New Technology Could Allow TV Advertisers To Handpick Audiences

Starcom Worldwide is set to exploit technology in the US which will allow its advertising clients to target customers watching digital television more accurately than ever before.

The company is to work with ACTV’s Digital ACDO subsidiary to produce addressable and interactive digital TV advertising using Digital ACDO’s SpotOn system. SpotOn allows viewers to choose and interact with television advertisments, while giving advertisers the opportunity to deliver advertisements to the households most likely to respond, according to information such as demographics.

The technology allows advertisers to send adverts to individual set-top boxes in the households they wish to target, with customised graphics, audio or video if necessary. An example could be a car manufacturer selling a family saloon, who could target ABC1 households with children and add a locally specific graphic showing the nearest dealer for that model. The system would also report on when a spot was shown in a particular home and even ensure that the language of the advertisement was correct for that specific home.

Viewers would in turn be asked to specify the sort of adverts they were interested in seeing. The adverts they received would then be tailored to what they wanted to see, allowing advertisers to home in on the markets which are already interested in their products. The system would also allow viewers to access further information about products, bookmark information for retrieval later or take advantage of on-screen shopping “T-commerce” offers, all via remote control.

Starcom and ACTV are planning a charter program later in the year. If the results are good, they will consider offering the service to Starcom clients, which include Proctor & Gamble, McDonalds and Kellogg.

SpotOn: www.spoton.actv.com Starcom Worldwide: www.starcommedia.com