AT&T Broadband tests targeted advertising
rockymountainnews.com
By Steve Caulk, News Staff Writer
Cable customers in Aurora might notice that the commercials have been a little more interesting recently. Almost imperceptibly,
AT&T Broadband has begun targeting commercials to about 30,000 digital cable customers based on the probability that the viewers in a specific
neighborhood have children or have household incomes over $75,000.
That means an area with an abundance of affluent residents might watch a local Ford commercial touting the luxury of the new Thunderbirds,
while another neighborhood teeming with families might see a commercial for the Windstar minivan -- during the same time slot.
The targeted advertising, considered a precursor to the long-promised land of interactive advertising, arrives on the viewer's television
set without icons or "banner ads," looking like any other advertisement. But advertising agencies who want to match the message with the
most appropriate audience know there's a big advantage to this technology, provided by New York-based ACTV.
Marc Favaro, vice president of National Ad Sales and New Media for AT&T Broadband, provided details of the advertising trial Wednesday
during a meeting of the Cable and Telecommunications Association for Marketing meeting at the AT&T Digital Media Center in Littleton.
Favaro explained that the current demographics available to advertisers could expand to include information about percentages of viewers in an area
who enjoy outdoor sports or who dine out frequently. The trial is scheduled to last six months.
It is the only one of its kind in the AT&T Broadband system. AT&T does not use the data for other purposes, the company says;
and cable customers in Aurora received an opportunity to "opt out" of the targeted advertising program.
AT&T has about 60,000 cable customers in Aurora, but only half of those have the digital technology that makes them eligible for the targeted ads.
February 7, 2002 |
