By: Pooja Chaluvaraju, Associate Director – Integrated Planning at UM UAE

The Shift from Reach to Relevance

In today’s fast-moving media landscape, relevance has become the true measure of value. As OTT (over-the-top platforms delivering video directly via the internet) evolves from a reach-led channel into a performance-driven environment, advertisers are no longer satisfied with broad targeting alone.

OTT was viewed primarily as a brand-building space – premium, full-screen video placements designed to drive awareness and emotional impact, but offering limited addressability, measurement or direct response capability. That perception is changing rapidly.

At the same time, the industry is experiencing a parallel shift towards retail media as third-party cookies approach their near end. Built on first-party, purchase-based data, retail media has emerged as one of the most effective ways to identify, target and measure real audiences. Far beyond advertising on e-commerce platforms, it functions as a consumer insight ecosystem – combining purchase behaviour, location, demographics and loyalty data in a privacy-safe way, while enabling visibility from ad exposure through to transaction.

Together, these shifts are redefining the role of OTT.

Retail Media as the Identity Engine

Advancements in data, targeting and measurement, particularly when powered by retail media insights, have transformed OTT into a far more accountable channel. Advertisers increasingly expect proof that media strategies are designed to reach the right audience at the right moment.

One of the long-standing challenges in OTT has been identity: understanding who is watching across devices and households in a fragmented, multi-screen environment. Retail media networks, anchored in authenticated users and verified purchase behaviour, help address this challenge by enabling stronger cross-screen identity resolution. The result is more accurate audience targeting and more consistent measurement.

Today, most large advertisers treat OTT as a core part of their video strategy, with more than half planning to increase investment in the coming years. Platforms with access to retail media data, such as Amazon through Prime Video, are especially well positioned. By linking viewing behaviour with purchase signals, they enable precise segmentation, greater contextual relevance and closed-loop measurement from exposure to purchase. Emerging ecosystems like Jiostar in India could play a similar role if they successfully activate first-party data across the industries and assets they own.

Access to retail insights is also reshaping creative strategy. When storytelling is informed by real shopping and lifestyle signals, it becomes more timely, relevant and actionable – narrowing the gap between inspiration and conversion. Shoppable ad formats, real-time optimisation based on purchase signals, and AI-driven audience modeling will further blur the line between media exposure and commerce. As these capabilities mature, OTT channels will increasingly sit closer to the point of transaction.

The Diverging Paths for OTT Platforms

For platforms without native retail or transactional data, the path forward is more complex. Some will pursue deep partnerships with retail media networks, telecom providers or payment ecosystems to access deterministic signals that strengthen targeting and measurement. Others may look towards acquisitions to secure proprietary data assets.

Where access to transactional data remains limited, differentiation will depend on reinforcing core strengths: premium content, cultural relevance and emotionally resonant storytelling. In these cases, value is created not through transaction-level attribution but through depth of engagement and brand impact. Netflix’s proposed acquisition of WBD signals how platforms may evolve to strengthen their strategic positioning.

However, the risk of standing still is significant. As advertisers prioritize channels that can deliver provable ROI, OTT platforms without retail data or differentiated audience signals are seeing increasing pressure on CPMs. This is no longer theoretical: average streaming ad CPMs have declined by roughly 20% year over year as inventory has scaled, while platforms with strong identity resolution and outcome-based measurements remain better positioned to protect pricing and maintain advertiser confidence.

Connecting Attention to Outcomes

Video advertising is no longer a choice between brand and performance. The new imperative is connecting attention to outcomes.

As OTT enters its next phase, platforms that activate data responsibly, transparently and meaningfully will earn more than viewer attention – they will secure advertiser trust, sustained investment and long-term relevance in an increasingly accountable media ecosystem.