TVOT NYC Intensive 2012 is a one-day, must attend show. It is the east coast version of the highly successful west coast TV of Tomorrow Show (spring 2013, San Francisco). TVOT events focus exclusively on the delivery and user experience of interactive TV across multiple platforms.
WHAT: East Coast "TV of Tomorrow Show" Event Will Feature Three Tracks, over 100 Expert Speakers and Panelists, Hands-On Workshops, and the Return of [itvt]'s popular Holiday Party.
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The Today Track will focus on the hard data that can be gleaned--and the lessons that can be learned--from the many deployments of interactive, social and advanced TV that are already in the field today.
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The Tomorrow Track will provide attendees with the opportunity to explore how the various platforms, technologies, screens, standards, content genres and business models that make up today's interactive/social/advanced TV space are likely to evolve over the coming months and years, and to identify new technologies, new forms of programming, new monetization strategies, and other developments that are likely to impact the space in the future.
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The Workshop/Master Class Track will provide smaller groups of attendees with a more intimate and hands-on environment in which to: 1) see and learn about promising new interactive, social and advanced TV technologies and business strategies; 2) get their questions and concerns answered by subject matter experts; and 3) gain practical skills for implementing interactive, social and advanced TV experiences.
WHEN: Monday, December 10th, Registration Check-in: 7:30AM
WHO: Speakers are selected for their expertise alone. The panel sessions are structured, educational, rigorous and highly focused, and even include moderated (and sometimes heated) debates on hot-button issues.
WHERE: 730 Third Avenue in Midtown Manhattan
WHY: The event will enable the pay-TV operators, consumer electronics manufacturers and technologists who are building the TV platforms of tomorrow to engage in an interactive and productive exchange of ideas with the brands, broadcasters, networks, agencies, entrepreneurs, investors, producers, developers, designers, storytellers, social media companies and other stakeholders upon whom the success of those platforms depends. To find more information, click here: http://www.thetvoftomorrowshow.com
HOW: Register for the Show
Will Keller, President, Interactive TV Commerce, is the go-to expert for t-commerce sales strategy and execution. For more iTV insights, subscribe to Inside the Screen or follow him @iTVcommerce.
If you weren't able to attend TVOT 2012 in San Francisco or attended but didn't have time to check out all the vendor demos, no worries. I made the rounds for you asking the simple question: "Show me the latest."
From interactive advertising to ACR technology to cutting-edge hybrid strategies, here's a second set of iTV video demos. I've kept each to 1 - 2 minutes so you can move through them quickly.
Demos & Details
1. YuMe shows how advertisers can benefit from making a one-to-one connection with consumers via its platform.
2. ACR platform Zeitera showcases both interactive programming and interactive advertising capabilities.
3. Here's a quick demo by Blendagram, a company that can insert logos into existing video.
4. Softel's CTO walks us through their new hybrid interactive platform MediaSphere.
For more iTV videos and t-commerce insights check out:
Will Keller, President, Interactive TV Commerce, is the go-to expert for t-commerce sales strategy and execution. For more iTV insights, subscribe to Inside the Screen or follow him @iTVcommerce.
I was fortunate to moderate an entertaining and informative debate on competing interactive TV strategies at The TV of Tomorrow Show 2012 in San Francisco. Tracy Swedlow, the driving force behind the must attend conference, praised the debate as "one of the highlights of the show."
The six debaters paired up into three teams to bring their points-of-view on the current and future state interactivity via single-screen, second-screen or hybrid applications. Of course, these industry leaders have all tackled multiple iTV strategies but were good sports to champion a specific strategy for purposes of the debate.
At just over 40 minutes, you'll need to set aside some time to watch the debate but I promise that if you do, you'll be rewarded with an excellent set of strategic arguments both pro and con for each of these approaches. From t-commerce to audience engagement to interactive advertising the debate covers it all in an entertaining fashion!
Watch the video courtesy of [itvt]: The Great Debate: Single-Screen, Second-Screen or Both?
Will Keller Moderating The Great Debate Photo courtesy of [itvt]
The Debaters
- Channing Dawson, Senior Advisor, Scripps Networks (The Single-Screen Party)
- Lisa Farris, CEO, Get This (The Second-Screen Party)
- Debbie Fitzgerald, Principal Architect, CableLabs (The Single-Screen Party)
- Will Keller, President, Interactive TV Commerce (Moderator)
- Sam Pemberton, CEO, Softel (The Hybrid Party)
- Anne-Marie Roussel, Head of Strategic Investments and Partnerships, Social Media, Sharp Labs (The Hybrid Party)
- Pete Scott, VP of Emerging Media, Turner Sports (The Second-Screen Party)
We were also fortunate to have some opinion-makers (or as Tracy Swedlow named them "Agents Provacateurs") in the audience ready to interject their questions and points of view into the debate: Zane Vella, CEO, Watchwith and Mike Kelley, SVP of Business Development, Programming and Advertising, Ensequence.
