Webinar: 7 Paid Ad Campaigns Universities Should Be Running (But Aren’t)
Get more clicks at a lower cost with these highly effective but often-overlooked campaign strategies.
Paid Digital Media
OTT Ads for Higher Education
Show up on students’ favorite streams, and turn casual viewing into qualified applications.
OTT + CTV: Where higher ed marketing meets prime-time streaming
Streaming has officially overtaken broadcast and cable as the way people watch TV, with Nielsen reporting that streaming accounted for the largest share of total U.S. television viewing for the first full month ever in May 2025.
In other words, your next class is already tuning into streaming platforms, and you can meet them there.
Over-the-top (OTT) and Connected TV (CTV) advertising lets colleges place cinematic video spots on services such as Hulu, Amazon Freevee, Roku, and YouTube TV — no media waste or zip-code guesswork required.
For higher-ed marketers, OTT advertising delivers targeted impact that rivals paid social. By tapping first-party CRM look-alikes, in-market college seekers, and program-specific affinity groups, campaigns stay in front of the right prospects from initial exploration through application deadlines.
The result is higher view-through rates, lower cost-per-application, and attribution data CFOs love.
Everything you need to convert OTT impressions into admissions
- Audience Strategy and Calendar (Aligns OTT, CTV, YouTube pre-roll, and traditional spots with enrollment milestones)
- Platform and Device Targeting (Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, smart-TV OS, gaming consoles, and mobile streaming apps)
- Creative Production and Versioning (:15, :30, and :60 cuts, motion graphics, and captioned variants for silent autoplay)
- Dynamic Household and CRM Look-Alike Targeting
- Cross-Channel Remarketing (Syncs with search, social, and display to surround prospects)
- Brand-Safe Delivery and Fraud Protection (IAS/DV filters, premium publisher lists, human QA)
- Accessibility and Compliance (FCC closed-captioning, WCAG AA, GDPR/CCPA ready)
- Real-time Dashboards, plus Weekly Optimization Calls
- Quarterly Strategy Summits and Annual Media Plans (your evolving OTT advertising strategy roadmap)
Vital’s Approach to Managing OTT Ads for Higher Education
From targeting to tracking, we blend strategy and story into OTT campaigns that motivate students to act.
Together, we shape a plan to boost brand awareness, increase website traffic, and drive more leads from right-fit prospective students.
1. Weekly Status & Data Calls
Once we’ve kicked off your campaigns, we meet with you weekly to review the metrics that matter most to your institution, get your input, and plan tests, tweaks, and optimization strategies to keep growing your return on ad spend.
2. In-depth Monthly Reports
Once a month, we go deep into the data to deliver a comprehensive picture of your OTT and CTV ads performance. We identify areas of potential growth and recommend new campaigns, content enhancements, fresh lead-gen offers, and more.
3. Quarterly Strategy Sessions
We meet with your enrollment marketing team at the start of our engagement and every quarter after that. Each check-in is a chance to align on goals, evaluate how our results are impacting your institution, and adjust as needed.
The higher education marketing agency that combines fanatical discipline with inspired creativity
Walk through Vital’s halls and you’ll meet ad-ops nerds who can break down the latest Google bidding algorithm in plain English and creatives who dream up HTML5 concepts that stop the scroll. Most days, they’re the same people. We live for uncovering placement insights your competitors miss and turning them into attention-grabbing banners and rich-media experiences that move prospects from first glance to final click. Pull up a chair; we’re always happy to talk shop.
Who We Serve
Every higher education institution is different, and success starts with understanding your audience, your goals, and your challenges. We bring a unique combination of higher education-specific expertise and out-of-the-box thinking that drives enrollment and revenue growth for a wide variety of institutions. Here are a few of our specialties:
- Graduate degree programs
Boost program growth through approaches tailored to today’s advanced degree seekers. - Online Degree Programs
Compete in the fastest-growing segment of higher education.
- Professional Development, Certificate, and Course Programs
Attract more career-focused learners. - Traditional on-campus universities and colleges
- Specialized and technical schools and programs
- And more!
Essential Reading
Let’s Talk
Want your ads to stream during students’ favorite shows? We’ve got the playbook.
