Media Industry Not Up To Speed On iTV, Says Report

A new survey out this week reveals that 71% of the advertising industry expects most broadcast commercials to include a degree of interactivity by 2005.

iTV, A View from the Trenches was carried out by iTV specialist Weapon7 in collaboration with Chinwag. The research examined the media industry’s attitude to interactive television and found that 90% of the media and creative agencies that responded believed that it had a significant role to play in the marketing mix.

However, Weapon7 claimed that agencies were not taking full advantage of the increasing popularity of digital television. Although 43% of UK households are estimated to have access to digital TV, ignorance and traditional agency practices are regarded as obstacles to its development as an advertising medium. Almost 57% of correspondents could not recall more than 15 interactive ad campaigns that had aired.

The report concluded that complacency and a lack of initiative among creative agencies meant that interactive advertising was not getting the profile it deserved.

“The media industry is increasingly aware that interactivity is rapidly becoming a more prominent aspect of the UK television viewing experience,” said Ben Hart, Co Founder of Weapon7.

“There remains however a way to go before interactive advertising is seen as an integral part of a campaign and capable of capturing the imagination of the industry as well as the viewing audience. Creating truly compelling interactive experiences that have viewers in the home scrambling for their remote controls in anticipation is the challenge.”

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