The Great Debate Presentation
To read the debate questions and four audience polls as well as see the iTV app examples each team used to buttress their cases, click on this title slide of the accompanying presentation.
Debate Description from TVOT Brochure
"In this year of non-stop political discourse, TVOT sets the stage for a friendly debate between two parties not often covered by the major news networks: champions for single-screen in-program and in-ad interactivity (EBIF and smart TV) and champions for second-screen interactivity (tablets, mobiles and laptops). The debate will also include the views of an emergent third party--the Hybrid Party--which believes that the TV of Tomorrow will be driven by both single- and second-screen interaction.
The debate will be divided into four hot topics. For each, our panelists will put forward their strongest arguments--illustrated by ITV campaign examples and statistics--respond to opposition points, and address questions posed by the moderator and audience.
- Swing Viewers: Viewers vote every time they tune in, change the channel or pick up a second-screen device. What winning strategies garner the most viewer votes and why?
- Technological Edge: In the short term, second screens have the momentum, given lower costs and speed-to-market. What do single-screen advocates have to say about that and their own potential shift to template strategies?
- A Strong Economy: To paraphrase a former president, 'It's the business plan, stupid.' The parties will argue the cost/benefit merits of their interactive strategies for both programmers and advertisers and why their approach is best for the overall ITV economy.
- Future Vision: What are the parties' visions for the future? Come the next election cycle, what will the ITV landscape look like? What new strengths will the parties incorporate into their platforms?
Who Won? Audience Poll Results
We polled the audience four times during the debate courtesy of TVplus interactive app. The second screen team won the overall debate but note the close results for question one on which party (strategy) garners the most eyeballs.
Question #1: Which Party wins over the most TV viewers?
- Second Screen: 39%
- Hybrid: 34%
- Single Screen: 27%
Question #2: Which Party has the technological edge?
- Second Screen: 70%
- Hybrid: 20%
- Single Screen: 10%
Question #3: Which Party builds the strongest economy?
- Second Screen: 47%
- Hybrid: 29%
- Single Screen: 24%
Question #4: Which Party Will be the most dominant in the next couple of years?
- Second Screen: 67%
- Hybrid: 23%
- Single Screen: 10%
Join the debate by leaving a comment on how you would vote!
Will Keller, President, Interactive TV Commerce, is the go-to expert for t-commerce sales strategy and execution. For more iTV insights, subscribe to Inside the Screen or follow him @iTVcommerce.
Here's your inside track to all the happenings at the
TV of Tomorrow Show 2012 in San Francisco. From video demos to blogs on iTV and t-commerce learnings to relevant news coverage,
Inside the Screen fills you in on the jammed-pack show.
As a consultant who grows clients'
t-commerce sales, I was excited by the show buzz surrounding t-commerce. Certainly, PayPal's sponsoring role helped but so does the our industry's growing recognition that we've got to generate revenue. T-commerce anyone?
Will Keller, President, Interactive TV Commerce, is the go-to expert for t-commerce sales strategy and execution. For more iTV insights, subscribe to Inside the Screen or follow him @iTVcommerce.
If you weren't able to attend TVOT 2012 in San Francisco or attended but didn't have time to check out all the vendor demos, no worries. I made the rounds for you asking the simple question: "Show me the latest."
From single screen content discovery to second screen apps to gamification, here's the first set of iTV video demos. I've kept each to 1 - 2 minutes so you can move through them quickly.
Demos & Details
1. ActiveVideo has taken it's content discovery and social TV capabilities - two major themes at TVOT - to the cloud.
2. Start-up Tomorrowish accurately describes itself as as a social media DVR which syncs tweets and posts with programming regardless of when the viewer watches. No spoilers here!
3. X2TV was one of several vendors demonstrating second screen solutions; in their case, they underscored simple, low cost campaign creation.
4. Visiware demoed its PlayAlong app which, in this example, was running live with the Spanish version of Money Drop.
I'll blog on another four next week. For interactive television video demos from The Cable Show in Boston and CES in Las Vegas check out my YouTube Channel iTVCommerce.
For my summary highlights of the show, please read: 7 iTV & T-Commerce Highlights from TVOT Day One and 5 iTV & T-Commerce Highlights from TVOT Day Two.
