Thinkbox Unveils Online Industry Resource

The new television marketing body, Thinkbox, has announced the launch of its industry web resource, aiming to provide a one-stop resource for all those in the UK’s television industry.

As a key element of the marketing body’s action plan, Thinkbox has invested heavily in the development of the website and will regularly update the site with features, research materials, industry data and case studies.

The site has been developed after detailed research with key industry figures to ensure that it provides users with the most relevant information, resources, ideas and practical advice.

Commenting on the site, a Thinkbox spokesman said: “The Thinkbox website will be an important tool in our action plan ‘to help customers get more out of television’. It gives us a platform to communicate directly with our customers and provide them with comprehensive tools and information they need to make informed decisions about television advertising.”

He added: “We believe television has more to offer today than ever before and we hope to involve and inspire people through

Thinkbox.tv will enable users to explore an extensive library of inspiring case studies, demonstrating the strengths of television both as a standalone medium, and as a part of the broader marketing schedule.

The website will also help to demystify some of the less accessible areas of television, dealing with topics such as the language of TV and the processes involved in making adverts. The site will also invite feedback from users, growing and responding to the needs of TV customers and practitioners.

Thinkbox’s structure employs an eight-member board, responsible for the body’s direction and overall strategy. The board is supported by a working group, drawn from its member companies, whose remit is to develop the individual initiatives and act as a “taskforce to drive specific activities”. Thinkbox has been co-funded by its eight member companies, who each pay a yearly membership fee together with a contribution linked to their national revenue share (see Thinkbox Unveiled As New TV Marketing Body).

Jointly composed of commercial television companies Channel 4, Five, GMTV, IDS, ITV, Sky Media, Turner Broadcasting and Viacom Brand Solutions, Thinkbox aims to work with the UK’s marketing community to promote small screen advertising as an essential communication tool.

Amongst the body’s stated aims is its plan to demonstrate the variety of uses for TV marketing, highlighting its targeted nature for reaching narrow audiences as well as its uses as a mass communication medium and conveying that it need not be an expensive medium, with packages available to suit “any budget”.

The creation of Thinkbox follows a period of research into the advertising industry and its customers, examining what steps they would like commercial television broadcasters to take. The body’s research revealed that 76% of clients believed television needed an industry body to market the medium’s potential, the creation of which was the subject of speculation last year (see Commercial TV Giants Form Ad Marketing Bureau).

Thinkbox: 020 7499 7200 www.thinkbox.tv