New Report on Digital Interactive TV
February 4 2002
The IPA report by Howard Unna, published this week in the UK, provides a fascinating insight into DiTV through Unna's experience as one of the first DiTV retailers, responsible for the launch of the first retail shop to start trading on 'Open' almost three years ago.
In the report Unna calls for the TV companies, content providers (advertisers) and the marketing communications industry to work together to exploit this new technology in parallel with the Government's wind down of existing analogue services.
According to the report:
- The UK is a global leader in DiTV, even ahead of the U.S.A.
- Traditional advertising slots may gradually be eroded by this new medium.
- Marketing spend for DiTV will come from the existing marketing budget until the return on investment is proven
- The medium delivers responsive niche markets until the time that they become inaccessible to content providers.
- Meaningful collaboration between the agencies and the platform providers is the key to more creative and profitable usage of the channel.
Unna also urges what he calls 'traditional marketers' to find out more about DiTV in order to both protect market share and exploit the technical developments available.
BskyB's Marketing Director Charles Ponsonby writes in the report's foreword: 'Howard is in an excellent position to provide insights into interactive TV (iTV) marketing, having been responsible for the launch of the first retail shop to start trading on 'Open' in May 1999. 'Open' proved, very early on, the potential of the interactive TV medium. It was then, and is now a key plank in Sky Active and by far the biggest and most sophisticated iTV medium in the world. Like Howard, I do believe the creative community will meet the challenge and interactive TV will become the norm, not the exception, thereby enriching the enjoyment and usefulness of the TV experience for everyone. Its future is in the hands, not only of TV companies such as Sky, but content partners of all types and the creative community represented so strongly by the IPA.'
Unna added, 'The opportunities for digital television are only just being realised. And it's time for the TV platform providers and the direct marketing fraternity to start talking to each other, collaborating and building best practice across the piece in order to bring exciting new solutions to advertisers, content providers and retailers. At the moment the opportunities are being buried deep within the technology and the jargon.'
IPA Director General Hamish Pringle concluded, 'The Government is working towards switching off the analogue signal by 2008, best estimates are that DiTV penetration will outstrip broadband by almost 50% by 2003, so it's important that the IPA draws attention to this new medium, pulls together what we know so far, and encourages more experimentation so that this new and exciting new medium can realise it's full potential, and quickly. This report by Unna is our marker as to where we are, and very usefully identifies issues that we as an industry need to debate so we can move forward. It will be especially of interest to the many IPA member agencies involved in direct marketing.'
All articles 2006-22 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas unless otherwise stated.
