Cablevision has scored four marketers for its Optimum Select interactive ad campaign that allows subscribers to use their remote controls to receive additional information, coupons, samples and gift cards.
The first round of advertising partners comprises Unilever, Gillette, retailer Century 21 and Benjamin Moore. The goal of the interactive ad campaigns is to provide viewers with a platform to turn 30-second ads into longer forms of engagement with a brand.
“We’re extremely pleased by the initial response from leading national brands to Optimum Select,” said David Kline, president of Rainbow Advertising Sales Corp., Cablevision and Rainbow Media’s advertising sales unit. “Advertisers recognize the extended brand experience enabled by Optimum Select, where direct marketing meets TV and transforms the traditional ad model to offer qualified lead generation, brand engagement, enhanced measurement, insight and learning.”
Each advertiser will be featured exclusively across 25 major cable networks during the launch campaign. These campaigns include a bottle of 2-in-1-face wash/body wash from Gillette, a coupon for a free 2 oz. color sample from Benjamin Moore, a $10 gift card from the retailer Century 21 and Degree Fine Fragrance Body Mist from Unilever.
While Cablevision is one of the investors of Canoe Ventures – along with Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Charter, Cox and Bright House Networks – its interactive ad campaign doesn’t currently support EBIF on its set-top boxes. After scrapping its first product launch earlier this year, Canoe Ventures has said it will launch an EBIF-based advertising service sometime this year.
The Optimum Select interactive ads start with a 30-second television commercial. During a commercial, a blue bar at the bottom of the television screen will invite the viewer to press the “SEL” button on the remote for more information. If the viewer chooses to press “SEL,” the current program is shifted to the top right corner of the screen to allow continued viewing, and the additional information about the product or service advertised in the commercial will appear in the rest of the screen.
From this screen, the viewer can again use the remote to request a sample, coupon or gift card, depending on the specific campaign.
Later this year, Cablevision said it would introduce Optimum Select Content Saving, which will provide the ability to save video-on-demand content. And early next year, Optimum Select Commerce will become an option for consumers to make purchases directly through the television.
Optimum Select is accessible to Cablevision’s nearly 3 million digital customers with an interactive digital set-top box.
