A new 3D technology called Unlimited Detail showcases how their technology will greatly improve in all genre of 3D. Using point cloud data, it can improve the amount of details by 100,000 times than the current standard. Point cloud data give artists unlimited freedom on how much details they can put into their 3D models. This technology eliminates the limitation on polygon count given to the artists and eliminates the need to create multiple detail levels of the same model. This will be the next break through in 3D technology. Check out the video.

The mass audience we’ve come to associate with broadcast television continues to fragment into ever-smaller niche audiences and communities. New technologies (DVR, streaming, mobile and VOD) have shifted control over the viewing experience from TV networks into the hands of savvy media consumers. And through it all, TV’s cumulative reach potential (online and offline) continues to rise, with the cost of TV advertising generally outpacing inflation year to year.

How do we measure TV advertising’s true value in this rapidly changing and increasingly complex environment? The media community points to one hotly debated term: engagement.

In its paper Engagement Definitions and Anatomy the ARF attempts to define the word’s possible meaning, offering 25 different opinions on the word, and how it applies to brand marketing. The emergent working definition of engagement is: “turning on a prospect to a brand idea enhanced by the surrounding context”.

How do businesses harness the power of television, and realize the true measure of engagement? Counting viewers (or TV ratings as we know them) is not a sufficient and satisfactory measure to understand the quality of the viewership; it doesn’t give advertisers or programmers any information regarding viewer engagement with the content. Without a measurement of engagement, beyond the measurement of ratings, the true value of ad placements is unknown.

Most studies agree that there is correlation between program engagement and positive ad recall. The inference is that viewer engagement has the potential to make a small, dedicated audience more valuable than a large, casual audience, which in turn raises new questions for advertisers. How does viewer engagement create value? How can we quantify this value? Who will benefit from these valuable viewers?

Available program engagement research includes Nielson IAG and Q-scores, each with a different methodology and benefit. While Nielsen IAG follows a portion of media schedule on continuous (daily) basis but on a smaller number of programs and networks, Q-scores covers a larger set of programs and networks in 6 bi-monthly waves.

The essence of these measures is their ability to determine the emotional bond to a program or network, as determined by the strength of likeability, viewing loyalty and commitment to ongoing viewing.  If we believe that program likeability translates to improved advertising engagement, these methodologies may open the door to an implementation dynamic in which advertisers can explore a wider variety of programming, simultaneously improving upon pricing and consumer connection.

Have you noticed all of those interesting works of black and white “op art” appearing on random newspaper, magazine and out of home advertising?  And the latest sighting has been on television.

Oh, that’s not art – it’s the soon to be ubiquitous QR code.  Which brings me to today’s question: Should an advertiser use QR codes or not?  Or maybe, why should an advertiser use QR codes?

During the first presidential debate of the year viewers were given the option of snapping a picture of a QR code to get behind the scenes footage not available to the viewer watching the live debate.

While this may not be the most productive use of this technology the question really is will QR codes become popular for television advertisers because they offer the call-to-action in real time?  This has a definite appeal to advertisers, especially those who use Infomercials as their major means of reaching the consumer. 

As with all of the new advertising technologies, the QR code application must work easily. In this case it must provide the consumer with the immediate satisfaction of getting to the right page to meet expectations.  At the same time, QR codes during programming content might have the potential to distract the viewer and ultimately become more an annoyance than add to enhancement of the brand.

And, is the QR code the best way to offer the viewer additional information – or is it a simple drive to web through a unique URL?  Isn’t that the promise of interactive television, or the lean-forward viewing experience achieved with tablet in hand?

 Is this a case of op art – I mean QR codes – run amok?  Or is there real value in this for advertisers?  I’d love to know what you think; respond to this blog, or email us at TargetCast.com to continue the conversation.

More than any other cable or satellite provider, Netflix now has 22.80 million subscribers, 9 million of whom joined just in the last year. But the problem of how to reach these 23 million people who spend a lot of time in the ad-free Netflix space remains.

Two potential ways have been proposed for marketers to create a presence on the popular website: sponsoring channels and underwriting content with product integration. This could be the future of advertising on Netflix, if it isn’t in fact happening already. It’s easy enough for a cable network; there are plenty of branded Disney, NatGeo, History and PBS programs for consumers to play instantly. For the majority of Netflix members who retain cable and satellite subscriptions, an entire channel of programs similar to what they just watched is only a click of the remote away.

Starz is actually already doing this. There is an entire section on the Netflix website called Starz Play where members can stream approximately 1,000 titles or even a live feed from the premium cable network. The same approach could potentially work for a brand like XM Radio to sponsor the Music channel or for Sprint to reinforce its product placement within the series 24 with a presence on the show’s Netflix page.

Underwriting content and product integration will be a trickier path to sell, but it could still work. Recently, based on a recommendation from Netflix, my roommates and I watched a show describing some undiscovered, aka less publicized, attractions at Disney theme parks. Only after streaming the entire program did we realize that we had essentially watched a 43-minute infomercial. Not only that, but we were engaged with it and enjoyed it.

Netflix has said that they are not keen to offer any advertising inventory on their site, but they also recently took a leap into the original programming arena with the upcoming House of Cards, something else they also said they would not do. Perhaps Netflix is seeing the potential of expansion, and incorporating advertisements may be their next big venture. Now is the time for advertisers to start thinking about how brands can align with or reside within the Netflix landscape.

Recent app releases from Time Warner Cable and Cablevision allowing subscribers to watch live and VOD television content directly on their iPads are getting a lot of attention lately. Questions linger about what will happen when viewers begin to switch from the small static screen to the smaller mobile screen.

