How to win with streaming ads in premium video
Marketers today face mounting pressure to cut through noise, prove ROI, and adapt to constant platform shifts. From six-second brand hits to long-form storytelling formats, premium video advertising has become both a format of choice for marketers and a fixture in consumers’ daily lives. With digital video ad spending surpassing $190 billion globally in 2024, up from a projected 81.1 billion in 2021, brands, agencies, and platforms are doubling down on the medium’s unmatched ability to drive brand visibility and performance.
Audiences are curating their experiences, choosing what to watch, when to watch, and where to watch with purpose rather than flipping through channels. So while ad-supported models scale and programming improves, premium video is delivering measurable outcomes across the marketing funnel. For advertisers, this isn’t just another format to test; it’s a core brand and performance driver.
In the following guide, we define what sets premium video apart, examine how audience behavior is reshaping the streaming landscape, and share strategies to help you unlock its full potential, with best practices pulled from DISQO’s Premium Video Advertising Report.
1. What defines premium video advertising?
2. How the streaming landscape is rewriting the advertising playbook
3. The benefits of premium video advertising
4. Best practices for premium video campaign success
5. Premium video is evolving — is your strategy?
What defines premium video advertising?
Premium video isn’t just about format, it’s about focus. Broadly defined, it includes professionally produced, high-investment content that commands audience attention. Think tentpole sports events, cinematic series, and top-tier entertainment distributed through Connected TV (CTV), OTT platforms, and digital streaming services.
What makes premium video different is its appointment-viewing nature. It’s where people go with purpose, whether it’s binge-watching a new release, streaming live sports, or tuning in to a cultural moment. Unlike passive or scroll-heavy environments, premium video delivers high engagement and repeat behavior. As reported in DISQO’s Premium Video Advertising report, two-thirds of US adults watch premium video at least weekly, and one in three tune in daily. And this isn't content that plays in the background. It's immersive, story-driven, and carefully curated, making it a uniquely powerful context for advertising.
Linking high production quality to higher brand impact
Premium video content is defined by its polish. From sound design and cinematography to narrative structure, the viewing experience is cinematic, which has real implications for brands. When ads appear alongside high-quality programming, they benefit from the halo of the environment. Attention is heightened, perception is elevated, and the message is more likely to resonate because it feels like it belongs.
In today’s fragmented media ecosystem, it delivers both scale and signal. For marketers looking to connect with high-value audiences in moments of deep audience engagement, it’s become one of the most strategic investments in the media mix.
How the streaming landscape is rewriting the advertising playbook
Premium video is a unique behavior that connects people and steals hearts. And that behavior is reshaping how, where, and why audiences engage with content. Marketers who don’t evolve and engage with the moment risk wasting spend on fragmented strategies that miss out.
Premium video viewers are intentional and everywhere
Premium video is something they plan for. This behavior shows up in how often people watch, how they access content, and how much they’re willing to pay for the right experience.
When we asked consumers how they package their premium video access, no single bundle type cracked more than 32% penetration, and more than one in four viewers said they don’t subscribe to any bundle at all. That signals growing viewer control and platform independence.
What’s more, nearly three in four people say they’d subscribe to a new streaming service just to watch a favorite title, with Gen Z, Millennials, and high-income households even more likely to do so. This isn’t casual viewing—it’s motivated behavior, driven by content they care about. Viewers are willing to navigate a fragmented ecosystem—and even pay more—to access the stories and live moments that matter to them. That level of intent creates a powerful environment for brands to connect meaningfully, not just visibly.
Platform choice signals mindset
Where people watch is just as important as what they watch. Reported in DISQO’s Premium video report, Connected TV (CTV) is the dominant screen for premium video, with 57% of viewers citing it as their primary device. This trend is even more pronounced among affluent households, where the lean-back, immersive nature of CTV advertising aligns with higher content expectations and deeper engagement.
But platform preference isn’t one-size-fits-all. Gen Z and lower-income viewers are far more likely to choose mobile. Video is personal, portable, and always-on for these audiences, and brands that tailor messaging to this behavior will capture attention beyond the living room.
