Google To Revolutionise TV For Advertisers
Google researchers have outlined plans for a revolutionary system that could offer advertisers unparalleled insight into the mass media audience and see the online behemoth extend its dominance into television and radio.
In the paper ‘Social and interactive television applications based on real-time ambient audio identification’, Google researchers Michele Covell and Shumeet Baluja propose using ambient audio identification technology to capture television sound through a laptop PC with a built-in microphone.
This will identify the show that is the source of the sound and use that information to immediately return personalised internet content to the PC. The scheme is described as ‘mass personalisation’.
The application can identify the TV programmes then deliver related advertising, monitor viewing audiences and build social communities around viewers who are watching the same show while online. It requires no additional hardware and works with any television system, even during conversations between viewers.
The approach is similar to some ‘people meter’ systems used to measure radio or television usage for ratings, or systems that allow music tracks to be identified by their audio.
The paper predicts that companies would bid for specific relevant television segments in a similar way to how the current bidding system works for sponsored keyword-related advertising.
Google has identified four services that can be aimed at web users after identifying shows by their audio signature. These are the delivery of additional relevant content and advertising, the creation of immediate social communities based around TV shows as they air, a real-time TV programme and advertisement ratings system and a video library.
Furthermore, if friends of the viewer are watching the same show, the application could automatically create an online community of “buddies”, allowing them to comment in real-time like a chatroom. Changing channel could automatically change the community.
Google’s researchers believe the real-time ratings system could be easily adopted because it doesn’t require hardware installation and co-operation of viewers.
The system could be used by advertisers and programme makers to identify the parts of shows and ads that cause a drop in viewers. Google believes it could be of particular relevance to the ad industry, as it would allow campaigns to be replaced quickly if they proved unpopular.
Users could also be provided with the real-time ratings figures of which channels are being watched by their social network or alternatively by people with similar demographics.
The video library system could potentially be built up by allowing viewers to press a button and “bookmark” a show. It could then be possible to retrieve the programme later and broadcasters could look at a number of models including free single-viewing playback, some sort of payment collection system, or perhaps insert advertisements to cover costs.
Google: 020 7031 3000 www.google.co.uk/