Study Reveals Growth for iTV Advertising

A study released this week by BrightLine Partners predicts that interactive television (iTV) advertising initiatives will become integral to television advertising strategies over the next 12 months.

BrightLine’s study takes a look at the current pace of deployment in digital television services as well as the frequency with which marketers are using enhanced television advertising. It finds that the number of marketers incorporating interactivity into their television advertising is growing substantially. In fact, because of a newly demonstrated commitment among television programmers to offer enhanced television advertising opportunities, the study suggests we may actually be entering a new phase of growth in marketers’ use of such advertising, ranging from interactive banner ads on channel guides to sponsoring the program enhancements for a show’s entire season.

Sponsoring Websites with content synchronized to broadcast remains a leading approach, the study found, a reflection BrightLine believes of marketers’ increased desire to fully integrate brands into programming. This desire, combined with the ongoing push to find innovative new ways to target and reach consumers, will lead advertisers to embrace new television advertising techniques as never before, the company predicts.

“The sheer number and variety of enhanced television advertisements and sponsorship makes spotting the trend challenging,” says BrightLine Co-CEO Jacqueline Corbelli. “When you aggregate the data, however, the big picture and its implications look clear and compelling: By the end of 2004, it will become unusual for major advertisers not to be deploying such initiatives.”

Some specific findings:

• More than 30 networks, including all major broadcast and most major cable networks, now air some form of one-screen and/or two-screen enhanced programming
• Interactivity is generating higher viewer retention during commercials, better brand recall, and a more loyal fan base; all of which translates into more valuable on-air inventory and revenue
• The benefits of interactivity deemed most important to marketers are the potential for better viewer retention during commercial breaks, greater brand recall, and new lead generation possibilities

[iMedia]