Honey, where's the remote? I want to buy a truck.
Finally, the TV remote may be getting some respect.
After years of being fought over, lost in the sofa cushions, and always monopolized by someone in the household, the TV remote control may finally have its day in the sun.
You may have heard about TV-to-Internet Click-through (TVIC) a lot lately. It’s a technology that is getting quite a bit of buzz, albeit cautious buzz, given the number of failed interactive television initiatives in the past.
TVIC is a technology that enables viewers through one mouse click, to request information related to specific television content. By clicking the “OK” button on their remote, viewers can request more information about a news story they just saw, an entertainer performing a song they like, or a product that catches their eye. The information is instantly forwarded to the viewer’s customized web portal where they can review the information. Viewers can also ask that a product be sent to their shopping cart for immediate purchase.
Before you get too excited, you should know that TVIC is in currently in the market trial stage, and chances are you won’t be seeing this while watching “Dancing with the Stars” for several years. A Boston company, Backchannel Media (www.backchannelmedia.com) is one of the firms developing the technology to turn the couch potato into an empowered consumer, and they estimate that 3 million viewers will have TVIC-ready television content within the next year.
So what does this mean for marketers? Well, if the technology works as promised and early adoption looks promising, it could be a game changer.
The concept of addressable media is not a new one. Firms like Experian have been working with cable and satellite companies since 2003 pitching the ability to use data and analytics to serve custom television advertising at the household level. After all why show a Pampers ad to a single-male household, right? Dish TV has also entered into the addressable media fray lately, through a partnership with ad agency Invidi.
While better targeting is always a good thing, addressable media, no matter how good the targeting is still only one-way communication. Enter TVIC.
TVIC looks like the best hope to put the “inter” into interactive television. Imagine the auto manufacturer that can respond instantly to a football fan’s request for information about the new Chevy truck. Not to mention how much easier it will be for a consumer to take Billy Mays up on his offer to double the order of Mighty Putty epoxy sticks.
Since Boston is going to be one of the test markets, I know I am looking forward to testing the technology. Of course, I’ll need to be careful. There’s just so much Mighty Putty one man can use.
So stay tuned. The fight for the remote control may just be beginning.
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