Will Keller, President, Interactive TV Commerce, is the go-to expert for t-commerce sales strategy and execution. For more iTV insights, subscribe to Inside the Screen or follow him @iTVcommerce.
The second day of TVOT 2012 in San Francisco was as informative as the first. Plus I had a chance to check out the many companies that had set displays. Here are my highlights along with a video demo.
- What Viewers Want Per ZeeBox: In his conversation with Tracy Swedlow, Anthony Rose, UK based ZeeBox co-founder and CTO, let us know that ZeeBox - a second-screen companion app - should be headed stateside in the next six months or so. (ZeeBox has about 1 million downloads in UK which "should translate into" about 6 million in U.S.) Rose said viewers want three things while watching TV: (i) more information about programming; (ii) links to related content (e.g., additional episodes); and (iii) ways to buy things on TV. Chalk up another champion for t-commerce!
- What ZeeBox Delivers: So what does this mean for ZeeBox strategy? Per Rose, ZeeBox delivers on four fronts: (i) Finding things to watch, though he noted that if their app only accomplished this, engagement times would be very short; (ii) engagements via programming info, social and transactions; (iii) control over the TV and STB (i.e., a better remote); and (iv) revenue via digital media advertising and t-commerce. Check back this fall for my first-hand evaluation of ZeeBox as I'm curious to see if and how it truly differentiates itself from all the other second screen apps.
- Roku and The Winning Formula: Tracy Swedlow also sat down with Anthony Wood, Roku founder and CEO for a wide-ranging discussion on iTV and video streaming. I tweeted his comment that we may very well see our first virtual MSO this year. Wood argued that traditional bundles (MSOs), OTT Bundles and New Brands will all be around for a long time but underscored that winning platforms will exhibit three characteristics: (i) connectivity (a point in favor of separate boxes and smart TVs); (ii) upgradeable software with strong security and separate billing; and (iii) content "that attracts" content (which I took to mean gaining critical mass with your content offerings).
- Roku Goals: Per Wood, Roku strives "to be the dominant platform in Smart TVs and boxes." To that end, Roku is dedicating a team to interactive TV and focusing on: better UI, taking content from other devices and sending it to the big screen TV, providing more info on programming (e.g., IMDb), and enabling targeted, context-sensitive advertising. That's a long list but one that underscores themes I've been hearing repeatedly at TVOT.
- ActiveVideo In the Cloud: In between sessions I caught up with ActiveVideo's Doug Casellini for a demo of their ActiveVideo Cloud TV Platform. Having seen earlier versions, I like how this iteration adds an increasing variety of features. Check it out and you'll see some of the above themes come to life.
For first day highlights read: 7 iTV & T-Commerce Highlights from TVOT Day One.
Will Keller, President, Interactive TV Commerce, is the go-to expert for t-commerce sales strategy and execution. For more iTV insights, subscribe to Inside the Screen or follow him @iTVcommerce.
An informative, packed first day at The TV of Tomorrow Show 2012 in San Francisco where, my predilection for t-commerce aside, TV shopping was truly front and center. Here are the highlights that landed in my mental shopping cart:
- PayPal is All-In: PayPal announced a raft of deals, most importantly with Comcast and TiVo. During his fireside keynote with Tracy Swedlow, TVOT founder, Scott Dunlap, PayPal’s VP of Emerging Opportunities / New Ventures emphasized that PayPal is all about keeping commerce purchasing simple and safe for consumers. They accomplish this by taking “as many steps out of the process” as possible.
- Let’s Get Shopping on TV: According to PayPal research, users' openness to buy product from TV has surged from just 15% a few years ago to 49% in their latest stats. Per Dunlap, “T-commerce can be as big as e-commerce is today” and comprises the third leg of their strategy stool along with PC/mobile and retail (note their recent retail partner announcement). PayPal is searching for partners to iterate and test.
- T-Commerce & the Single Screen: Mike Fitzsimmons, CEO of Delivery Agent and Mark Wenger from PayPal talked with Arthur Orduna, who announced yesterday his arrival at PayPal in a business development role. Fitzsimmons underscored the success of recent t-commerce campaigns, particularly History Channel’s single screen shopping widget where vs. the second experience, engagement rates were 20x higher and time spent twice as long. And these positive stats have held for more than 7 months.
- Three T-commerce Scaling Trends: Wenger noted that t-commerce growth is and will continue to be the result of three key trends: (i) Breadth of new technology platforms; (ii) consumer willingness to be more active in the living room while watching TV; and (iii) ability to leverage commerce in context of shows and ads.
