Advanced TV advertising is a form of advertising used with digital broadcasting of television (TV) programs in different ways. This type of advertising utilizes technology that can create commercials that are customized to certain locations or viewers, while playing within the allotted time for standard commercials. Interactive advertisements can also be created, which allow customers to select options on their television to receive more information about offers or services. Advanced TV advertising can also be used to create new opportunities for advertising in certain conditions, including digital playback of recorded programs and “on-demand” program viewing.
One of the goals of advanced TV advertising is to allow advertisers to reach consumers in new ways, utilizing digital technology to better meet the needs of advertisers and the interests of consumers. Different types of advanced TV advertising can be used to reach this goal, including targeted advertisements for particular regions or demographics. Digital broadcasts of TV programs can be used to gain information about the viewing habits of a particular household, based on what channels or programs that household most commonly watches. This information can then be used to select advertisements for that household based on those interests, allowing for more precise and targeted advertising.
There is also the potential for more interactive forms of advertisements that can be created in advanced TV advertising. A company can include on-screen information about a product or service, and indicate that more information can be gained by a customer pressing a certain button on a TV remote control. Once this button is pushed, then the viewer might be taken to another channel that displays additional information about the product and can include other interactive features. As social media and additional forms of digital entertainment become more ingrained in television, there may be additional opportunities for interactive aspects to be integrated into advanced TV advertising.
Developments in “time shifting,” which is the process of giving control to viewers regarding when they watch a program, has also created new opportunities for advanced TV advertising. The use of a digital video recorder (DVR) allows many viewers to record a program and watch it at their leisure. This also gives customers the ability to skip commercials, however, so new types of advertising are being developed to make this type of viewing more commercially viable. The use of “on-demand” programming has also created new opportunities for advertisers to reach a more targeted segment of the population, and advertisers have begun recognizing the potential for reaching this market.