Using video consumption on mobile phones as a comparison point, these concerns can certainly be somewhat justified. According to a recent Nielsen study, more people are watching video on mobile phones than ever before: nearly 25 million people had done so by the end of 2010. And they’re watching more too. In Q4 2009, people watched an average of 3 hours and 37 minutes of video on their phones per month. One year later, that number rose nearly 20% to 4 hours and 20 minutes.

These are impressive statistics for a technology that is still in its infancy. But there is no need to panic about losing the traditional TV audience. In that same quarter of 2010, people were still finding time to watch over 150 hours of television each month. That’s over 37x more time people were spending with the established media format than video on their comparatively brand new smartphones.

We can’t tell for sure what the future of video consumption will look like. We do know that it is only beginning to find new homes outside of the actual TV screen, but this additional consumption is just that: additional. People are not abandoning their television sets in favor of portable devices, but rather consuming their media in more places. The same eyes in different places should be very beneficial for advertisers as this means more channels through which to expose viewers to messages. Now is the time to start thinking outside the (TV) box.

As of today there are two cable providers offering owners of an iIPad the opportunity to watch live television programs on this expensive new toy. Time Warner offers their app as an offshoot of a cable subscription via the Internet, while Cablevision’s television content will be delivered to the iPad via a secure digital tv network through a special router.

The big question is whether either of these companies has the right to provide television programs through their existing affiliate agreements with the cable and broadcast networks. Right now, both services say they can provide these programs without additional carrying fees but not everyone agrees.

In this first iteration of iPad TV, programming must be viewed within the home which lends weight to the argument that the iPad app it basically a wireless , albeit lovely, hand-held tv set you can carry to any room in your home . Importantly, Cablevision also claims that their app meets all the technical requirements for  audience measurement, making it an interesting learning opportunity for advertisers in this new environment.

That all sounds good – but there is still a lot of confusion on the carriage rules, monetization opportunities and audience measurement as they try to figure out who gets paid, and who pays, for the content. No doubt, this could get ugly in the short term, but one thing is certain. This new train has left the station , and there is no turning back. No matter what it’s called, and regardless of whose pocket gets picked in the end, “TV” content is going to be made available through each new emerging platform, because the viewer wants it that way — CHOO, CHOO.

Cyndi and Michele

According to the just released Deloitte’s fifth edition of the “State of the Media Democracy” survey there is a combination of good and bad news for television and print media. 

 First the good news:

• 71% of Americans still rate watching TV on any device among their favorite media activities. In addition, 86% of Americans stated that TV advertising still has the most impact on their buying decisions. This survey indicates that the Internet, mobile and social media channels are enhancing the overall television viewer experience, driving people to watch first-run programs and live events during their initial broadcast .
• Since 2007 a consistent 70% of Americans state that they enjoy reading printed magazines even though they know that they could find most of the same information online, and 55% have continued to subscribe to printed magazines. In addition, a consistent 80% of Americans who have read their favorite magazine state that reading the printed copy is their favorite method.
• Television ranks first and Print second when asked about their impact on buying decisions.
• Positive attitudes for advertising are also higher for print in terms of paying attention than for advertising on the Internet
• Consumers are not willing to pay for television programs, online content or provide more personal information online in order to eliminate being exposed to advertising.

Now for the not such good news:

• Nearly three-quarters of viewers are multi-tasking while watching television.  This survey found that 42% are online, 29% are talking on cell phones or mobile devices and 26% are sending messages.
• Consumers are not comfortable with web activity tracking even if it means receiving more targeted advertising. 

As an industry we are focused on assessing the potential impact of the new media opportunities on consumer behavior, and rightfully so.   But while the media vehicles for delivering our messages are expanding, we must remember that to the average consumer  television shows are programs and the content from magazines and newspapers are important in themselves no matter what platform they are delivered on.  We should honor this behavior and make sure our advertising enhances the experience that drove the usage of the medium in the first place.

The above chart, taken from a consumer survey put together by J.P Morgan’s Internet analyst Imran Khan, shows that Netflix Watch Instantly subscribers are more likely to consider switching away from Cable.  Only 33% of those who are not Netflix subscribers would consider dropping cable packages or don’t have “pay TV” while 47% of Netflix users who stream at least 1-2x a month would consider dropping their cable packages or don’t have “pay TV.”

Personally, I’ve tried streaming Netflix and am strongly considering slimming down my cable bill.  Would you consider dropping your cable package to stream online video?  Let us know!

….as a main news source for young adults.

A study from the Pew Research Center indicates that the internet is now the main news source for Adults 18-29. You can read the stats for yourself but of all the people surveyed 41% stated they get their news from the internet (up 17% from 2007) while 66% state that TV is their main source of news (down from 74%). With internet-TV connections and media streaming via the web consumers have more viewing options now than ever. What do you prefer? CNN.com or Fox5 at 10? Let us know!

It has been just over a week since Google TV’s launch, and opinions are still unclear.  Self-described as “tv, apps, search, and the web…together at last”, Google TV is available in two ways: Standalone TV (Sony Internet TV) and set-top box (Logitech Revue and Sony Internet TV Blu-ray players).

The first round of reviews are in, and they are mixed.  On the good side, Google TV has incredible functionality and a universal Google Chrome search bar that overlays every screen.  Google TV’s biggest offering is its ability to access nearly all web-based video.  Apps, like Android’s Remote App and Vimeo’s Couch Mode have been created as a complement.   On the other hand, compatible apps are limited.  The Netflix App is outdated and ABC, CBS, and Hulu are blocking Google TV devices from streaming their content.

In an effort to remedy these issues, Google has given away nearly 10,000 Revues to developers to motivate them to write applications designed for the service.

In the end, Google TV has serious potential, but is certainly still in its infancy.  We look forward to seeing what happens next.