dslreports logo
Comcast Tries Addressable Advertising Pilot in Baltimore
TV Ads based on neighborhood demographics just the beginning...

Charter, Cox, Time Warner Cable, Cablevision, Comcast and Bright House Networks are collaboratively working on a new advertising system they've dubbed "Canoe." The effort, designed to help keep billions in ad dollars from flowing to the Google's of the world, will attempt to make TV advertising more interactive and user (or neighborhood) specific. While the program isn't expected to really take off until the first quarter of next year, customers tell us they're already getting e-mails concerning Canoe pilot programs.

One of Comcast's initial trials will be in the Baltimore market, where they're e-mailing customers about "Addressable Advertising," which will "increase the relevancy of the TV advertising seen by our Digital Cable subscribers." According to Comcast, the data used to determine which ads users will see is based on "standard, widely available demographic information":

quote:
To do this, we match anonymous, non-sensitive, geographic and demographic household characteristics to ad messages we think will be more relevant. This will not increase or decrease the number of ads you see and throughout the test your privacy will be protected. Our privacy policy is detailed in our public Privacy Policy Statements and available on our web site.
Comcast is including a FAQ with the e-mail to customers, saying this new system will prove useful to customers "because time spent watching ads will be more meaningful." Customers can opt-out via this website, by mail or by phone. According to Comcast, the ad system will initially target Comcast customers by neighborhood demographics (Comcast cites "families", but income and other criteria will obviously be used):
quote:
This service uses technologies that attempt to match, or address, ads to anonymous groups of household who should consider them more relevant based on standard, widely available demographic information. For example, households in neighborhoods mostly populated with families might see ads tailored to families while subscribers in neighborhoods populated with singles might see different ads.
Ultimately, the goal is to shift this advertising from a neighborhood to house and potentially even individual preference level. According to Ad Week, that's a year or two out. A goal for Canoe is also to sell set top data "from set-top boxes for sale to programmers and marketers," according to the trade mag.

According to Comcast's e-mail to customers, the Baltimore trial will run about six months and impact only 2% of ads shown on just a few digital TV channels.
view:
topics flat nest 

pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium Member
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD

pnh102

Premium Member

Lame

Screw this. Put on more HD channels.
bogey7806
join:2004-03-19
Here

bogey7806

Member

Re: Lame

It seems like this would be beyond trivial with IPTV. Just insert the ads into the streams going through certain routers. I guess they could do the same thing with nodes but it'd be kind of rough.

pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium Member
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD

pnh102

Premium Member

Re: Lame

said by bogey7806:

It seems like this would be beyond trivial with IPTV. Just insert the ads into the streams going through certain routers. I guess they could do the same thing with nodes but it'd be kind of rough.
But as was also pointed out earlier, most people with DVRs tend to skip ads anyway so this makes this technology worthless.

Instead of wasting money on something very few people will find useful, Comcast should look ahead instead and offer more HD programming.

cypherstream
MVM
join:2004-12-02
Reading, PA

cypherstream

MVM

Re: Lame

Agreed.

Our money is better spent expanding the systems to 1 GHz and invested into HD Channels than this. Project Canoe cannot be a 'cheap' undertaking. Comcast, priorities anyone???

badtrip
Premium Member
join:2004-03-20

1 edit

badtrip

Premium Member

Re: Lame

said by cypherstream:

Agreed.

Our money is better spent expanding the systems to 1 GHz and invested into HD Channels than this. Project Canoe cannot be a 'cheap' undertaking. Comcast, priorities anyone???
The broadband market is saturated and Comcast has no competition. Upgrading infrastructure is not as profitable as investment in advertising in such an environment.

edit:grammar

battleop
join:2005-09-28
00000

battleop

Member

Re: Lame

"The broadband market is saturated and Comcast has no competition"

Did the Direct Tv and Dish Network birds fall out of the sky? Did the Telcos stop offering service? How did I miss that story on the front page?
fiberguy2
My views are my own.
Premium Member
join:2005-05-20

fiberguy2 to cypherstream

Premium Member

to cypherstream
said by cypherstream:

Agreed.

Our money is better spent expanding the systems to 1 GHz and invested into HD Channels than this. Project Canoe cannot be a 'cheap' undertaking. Comcast, priorities anyone???
Let me be the first to disagree. When a provider or ad vehicle can target a more specific customer, the ad buy becomes MUCH more valuable which means more revenue TO get to the things you want. Further, before comcast spotlight even, you'd get an ad inserted into your viewing for a small diner 30 miles away and in today's world, everyone here would be more apt to sqwak about that as "idiotic" in today's world.

This is the first I've ever heard of this boat (canoe) but, I can say, to me, its a logical choice to migrate towards.

