Creating More Effective Television Advertising Through Technology

For many advertisers, deciding on whether or not to advertise on television can be a difficult decision – particularly for those with limited budgets and multiple locations, which require broad geographic reach.

Several recent developments offer advertisers the ability to affordably use television in an effective manner due to a level of segmentation and targeting never before available through a broadcast medium. However these programs remain under-utilized, primarily due to limited awareness.

One such opportunity is called Adtag™, which allows for customized commercials based on specific geographies within a Designated Market Area, or DMA. Advertisers can run the same commercial throughout the DMA, and tag the commercial with individual dealer, franchise, or store names that are specific to a limited geographic radius. The generic “See your local retailer” tag is made more targeted and relevant. A local retailer with six locations in various neighborhoods throughout a sprawling metropolitan market will no longer need to display all six addresses to all viewers. And viewers will no longer have to quickly scan a slew of addresses in small print during in the final 5 seconds of the commercial.

Another exciting advancement is Adcopy™, which enables advertisers to simultaneously run different product offerings, features, or benefits within specified subsections of a market. Specific creative executions can be targeted based on demographic or psychographic characteristics. This segmentation can be done without sacrificing the broad reach needed to build a brand across an entire market. To give a practical illustration of how Adcopy™ can work, imagine a car dealership simultaneously advertising a mini van commercial to soccer moms and a sleek sports car to upscale singles based on where those models actually sell.

Both Adtag™ and Adcopy™ are available through Comcast Cable. All Comcast markets have access to the technology, although not all offer it to advertisers yet. The technology behind these programs is available to other cable providers (besides Comcast) as well. If Adtag™ and Adcopy™ are not currently local service offerings, it is only a matter of time before they are rolled out in your area.

For those of you not in a Comcast market, or with an interest in “bigger” television advancements, look no further than your HDTV. Almost everyone knows that the conversion to DTV happened in June. What most people do not know is that this transition did more than just deliver better picture and sound quality to viewers. Now, instead of a fixed signal that travels one way from the broadcaster to the viewer, the digital format allows for the transmission of a two-way signal. This means that DTV programs can be interactive. Viewers will be able to vote on the outcome of certain programs, choose which angle to watch a sporting event, and order advertised products via their remote controls. The potential sales implications of this technology are significant, as viewers will no longer have to “leave” the television viewing environment to purchase an advertised product – whether that be online, by picking up the phone, or remembering to visit a retail location at some point in the future.

The digital conversion also presents the opportunity for broadcasters to multi-cast, which is the ability to split their bandwith into more than one channel. Local stations will soon be sub-dividing their signal into 3 or 4 (or more) sub-channels with different programming on each channel. It is likely that these segmented channels will broadcast programming of a niche nature – targeting anything from business travelers to health-conscious moms. Following the general trend of consumer segmentation, broadcast television is poised to make the shift to a new area of targeted audience development.

As these options illustrate, we should no longer settle for a standard :30-second ad buy delivering 100% of reach in a DMA. Of course there are still clients and products for which the more traditional “tonnage” television buy is a viable (and in some cases necessary) option. However, as television continues to evolve, we must do the same by monitoring trends and advancements- thereby making our plans as relevant, targeted, and efficient as possible.

Digg