Dynamic Advertising comes to VOD

Today, I read a press release, announcing that the Video On-Demand software gurus at SeaChange International will begin rolling out “dynamic advertising technology” for UK’s leading on-demand cable television operator Virgin Media.

This seemed to indicate…perhaps…(maybe?)…that a solution has been found to entice advertisers to the VOD platform and more effectively monetize VOD for the content producers.  And money coming in to support the content that we love must be good news…right?

Unfortunately, the announcement, rife with industry mumbo jumbo, left me with vague comprehension and more a sense of, “huh?”

What do they really mean by “dynamic advertising technology” anyway?  How does it work?

I went on a little internet hunt to see if I couldn’t help non-techies like myself get a grasp on what is sure to be on its way to VOD near you, and here’s what I found:

It appears that SeaChange has been at the forefront of this technology development since at least 2005, participating in market trials covered in trade sites like Multichannel.com. 

According to the folks at Multichannel, “dynamic advertising technology” will essentially allow for ads within on-demand video to be changed out over the course of its availability, akin to how ads run on some online content providers, like Hulu.com.

For example, different ads might appear depending on the time of day, targeting viewers who watch TV in the afternoon hours (like stay-at-home moms) versus the broader audience who is more apt to tune in at night.

Additionally, broadcasters can update time-sensitive ads like TV promos, so the viewer is seeing what episode is actually coming up instead of what already aired.

Now, four years later, select cable providers across the Pond, in Australia, and in several markets in the US are giving the technology the old test run.

Here in the States, Cox Communications has teamed up with NBC Universal via on-demand airings of The Office and Monk to evaluate what kind of value-added dynamic advertising can offer.

But this potentially viable advertising platform presents what will surely be thought of as a drawback to some customers:  No more fast-forwarding through ads.  Cox’s trial, disables “trick functionality” (i.e. fast-forwarding and rewinding) during VOD ad spots.