Kangaroo To Target Ads To Specific Demographics

Kangaroo, the on-demand video player from BBC Worldwide, ITV and Channel 4, will offer the ability to target advertisements to specific demographics, according to Errol Baran, head of new media advertising sales at Channel 4.

Speaking on Tuesday at MediaTel Group’s Media Playground event in a session on broadcast and IPTV, Baran said that the service will be “commercially and technically quite creative, so it will offer, for the first time, the ability to target advertisements to specific demographics on long-form video, and that hasn’t been done before”.

He added: “That’s something we’re really excited about – the ability to deliver relevant ads to relevant people at relevant times. So, if you’ve got the right demographic, around good content, being delivered to a certain type of person, at a certain time of day, you can actually really manipulate the marketing message there.”

Talking about Channel 4’s syndication and affiliate programme, he said “Any closed door will lead to your brand and your audience suffering significantly long term.

“We’ve rolled out a new project, talking to the likes of Bebo and YouTube, where we’re offering a level of content – commercial high quality premium content – and are encouraging people to sample and snack in these areas. What you’re doing there is encouraging people to come back to Channel 4 and we feel this is very, very important.”

Also speaking at the event was Jim Marshall, chairman of Starcom Mediavest, who said that two elements are essential for success in digital broadcasting: access to high value content and the ability to monetise that.

Baran added that current plans should see Kangaroo launching around this time next year. He also denied that a name had been chosen, saying that there was a list of “a few names”, but for the time being it was still called Project Kangaroo.

Talking about the issue of cannibalisation, Baran said that he did not really consider it a problem. “Any movement or migration of audiences from linear output to an on-demand digital output… as long as you’re there to capture that movement and to commercialise it, then I think as an organisation you’re doing the very best you possibly can,” he said.

MediaTel Group: 0207 439 7575 www.mediatelgroup.co.uk