Future of Television - Video Podcast
Posted on May 23, 2011
Today’s post is a video narration of our PowerPoint forecast of the Future of Television. Since it only takes eight minutes to watch it, we provide only a brief text summary.
Download video presentation here if you don’t want to watch the stream.
First, ultimately content migrates to the Internet where it is accessed via browser-centric or app-centric devices.
Second, the socket panel available on modern flat-panel TVs is the “Trojan Horse” that prompt’s the paradigm shift.
Third, the future TV remote control units are likely to be smart-phones and tablet computers using apps such as Peel.
Fourth, eventually sponsors will demand that they only pay for TV commercials that are actually watched. This is already starting on the Internet. However, since conventional TV already has digital watermarks embedded in the audio stream, it can also be implemented in regular television via smartphones and tablet computers. The key is to augment content identification with recognition of commercials that can be made interactive.
Fifth, consumers will eventually expect constant access to the Internet cloud thereby leading to the emergence of massive high-speed unlicensed wireless networks utilizing Wi-Fi and TV Band White Spaces.
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Learning from Early Adopters
Posted on November 1, 2010
As William Gibson put it, “The future has already arrived; it’s just not evenly distributed.” Despite the undeniable logic that early adopters often lead mass market practices, such people are too often dismissed. Perhaps it’s because we sometimes have too much invested in the status quo. When that’s the case even the most accomplished among us are vulnerable because we prefer to believe what we want to believe.
Download audio narration to iPod, iPad, and iPhone (four minutes)
For example, in March one of the most prominent Cable TV industry stock analysts scorned the threat of cord cutting as an urban myth. Owing to his reputation, Dow Jones picked-up the mantra thereby leading some investors to an invalid assumption. That violates Ken Fisher’s first investment principle which commands us to scrutinize our beliefs in order to identify those we hold to be true that are actually false. Consequently, at the end of the June quarter the number of Pay TV subscribers in the USA declined for the first time in history. Furthermore, early indications from Comcast suggest the number dropped again in the September quarter. Read more…
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Implementing Behaviorally Targeted Ads
Posted on August 19, 2010
Bryan Burdick
In earlier posts and podcasts we discussed the theoretical advantages of behaviorally targeted advertising and how the Internet is best suited for the technique. Today we interview Bryan Burdick who is the Corporate Development Officer at Bizo.com which is a company that actually implements behavioral targeting via the Internet.
Bryan discusses how Bizo uses cookies and browsers to target ads to its publisher and ad network clients. He describes the process by which the behavior of the person sitting behind the browser is tracked anonymously and categorized into “buckets” that characterize qualities about him thereby enabling ads targeted at such individuals to be placed on his display screen.
Download interview to iPod, iPad, and iPhone here. (13 Minutes)
He also describes how the data is kept anonymous so as to protect individual privacy. We learn that offline marketers, such as Acxiom, actually have far more personal information about us than Bizo will ever collect via cookies. Read more…
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Ten Months Ahead of Bloomberg
Posted on May 31, 2010
Prompted by the recent GoogleTV announcement, last week Bloomberg-BusinessWeek reported that the product concept would revolutionize advertising in two ways. First, it would lead to a new policy whereby sponsors only pay for ads that get watched. Second, it would enable video ads to be better targeted.
However, regular Inside Digital Media subscribers recognize that we’ve been chanting this mantra since last July’s Future Developments in Video Advertising research report. Another example is our Thinking the Unthinkable about Video Ads last September. Read more…
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Year Ahead of Wall Street Journal
Posted on April 19, 2010
Phil Leigh
Last week Walt Mossberg of The Wall Street Journal reviewed a couple of new products from Hillcrest Labs. First, is a Web Browser built especially for big monitors such as televisions. Second is a hand-held device designed to control the browser remotely from a comfortable viewing distance as would apply when a TV is used as a computer’s display screen.
To play audio on iPhone, iPod, or iPad click here. (5 Minutes)
The browser, termed Kylo, contains big icons for 128 popular Web video sites. Navigation to other websites is via an onscreen virtual keyboard. Hillcrest characterizes the loop pointer as a remote mouse. About the size of a gymnastics ring the pointer offers gesture-sensitive control much like a similar unit for the Nintendo Wii. In point of fact, Hillcrest claims Nintendo is infringing patents.
Read more…
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Thinking the Unthinkable about Video Ads
Posted on September 18, 2009
Phil Leigh
What if sponsors paid for video ads only when they are actually watched?
As John Wanamaker put it long ago, “I know that half of my advertising is wasted, I just don’t know which half.”
For over half-a-Century Nielsen audience rating have supposedly addressed Wanamaker’s question for television ads. It’s the foundation supporting a $70 billion annual business. It’s supposed to tell advertisers which programs viewers are watching and for how long. Given present computer technology it’s downright stunning when one learns Nielsen’s techniques for collecting its data.
With so much money on the table there’s a lot at stake. Some industry constituents want to update the measurement technology while others want no changes at all. Any changes are likely to upset somebody’s apple cart. That’s probably why progress in measurement methodology has moved at the pace of continental drift. Nonetheless, sponsors pay the bills and ultimately they’re going to demand more for their money. Read more…
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How My Video Consumption Changed
Posted on August 17, 2009
Phil Leigh
If you would like to learn how my media usage changed during a recent period of enforced idleness, this audio program is for you.
Owing to medical leave during the past two-weeks I have been relatively inactive at the office. This led to an increase, as well as a change in the pattern of, media consumption. Today’s podcast explains how. Read more…
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Behavioral Ad Targeting: Newspapers
Posted on July 30, 2009
Phil Leigh
If you would like to learn how newspapers and TV affiliates can generate incremental ad revenue by selling behaviorally-targeted Internet ads to local businesses, this audio is for you.
Behavioral-targeting is one of the keys to success in online advertising. For example, consider how online merchants such as iTunes and Amazon.com are among the most successful websites in terms of translating visits into sales. There are two reasons why their conversion performance is exceptionally good. Read more…
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