ALVISO, Calif. – TiVo customers trying to remember whether it’s Pontiac or Honda offering “3.9% financing for a limited time” will be able to turn to their PVR boxes to find the right commercial for them.
On Monday, digital/personal video recorder manufacturer TiVo announced plans for a television-based advertising search solution coming in Spring 2006. “Leveraging TiVo’s television search capabilities that enhance the TV viewing experience, the new product will deliver relevant, targeted advertising to subscribers that want to view particular advertising categories,” crows the press release.
(In Canada, Montreal company etc.tv, along with Videotron, Molson’s and TVA, is testing viewers’ desire to pull up advertising on demand using their digital cable set top boxes.)
Media and advertising companies including Interpublic Media, OMD, Starcom Mediavest Group and The Richards Group, as well as Comcast Spotlight, the advertising sales division of Comcast Cable, have worked with TiVo to provide their expertise in the development of this new product. Agency research and development techniques will contribute in determining relevant categories of interest, such as automotive, travel, telecommunications, and consumer packaged goods, as well as determine relevant pricing models, says TiVo.
Today television advertising is almost entirely delivered when adjacent to mass programming. With the new TiVo service, advertisers will have the ability to deliver television advertising, on demand and targeted to consumers, “without the limitations of traditional television media placement,” says the company.
Advertisers will be able to reach viewers in the market for a certain product or service. Ads will be delivered to subscribers who conduct a search for a product by category or associated with keywords, utilizing the same keyword search techniques offered with Internet advertising, “resulting in increased relevancy for the consumer, as well as efficient, measurable results for the advertiser,” it adds.
The new approach presents an opportunity for TiVo service subscribers to search for relevant information on things that match their needs, delivering non-intrusive, relevant, interactive advertising, on a opt-in basis.
TiVo subscribers, if they choose to use the search capability, will retain control over their viewing experience through the creation of a viewer contributed profile via the set-top box that will enable them to receive advertisements based on their interests.
"TiVo intends to capture the best of the Internet advertising model and create a unique advertising product for the television medium that will provide measurable results,” said Tom Rogers, president and CEO of TiVo, in a release.
“TiVo is committed to working with our advertisers, their agencies and our cable partners to develop new and innovative advertising solutions," added Davina Kent, Vice President, National Advertising Sales.
TiVo boxes are not available at retail in Canada.
"We recognize that consumer media usage is changing and are committed to seeking out opportunities, like the new search product to be offered by TiVo, to continue to deliver our clients with maximum return on investment in their media choices," added Mark Rosenthal, chairman and CEO, Interpublic Media, which oversees Interpublic’s worldwide media operations, including Initiative, MAGNA Global, Universal McCann and a number of leading specialist media agencies. "In the rapidly evolving era of permission based marketing the ability for consumers to deliberately seek out long-form advertising is a huge boon for both advertisers and viewers."
"The new TiVo application will provide both a needed platform for consumers to seek out relevant, searchable commercial content and an environment for advertisers to engage highly desirable and motivated consumers," said Tracey Scheppach, Vice President, Video Innovations Director at Starcom, a division of Starcom MediaVest Group. "It’s the first of its kind in the industry, and a platform that is clearly needed in this challenging advertising marketplace."
“Through initial conversations with our clients, we have seen much interest in TiVo’s advertising solutions and believe that through further development, we will have the opportunity to reach target audiences in a more relevant and engaging manner,” said OMD Digital’s U.S. Director, Sean Finnegan
TiVo launched a successful interactive direct response advertising program in August, where subscribers were given the opportunity to respond to a customized call to action or branded "tag" in select commercial spots. TiVo’s new search advertising product allows advertisers to further engage their target consumers with the benefits of the television experience.