- SyncTV CEO Chat: I caught up with John Gildred, SyncTV’s Founder & CEO at the show to get the latest on this iTV platform builder. SyncTV – not another ACR company mind you – provides turnkey solutions for companies such as NBCU and Lime TV to enable OTT pay TV and subscription TV services on all the major platforms. Gildred anticipates a trend toward “more packaging of multiple channels” as companies work to provide robust new services. SyncTV is focusing on their core strengths: creating cost sensitive, integrated user experiences to capitalize on this and other trends.
- ConnecTV’s New Social Media Platform: I also had a chance to catch up with ConnecTV CEO Ian Aaron fresh off their launch of a social media platform two years in the making. The platform is supported by over 400 local stations, regional sports nets and cable networks. I found the local station affiliate connection a key differentiating feature as these stations provide both content to the platform and promotion of ConnecTV on their channels. See below for a screen grab.
- Second Screen Wins The Great Debate: I moderated the last session of the day where six great debaters (Scripps’ Channing Dawson, Get This CEO Lisa Farris, Debbie Fitzgerald from CableLabs, Sam Pemberton, Softel CEO, Anne-Marie Roussel of Sharp Labs and Pete Scott from Turner Sports) fiercely debated (really!) the pros and cons of single, second and hybrid screen iTV. I’ll delve into the details later but in the final poll, the second screen team (Scott and Farris) pulled off the win with 67% of the votes. Congratulations!
More from Day Two in my next blog. Check out my tweets for the latest.
Will Keller, President, Interactive TV Commerce, is the go-to expert for t-commerce sales strategy and execution. For more iTV insights, subscribe to Inside the Screen or follow him @iTVcommerce.
Tampa, FL (PRWEB) June 11, 2012
Will Keller, a leading interactive television industry expert, will be moderating a debate at the TV of Tomorrow conference in San Francisco on June 12.
The session, called The Great Debate: Single-Screen, Second-Screen or Both? will be held Tuesday, June 12th from 5:05 to 6:00 p.m. at the conference, which is located at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco.
During the debate, three teams, each comprised of two industry experts, will argue their case in favor of their preferred interactive television strategy: single-screen, dual-screen, or hybrid. All three approaches offer innovative opportunities for the television industry to engage audiences and monetize viewers. Each strategy has passionate proponents who will present their viewpoints at the debate, Keller explained.
“We’ve designed The Great Debate not only to be a fast-paced, opinionated session but also to help the iTV industry better understand key strengths and weaknesses of single-screen, dual-screen and hybrid interactive television strategies,” said Keller. “We’re fortunate to have three great debate teams comprised of iTV veterans ready to argue the merits of these respective strategies.”
Panelists will include Channing Dawson, Senior Advisor, Scripps Networks; Lisa Farris, CEO, Get This; Sam Pemberton, CEO, Softel; Debbie Fitzgerald, Principal Architect, CableLabs; Peter Scott, VP of Emerging Media, Turner Sports; and Anne-Marie Roussel, Head of Strategic Investments and Partnerships, Social Media, Sharp Labs.
The two day TV of Tomorrow event is held every spring and is the international gathering place for executives, technologists and creatives working in the interactive and multiplatform television industry. For more information about the TV of Tomorrow conference please visit thetvoftommorowshow.com.
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About Interactive TV Commerce
Interactive TV Commerce is a boutique consulting firm operating at the intersection of television and commerce. The firm develops interactive television sales strategies that increase client sales by driving viewers to act.
Will Keller, president of Interactive TV Commerce, has advised leading companies such as AMC Networks, A&E Networks and United Airlines on interactive TV commerce and marketing strategies. He is the industry’s go-to-expert for innovative t-commerce strategies.
Interactive TV Commerce maintains offices in Tampa, FL and New York, NY. For more information please visit: interactiveTVcommerce.com.
Will Keller, President, Interactive TV Commerce, is the go-to expert for t-commerce sales strategy and execution. For more iTV insights, subscribe to Inside the Screen or follow him @iTVcommerce.
TVOT has announced the schedule of sessions for the TV of Tommorow Show 2012. See 2012 Show Schedule.
I'll be moderating a rousing debate panel on "Single- vs. Dual-Screen iTV". Here are the details.
WHAT: Sixth Annual TV of Tomorrow Show: The Great Debate: Single- vs. Dual-Screen ITV.
