coverstory_cover story 24/04/2014 12:20 Page 5
“Information like the device consumers are
using, the time of day consumers are using
each device, the type of content they
watching on each device, and the functions
they are using- whether that is fast forward,
pause, and rewind- is all actionable data that
can be used and monetised. This information
can also be relayed to other services. If we
know that a 40-year-old male in South East
America is watching prime time on his smart
TV- a TV Guide app through the cable system
can be used to assess what this viewer
selected in real-time against other available
alternatives. Today there is plenty of
actionable data available - the main
challenge facing both broadcasters and
advertisers is filtering this information down
to decipher what is meaningful. Focusing on
these identified data sets will maximise the
potential, and success, of targeted
advertising.”
Tuminello notes that ultimately set-top
box and Smart TV data can provide the same
kind of actionable data that web logs provide
for online advertising. “There are companies
in the marketplace like Simulmedia proving
that it’s possible. Since it’s still early days a
lot of work needs to be done to turn the data
into something useful and more work yet will
need to be done to match this data up with
the data received from other channels like
online or traditional media.”
INTEGRATION. Dale warns that STBs and
Smart TVs need to be better integrated with
traditional identity providers and
personalised devices, or else risk being cast
aside by innovative approaches to bringing
this actionable data into the larger TV
experience. “As the transition to targeted ads
on larger screens gains momentum, this
actionable data will drive higher advertising
dollars and more premium content towards
these services.”
Valles suggests that although STBs and
Smart TVs can provide data on viewer
behaviours, such as programmes/videos
viewed and applications downloaded, the key
is to be able to align anonymously the
available data to link the different screens.
“In doing this, advertisers can provide
multiscreen advertising offerings to reach the
audience across all devices (e.g., TV, mo