Montreal-based Advertising-On-Demand’s etc.tv is enabling video hyperlinking across MusiquePlus’ commercial inventory. As of Nov. 3, Astral Media TVPlus ad clients who have produced long-format commercials will have the option of making their 30-second ads interactive with the network’s 18-34-year-old music fans, adding the same hyperlinking functionality in their TV viewing that they enjoy online.
The move brings the number of Quebec TV networks enabled with the etc.tv video hyperlinking solution to five after Groupe TVA, Le canal nouvelles LCN, Le Reseau des Sports (RDS) – the French-language sister of TSN – and TQS joined last month. The network, which has plans for expansion throughout Canada and the U.S. through 2009, brings Quebec’s video hyperlink-enabled commercial inventory to 40% of Quebec homes.
How does it work? Etc.tv encodes an advertiser’s 30-second ad with a ‘trigger’ that links the viewer to a piece of long-form video on a VOD server. The service allows advertisers to connect directly with interested consumers, with the ability to count each viewing of a live TV campaign, as well as each long-format ad watched by consumers.
‘In order for television to remain relevant, it has to evolve,’ Ian MacLean, VP & GM of the Advertising on Demand Network’s etc.tv, tells MiC. ‘Etc.tv is re-energizing network television by making advertisers’ ads interactive, and gives advertisers the ability to offer additional information on brands to those consumers who are interested.’
Advertisers only pay when a viewer presses the select key on their remote control and asks to view the long-form content associated with the ad. This brings ‘countability’ and a cost-effective means of reaching consumers who have an interest in their product or service. ‘This is a way of reaching the right consumer at the right time with the right message,’ says MacLean, ‘and it resonates with the digital consumer’s desire to get the information they want, when they want it.’
