Student Television Network Courts Big Name Advertisers
A new television network targeting the lucrative 18-24 year old student market has been installed in several UK universities, screening music videos, lifestyle programming, sports highlights and advertising on plasma screens in student bars.
The network, dubbed SUBtv, is being backed by venture capital firm Beringea and has so far signed deals with 55 campuses, with the expectation that this will extend to 80 institutions by the end of the year.
Beringea claims that the screens currently have a reach of more than one million students, and that the contracts in place hold the universities to a ten year exclusive deal.
Big name brands including Vodafone, Deloitte & Touche, Puma, Lynx and the Guardian are also understood to have signed contracts to advertise on the new network, as have more local advertisers such as the West Midlands Police Department.
SUBtv offers advertisers both traditional advertising spots and sponsorship positions via its digital television network. Beringea claims the platform presents advertisers with a captive audience in an environment where students spend a significant amount of leisure time, the Student Union Bar.
The network also boasts enhanced accountability for advertisers, with the option for universities to integrate the system with existing EPOS systems, wireless communications, door counters and web cams to provide accurate, real-time quantitative research for SUBtv’s advertisers.
Commenting on the launch of the network Jeff Bocan, investment manager at Beringea, said: “The changes in the advertising industry brought on by the segmentation of media channels are creating exciting opportunities for advertisers to make their brand’s name more relevant to their target market.”
He added: “Gone are the days when a 30 second spot on Coronation Street was called an ad campaign. Brands need to integrate their message into consumers’ busy, fragmented lives – and this need creates attractive opportunities for new advertising platforms.”
As well as streaming content to viewers, SUBtv is able to receive communications direct from viewers, with students able to request content via text message. Beringea states that, with mobile phone penetration amongst students standing at 93%, this could provide a valuable revenue stream.
For example, the network’s SUBtv Video Jukebox, due to be rolled out in the autumn, utilises students’ mobile phones as an electronic purse to pay for tracks. The system is also able to accept text messages and display them onscreen.
The move to install the system follows the rollout of several other high-profile plasma screen networks. Earlier this year Tesco announced the results of trials of its Tesco TV network, claiming an average increase in sales of 10% for advertisers on the new system in stores equipped with the new screens (see Tesco TV Trials Prove Successful For Advertisers).
Elsewhere fast food heavyweights McDonald’s has followed suit, announcing a copycat television network for its stores offering relevant advertising depending on the time of day and numbers of customers in-store at the time (see McDonalds Develops Instore Television Network).
Beringea: 020 7845 7820 www.beringea.com
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