Streaming access is fragmented and signals intent
Today’s viewers curate access based on content, cost, and convenience. OTT apps like Netflix, Max, and Hulu dominate with high-income users, while platforms like Tubi and Peacock are more popular with value-conscious audiences seeking free or low-cost ad-supported options. Each platform choice reveals something about the viewer: their preferences, priorities, and openness to different types of brand messaging.
The takeaway is clear: audience behavior should guide platform strategy. When you plan with a platform mindset—not just media mix—you meet consumers where they are and, more importantly, how they want to be engaged (beyond traditional tv targeting).
The benefits of premium video advertising
Premium video delivers reach and clarity. Clarity on who’s watching, where they’re engaged, and how premium video ads drive impact across the funnel.
Premium content builds brand equity, especially if it fits the moment
Viewers don’t automatically reward brands for showing up in premium content. According to DISQO’s premium video research, 16% strongly agree that they place more value on brands that advertise in content they enjoy. For Gen Z, that number climbs to 23%, showing a generational shift in how premium context signals credibility and cultural alignment.
This means premium video is a branding advantage, especially when the creative fits the content and the moment. For younger audiences, where and how you appear says just as much as what you say.
Smarter targeting and reach
The diversity of platforms, devices, and access models gives advertisers built-in segmentation if they know how to use it. DISQO’s CTV benchmarks, based on campaigns we’ve measured since March 2021, show CTV dominates across the funnel—but especially mid- and lower-funnel with affluent households seeking a lean-back, cinematic experience.
Those key mid- and lower-funnel metrics include:
Familiarity:
- Cross-channel benchmark: 2.50
- CTV benchmark: 2.64
Consideration:
- Cross-channel benchmark: 2.20
- CTV benchmark: 3.80
Purchase intent:
- Cross-channel benchmark: 2.40
- CTV benchmark: 2.67
Gen Z, on the other hand, leads in mobile-first viewing, where control, personalization, and immediacy matter most. Aligning creative and messaging to these behaviors ensures you’re not just reaching audiences, you’re resonating with them.
A smarter measurable path to ROI
Premium video is no longer a black box. With DISQO’s single-source identity-based measurement, brands can deterministically measure both Brand Lift and Outcomes Lift, including search, site visits, and e-commerce activity, across platforms, devices, and even third-party sites.
In one real-world case study, a major media brand used DISQO to track the impact of premium video ads during a high-profile sporting event. The result? Double-digit lifts in favorability, consideration, and purchase intent, all tied directly to exposure on premium video channels. This is proof that premium video drives outcomes when it’s planned, placed, and measured correctly.
Best practices for premium video campaign success
Premium video delivers the audience, but execution determines the outcome. Success comes from aligning creative, context, and measurement with how people actually watch.
Ads and strategies that win attention
Across the board, multitasking is the norm, not the exception. Data from DISQO’s Premium Video Advertising Report shows that only 13% of viewers give premium video their full attention, yet nearly 60% remain cognitively engaged, noticing ads while multitasking. In this environment, your ad needs to make an immediate impression.
When asked what catches their attention while multitasking, viewers prioritized eye-catching visuals (52%) and engaging audio (38%)—well ahead of brand familiarity, clickable features, or long-form storytelling.
This means treating every frame like a decision point. Creative should lead with motion, contrast, and clarity. In premium video environments, relevance outperforms repetition, and strong openings outperform slow builds.
Integrate premium video into cross-channel campaigns
Viewers aren’t just watching premium video, they’re navigating multiple screens.
Winning in premium video means treating it as part of a larger cross-channel strategy and measuring incremental reach. CTV may anchor the experience, but mobile and social are active extensions. The most effective campaigns sync messaging across screens and use premium video to drive momentum through the funnel, reinforcing on mobile, retargeting on social, and capturing intent through search.
Premium video is evolving — is your strategy?
Premium video is where attention meets intention. It’s where consumers tune in to watch and engage. But maximizing its value demands an understanding of how and where people are watching, what they expect from advertising, and how those moments influence behavior across the funnel.
Premium video offers a rare combination of scale, quality, and measurable impact. Today's winning brands are evolving their premium video strategy in lockstep with their audiences. They plan with purpose, create with context, and measure what truly matters.
Download DISQO’s Premium Video Advertising Report for data-driven insights, audience behaviors, and the strategies top marketers are using to make premium video their highest-performing channel.
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