The company is capable of doing more than one thing at a time; it doesn't have everyone in the company doing one single thing. The HD upgrade, system frequency expansion, etc. are all still being done.

Canoe actually wouldn't be that expensive anyway. I'd bet you that they perform a small upgrade in the head end equipment, and ads that are served are put into a "head end" code of their own. Each box would most likely be told to view a different "head end" where the commercials were being fed to - or something similar to that. Just a guess at this point.

cypherstream
MVM
join:2004-12-02
Reading, PA
·PenTeleData
ARRIS SB8200

cypherstream

MVM

Re: Lame

I don't think it's a bad idea at all, I just think the priorities are a little mis-guided.

I'd like to see advanced services and HD expansion before addressable advertising. I've been following some of the Project Canoe in CED Magazine, and it's not just Comcast. It's a consortium of companies like Time Warner, Charter, and Cox as well. There will be a standard of implementation (thankfully) which in the long run this will be a great asset to the MSO and advertiser.

Again, not necessarily a bad thing, but I was hoping for the attention to focus on bandwidth expansion for HD Video and DOCSIS 3.0. That's not something you generally see unless you live in a Fios or U-Verse zone.
fiberguy2
My views are my own.
Premium Member
join:2005-05-20

fiberguy2

Premium Member

Re: Lame

Right.. there are other things that need attention as well. However, there is an assumption that there is no or less attention being paid to the other areas that you speak of.

battleop
join:2005-09-28
00000

battleop to fiberguy2

Member

to fiberguy2
I like the idea of localized advertising. If I am going to have to watch commercials I would rather be for goods and services in my area.

KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
Premium Member
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK
Netgear WNDR3700v2
Zoom 5341J

KrK to pnh102

Premium Member

to pnh102
said by pnh102:

But as was also pointed out earlier, most people with DVRs tend to skip ads anyway so this makes this technology worthless.
If the Cable company provides the DVR (Integrated STB, for example) they can also control how you use it. 'Course this would really piss a lot of people off....

Then again... it's cable TV.
fiberguy2
My views are my own.
Premium Member
join:2005-05-20

fiberguy2

Premium Member

Re: Lame

said by KrK:

said by pnh102:

But as was also pointed out earlier, most people with DVRs tend to skip ads anyway so this makes this technology worthless.
If the Cable company provides the DVR (Integrated STB, for example) they can also control how you use it. 'Course this would really piss a lot of people off....

Then again... it's cable TV.
.. you mean the same as DVD makers remove your ability to MENU through the beginning crap of some DVDs including the ads for their other movies?? I'd agree with you.

dvd536
as Mr. Pink as they come
Premium Member
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ

dvd536

Premium Member

Re: Lame

said by fiberguy2:
said by KrK:
said by pnh102:

But as was also pointed out earlier, most people with DVRs tend to skip ads anyway so this makes this technology worthless.
If the Cable company provides the DVR (Integrated STB, for example) they can also control how you use it. 'Course this would really piss a lot of people off....

Then again... it's cable TV.
.. you mean the same as DVD makers remove your ability to MENU through the beginning crap of some DVDs including the ads for their other movies?? I'd agree with you.
DVDfab platinum takes care of those pesky dvds. disney are the worst.

KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
Premium Member
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK
Netgear WNDR3700v2
Zoom 5341J

KrK to fiberguy2

Premium Member

to fiberguy2
said by fiberguy2:

.. you mean the same as DVD makers remove your ability to MENU through the beginning crap of some DVDs including the ads for their other movies?? I'd agree with you.
Yup. That would be a current example of a similar technology.
moonpuppy (banned)
join:2000-08-21
Glen Burnie, MD

moonpuppy (banned) to fiberguy2

Member

to fiberguy2
said by fiberguy2:

..you mean the same as DVD makers remove your ability to MENU through the beginning crap of some DVDs including the ads for their other movies?? I'd agree with you.
And I know more than a few people that are so turned off by that "feature" that they will not buy the product or movie advertised or they simply ignore it. Can't tell you how many times my friend and I simply ignore the forced ads by hitting the frig and grabbing drinks and snacks. Like the previews in a theater, people put away their coats and bags, get their popcorn and drinks ready for the main feature.

Mactron
el Camino Real
Premium Member
join:2001-12-16
PRK

Mactron to pnh102

Premium Member

to pnh102
Most Ads make not want to buy the product. "Headon" ?..
Gee how many folks wanted to buy that product after being annoyed for months with that Ad ?

Not me for sure.

pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium Member
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD

pnh102

Premium Member

Re: Lame

To be fair, some commercials are fun to watch, and I've been known to actually not skip them and watch them. If advertisers made commercials worth watch, more people would watch them instead of skip them.
fiberguy2
My views are my own.
Premium Member
join:2005-05-20

fiberguy2 to Mactron

Premium Member

to Mactron
said by Mactron:

Most Ads make not want to buy the product. "Headon" ?..
Gee how many folks wanted to buy that product after being annoyed for months with that Ad ?

