BigBand Networks Demonstrates Addressable Television Advertising
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Commercials tailored for individual recipients can improve response rates, increase service provider revenues and make content more compelling to viewers
REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Nov. 1 -- BigBand Networks, Inc., a leading provider of broadband multimedia infrastructure for video, voice and data, announced new capabilities in its Broadband Multimedia-Service Router (BMR®) platform that give service providers the ability to deliver television commercials to individual recipients. BigBand conducted demonstrations of addressable advertising-the delivery of highly-relevant advertising content to very small, specific segments of a television viewing population-in tests with solution partners OpenTV Corp. and INVIDI Technologies Corp., at CableLabs® headquarters last week.
Traditionally, service providers have been limited to delivering television commercials to mass audiences in large geographic zones of viewers -- southern California or western Chicago, as examples -- based on assumed demographics for the specified regions. The collaboration between BigBand Networks and its solution partners gives operators the ability to address ads to individual viewers based on relevant, but anonymous data such as viewing preferences, hobbies, interests, personal demographics, zip code, ethnicity and other parameters.
"The ability to deliver addressable advertising differentiates cable television from broadcast and satellite services. With PVR-equipped consumers skipping ads, it is vital that next-generation service providers deliver compelling ads that entice viewers to watch," said Gerry Kaufhold, analyst with In-Stat, a market research firm headquartered in Scottsdale, Ariz. "BigBand's demonstration shows that after years of discussion, new technology is at hand that can allow the cable industry to give advertisers far better returns on their media investments."
Addressable advertising can help advertisers achieve better response rates and help service providers achieve more revenue-per-ad by promoting products and services that are more likely to be compelling to specific viewers. Addressable advertising can also increase the likelihood that viewers will pay attention to TV commercials by dramatically increasing the relevance of each ad for each viewer. The growing use of personal video recorders (PVRs) has given viewers the ability to skip ads that are not interesting to them. Addressable advertising can help mitigate the potential impact of PVRs on ad viewership, since viewers are less likely to skip relevant content.
"BigBand Networks aims to apply the one-to-one marketing capabilities of the Internet advertising model to support the creation of a unique set of advertising products and services for digital TV," said Ran Oz, chief technology officer of BigBand Networks. "Everyone -- service provider, advertiser and subscriber -- benefits when advertising content is more relevant. This demonstration is an extremely significant industry milestone."
New addressable advertising capabilities in BigBand's BMR include the ability to:
o Select and supply advertising assets based on viewing habits associated
with individual set-top boxes;
o Enhance addressable advertisements and identify corresponding set-top
boxes to which ads should be sent;
o Integrate with different ad campaign management systems to align ad
deployments with overall campaign objectives;
o Allow advertisers to target television commercials more accurately and
easily than was previously possible.
In combination with enhanced TV capabilities such as interactive advertising, TV-based eCommerce and interactive programming, addressable advertising also encourages viewers to engage directly with content. Based on capabilities demonstrated by BigBand Networks and enhanced TV solution providers, subscribers can request follow-up information on the most relevant ads they receive, and potentially complete transactions. As an example, viewers might schedule a test drive of a new sports car featured in a television commercial, learn of a sale at a local retailer or order dinner from a favorite local restaurant by interacting with an addressable, enhanced TV advertisement.
Service providers that deploy advanced video switching capabilities from BigBand, such as switched broadcast, can change the way advertising is delivered and experienced. For more information about addressable advertising capabilities, visit www.bigbandnet.com/technology/tech_whitepaper_ncta2.php to read a white paper co-authored by BigBand Networks and Time Warner Cable.
About BigBand Networks
BigBand Networks, Inc. is a leading provider of broadband multimedia infrastructure for video, voice and data. Utilizing unique combinations of open technologies, the company's solutions are designed to process, optimize, and deliver services such as broadband Internet, VoIP, digital broadcast television, HDTV, transport of high quality video, local advertising, VOD, interactive TV and IPTV through any network. Service providers use BigBand Networks' platforms in efforts to cost-effectively expand revenue-generating offerings of rich content and advanced interactive services. Customers include nine of the ten largest North American cable operators, U.S. telecommunications companies, as well as leading service providers in Asia, Europe and Latin America. Founded in 1998, BigBand Networks is based in Redwood City, Calif., with offices worldwide. For more information, please call 650-995-5000, email info@bigbandnet.com or visit www.bigbandnet.com.
CONTACT:
Jonathan Bass,
BigBand Networks
+1-650-995-5043
jonathan.bass@bigbandnet.com
Stephanie Schulman
Cohn & Wolfe
+1-212-798-9752
