Sky Targets TV Ads Based On Viewers’ Grocery, Other Purchases

LONDON — Making cash registers ring is one ultimate aim of TV advertising. But, in the new era of targeting, it can also be a starting point. Sky, the UK’s leading pay-TV platform, is amongst the broadcaster platforms whose addressable TV systems now afford targeting based on the in-store purchase behavior of identified viewers. Its AdSmart addressable […]

 
 

Sky May Put Premium Soccer Clips On YouTube, Facebook, Twitter

LONDON — It has been a spring and summer in which digital-native platforms have risen up, signing deals to carry live premium sport broadcasts. Twitter: First, there was the deal in which Twitter will share rights to air 10 Thursday-night NFL games, alongside NBC and CBS but on a global basis. YouTube: Then UK pay-TV challenge BT […]

 
 

Invidi’s CMO Seeks TV Data On Global Expansion Curve

LONDON — Invidi ha already helped US TV operators with customers in 68 million homes to deliver household-level targeted TV ads. Now it is aiming to expand its business overseas – but, first, it has to overcome some challenges. “We are expanding globally and aggressively, and are keeping most of those plans under wraps,” Invidi chief marketer […]

 
 

Smart TV Ads Can Help Maintain European Culture: Proximus’ Casteele

LONDON — Across Europe, many gatekeepers are increasingly concerned that the rise of powerful US, English-language content distributors may pose a long-term threat to the richness and individuality of local-language culture. The risk is not just cultural but economic. But one Belgian operator hopes highly targeted TV ads can help it ward off a new wave […]

 
 

Sky Now Powering Mobile Native Ads With Sharethrough Investment

LONDON — In the last couple of years, the UK’s leading pay-TV and telco provider, Sky, has become an active investor in ad-tech startups, as it looks to improve its multi-platform offering to advertisers. Investments have included $5m in to native ad tech company Sharethrough in 2014, and, recently, a $10 million round in to DataXu. Now the […]

 
 

Premium Content Defines Prime Ads, Whatever The Channel, FreeWheel’s Bremond

LONDON — What differentiates prime from sub-prime advertising inventory? Different media platforms can charge for ads in different and unique ways – but, in the end, value all comes back to content, says one ad-tech exec. “You may end up saying ‘my set-top box inventory is worth a lot more valuable than my IP inventory’,” says Thomas […]

 
 

Invidi’s Kubin Sees Addressable TV At A Tipping Point

LONDON — TV ads targeted through addressable linear platforms made up just 0.1% of total us TV ad spend in 2014, according to eMarketer. But the prospect is now at a “tipping point” that will push it faster and higher, with no turning back, says one exec in the space. Invidi EVP Michael Kubin tells Beet.TV, in this […]

 
 

How ‘Experimental Design’ Can Make Media Buying Smarter, Vodafone & DataXu explain

LONDON — How many marketers are prepared to uncover the best ad-buying strategies, by stopping buying ads? That’s what Vodafone has done, and it claims to have boosted efficiency by 10%, leading to millions of pounds in spend being returned. The UK mobile carrier had partnered with ad-tech and data platform vendor DataXu to run a gamut of ad […]

 
 

Ireland’s RTÉ Targets Dynamic Ads For Digital Player Reboot

LONDON — Irish public broadcaster RTÉ is readying to build the next generation of its multi-platform digital player brand, hoping summer-time tests of dynamic ad insertion can lead it to new riches in ad sales for live digital programming. RTÉ Player, a catch-up VOD service, first launched on desktop in 2010, later coming to mobile systems, cable and games consoles. Now the build of […]

 
 

Publicis, WPP Execs See Programmatic TV Coming In To View

LONDON — After revolutionizing online display and digital video ad sales, many expect so-called “programmatic” technology to shake-up the TV advertising industry, too. Even a sliver of the $79bn US TV ad industry would be worth a small fortune. But indusstry opinion appears divided on whether “programmatic TV” will take off any time soon. However, two […]

 
 

Britain’s Sky with Ad-Tech Partners to Go Global, West Says

LONDON — Sky, the UK’s leading pay-TV platform is hoping to add more ad-tech services partnerships to a recent raft of deals, as it looks to expand on the effectiveness of its TV ad targeting and multi-screen ad sequencing technologies against the rise of online rivals. The satellite TV company’s own addressable TV offering, Sky AdSmart, has been live in the market […]

 
 

Digital Is Complete Only When It Disappears: DataXu’s Baker

LONDON — The last couple of decades have been marked out by a rapid focus on digital media business models. Now digital is joining up with other media channels. But Mike Baker wants them all to blend together entirely. “The digital migration is not complete until it disappears,” says Baker, chief of DataXu, an ad-tech vendor bringing data science […]

 
 

Invidi’s Di Blasio Aims For ‘All-Glass’ Decisioning By Q4

LONDON — Invidi should know a thing or two about the new science of addressable advertising. After all, the company was formed in 2000, and has been allowing advertisers to serve distinct ads to individual households ever since. Now it’s ready to close the loop back from TV to online media, too. Company chief marketer Fred Di […]

 
 

FreeWheel’s Acquisition of StickyADS Marks Move to Global Programmatic TV Offering

LONDON —  The recent acquisition of   SSP StickyADS.tv marks a global expansion of the company’s programmatic  TV offering, explains Thomas Bremond, managing director FreeWheel in the EU, in this interview with Beet.TV He explains that FreeWheel works with some 90 percent of U.S. broadcasters and operators.  And, the company is well entrenched in the U.K. […]

 
 

Vodafone’s Test-And-Learn Approach Boosts Media Results By 10%

LONDON — Many marketers have heard the phrase: “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.” But Vodafone is trying to find the answer and eliminate the waste, using an exploratory attitude and with an ad-tech vendor in-tow. In this video interview, Vodafone head of brand strategy, […]

 
 

Direct-Response TV Will Get Specific: Publicis’ Bertozzi

LONDON — Marketers have always regarded television as the big box that can reach a mass audience, the medium at the top of the funnel that fuels initial consumer awareness. But times are a-changing, and new technology means targeted television can serve advertisers just like laser-guided online ads can. “TV can absolutely be a performance medium,” according to […]

 
 

Xaxis’ Schlickum Sees TV As Fuel For Online Ads, Not Vice Versa

LONDON — The excitement in ad-land is all about the eventual appearance of “programmatic” advertising technology, which has already revolutionized online display and video ad sales, in to the $75 billion traditional television industry. But Caspar Schlickum doesn’t quite see it that way. While many tech vendors get excited about converting TV in to another programmatic video end point, […]

 
 

Sky Has Served Three Billion Addressable TV Ads

LONDON — Two years after it launched, UK satellite TV operator Sky’s addressable TV technology has hit some milestones. The AdSmart system was a long time coming, but has already begun to change change the market. Amongst the numbers, head Graeme Hutcheson revealed at a Beet.TV recorded panel: 5,000 campaigns placed to date. almost 1,000 advertisers so far. […]