating their marketing spends to OTT platforms as the digital medium becomes highly influential and consumers are deeply engaged with this medium.