In this year of non-stop political discourse, TVOT sets the stage for a friendly debate between two parties not often covered by the major news networks: champions for single-screen in-program and in-ad interactivity (EBIF and smart TV) and champions for dual-screen in-program and in-ad interactivity (tablets, mobiles and laptops)
The debate, which will also include the views of a third party, will be divided into four hot topics.
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Swing Viewers
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Technological Edge
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A Strong Economy
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Future Vision
WHO: Panelists include:
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Channing Dawson, Senior Advisor, Scripps Networks (The Single-Screen Party)
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Lisa Farris, CEO, Get This (The Dual-Screen Party)
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Debbie Fitzgerald, Principal Architect, CableLabs (The Single-Screen Party)
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Will Keller, President, Interactive TV Commerce (Moderator)
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Pete Scott, VP of Emerging Media, Turner Sports (The Dual-Screen Party)
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Sam Pemberton, CEO, Softel (Third Party)
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Anne-Marie Roussel, Head of Strategic Investments and Partnerships, Social Media, Sharp Labs (Third Party)
WHY: The single-screen party has recently been on the defensive against an onslaught of dual-screen campaigns (funded by a variety of sources), but has charged back with some innovative applications while benefiting from connected-TV buzz at CES. Here's your chance to get heard and make your opinion and your vote count!
WHEN: June 12, 2012, 5:05-6:00 PM (first day of show)
WHERE: Forum Room, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco
Register for TVOT 2012
Will Keller, President, Interactive TV Commerce, is the go-to expert for t-commerce sales strategy and execution. For more iTV insights, subscribe to Inside the Screen or follow him @iTVcommerce.
T-Commerce Deployments
[itvt] has released the schedule of sessions for its December 5, 2011 conference in NYC. The day is packed with informative panels on interactive television marketing.
Here's details on the t-commerce panel. As the panel's moderator, I'm a bit biased but given the industry leaders represented, the session is a must attend for those of you wanting to grow commerce sales.
T-Commerce Deployments: Overcoming Challenges and Evolving Best Practices
December 5, 2011: 9:25-10:35AM - Union Square (room)
This session--featuring panelists representing television networks, pay-TV operators, and technology providers--will examine the lessons learned from recent t-commerce deployments on TV and second-screen devices. Putting these campaigns front and center, panelists will identify emerging technologies and key success factors impacting this space--for better or worse--now and in the near future.
Topics to be addressed include:
1) Product assortment and sales potential: which items or services are proving best at driving sales (and which aren't) and how large a sales opportunity is t-commerce for networks, operators and brands?
2) Infrastructure challenges: what backend obstacles were most troublesome in recent t-commerce deployments and what strategies did panelists employ to overcome them?
3) Commerce integration: initial strategies and best practices for integrating commerce in programming and advertising.
4) New platforms and technologies: the potential for connected TV's and ACR (automatic content recognition)-powered second-screen apps to drive commerce.
5) Social commerce: social media's expanding role in t-commerce.
Panelists include:
- Mike Fitzsimmons, CEO, Delivery Agent
- Mark Garner, SVP of Business Development and Distribution Marketing, A&E Television Networks
- Will Keller, President, WE Keller Group (Moderator)
- Anthony Landamia, Executive Director of Product Management, SeaChange International
- Rachelle Zoffer, Director of Content Strategy and Acquisition, Interactive TV, Verizon FiOS
TVOT NYC Intensive Overview
WHAT: TVOT NYC Intensive 2011.
WHERE: 730 Third Avenue, NYC (midtown between 45th and 46th streets).
WHEN: Monday, December 5, 2011 (all day plus party).
WHY: itvt puts on the best interactive television conferences period. It's all iTV all day long, conveniently located in NYC for East Coasters. Great for those of us focused on interactive television marketing strategies.
LEARN: Via three intensive tracks...
- The Today Track: Current deployments.
- The Tomorrow Track: iTV evolution.
- The Workshop/Master Class Track: Smaller sessions to see, learn and get questions answered.
Per organizer Tracy Swedlow, TVOT Intensive's "goal will be to enable the pay-TV operators, consumer electronics manufacturers and technologists who are building the TV platforms of tomorrow to engage in a fruitful exchange of ideas with the brands, broadcasters, networks, producers, agencies, designers, social media companies and other stakeholders upon whom the success of those platforms depends."
MORE INFO: Click TVOT logo below.
Besides moderating the t-commerce panel, I'll be tweeting from the show. Follow me:
Will Keller, President, Interactive TV Commerce, is the go-to expert for t-commerce sales strategy and execution. For more iTV insights, subscribe to Inside the Screen or follow him @iTVcommerce.