Not me for sure.
Ahhh, contrare Mactron. The most successful ads ARE the ones that annoy you. I would speak of local ads but most people here wouldn't get it.. so lets take the Head-On product. Not only was it simple, stupid, and the worst production ever made, it got EVERYONE talking about it.. it got free press, it got into the news cycles and they sold millions of that "we can't tell you if it really works or not" product.

Point in case - the ad one one of THE most successes in American television, the firm that made it got rich, and people bought the crap by the train-loads.

Some of the more vocal people here do not make up what is the group of idiot consumers that eat that kinda stuff up.

Mactron
el Camino Real
Premium Member
join:2001-12-16
PRK

Mactron

Premium Member

Re: Lame

said by fiberguy2:



Some of the more vocal people here do not make up what is the group of idiot consumers that eat that kinda stuff up.

Your probably right... So Sad.

RadioDoc

join:2000-05-11
La Grange, IL

RadioDoc to fiberguy2

to fiberguy2
The most successful ads sell product. Whether they get free press, annoy people or are generally stupid can be at odds with that. Some of the most memorable, famous television ads did nothing to sell the product.

So I'd like to see some actual stats for that ad you cite, because I doubt your claim.
fiberguy2
My views are my own.
Premium Member
join:2005-05-20

fiberguy2

Premium Member

Re: Lame

You can doubt all you want, and google is still your best friend. If you knew anything about advertising, you'd not be posting your message. (But, you seem to be an expert on every subject you speak of.)

There are plenty of documented facts on what a successful ad is to which you are more than welcome to spend your own time looking up to disprove me, and the entire industry.

Why don't you start with the very ad we're talking about. Second, look into the history of tacky ads.. I don't know about when you grew up, but I'm not going to do your home work.
jgegner
join:2007-12-17
Bowling Green, KY

jgegner to pnh102

Member

to pnh102
It's bad enough that website owners put obnoxious ads on their sites (I use Firefox with Adblock Plus & NoScript to filter them out), now cable operators like Comcast want to shove even MORE ads in our faces, targeted to our interests?

This almost makes me want to dump cable and get DirecTV.

James
openbox9
Premium Member
join:2004-01-26
71144

openbox9

Premium Member

Re: Lame

You don't think that if this concept proves itself that every pay TV provider out there will attempt similar tactics? The bottom line is that providers need to generate more revenue, and this is a potential method to do so. If I'm paying to advertise my wares, I'd much prefer to pay additional to advertise to a potential customer much more likely to pay for my goods rather than blanket ads to everyone in hopes that I may get lucky. Targeted TV advertising is a logical step just as targeted ads online are taking off too.

Cjaiceman
MVM
join:2004-10-12
Castle Rock, WA
(Software) pfSense
Ubiquiti UniFi UAP-AC-PRO

Cjaiceman to jgegner

MVM

to jgegner
said by jgegner:

It's bad enough that website owners put obnoxious ads on their sites (I use Firefox with Adblock Plus & NoScript to filter them out), now cable operators like Comcast want to shove even MORE ads in our faces, targeted to our interests?

This almost makes me want to dump cable and get DirecTV.

James
I do the same thing, AdBlock Plus & NoScript keeps the ads away

I already switched from Comcast to DirecTV because DTV has more HD channels, and I save $20/month vs going w/ Comcast for less HD channels at more of a cost. I did however get Comcast's Business 16/2, as its the best I can get from Comcast or Qwest.

[hijack]
BTW, for those who didn't know, Comcast's Business account comes with access to an exchange server for your e-mail. Just thought some would like to know as I've told a few people and sold them JUST for that feature
[/hijack]

FFH5
Premium Member
join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ

1 edit

1 recommendation

FFH5

Premium Member

What ads? DVR 30-sec skip works wonders

I watch very few shows on TV in real-time. I use the DVR to record what I want and when playing back, I use the 30 sec skip feature to avoid ads.

The only time I see ads is on shows of live sporting events that I want to see live(go Eagles).

And I really don't care that the ads I do see are based on the fact that I live in an upscale neighborhood. BMW commercials instead of Kia commercials.

dadkins
Can you do Blu?
MVM
join:2003-09-26
Hercules, CA

dadkins

MVM

Re: What ads? DVR 30-sec skip works wonders

MCE + VideoReDo = no commercials.

Achtzehn
join:2002-04-14
Los Angeles, CA

1 recommendation

Achtzehn

Member

I laughed

increase the relevancy of the TV advertising

Did anyone else laugh at this?
fiberguy2
My views are my own.
Premium Member
join:2005-05-20

fiberguy2

Premium Member

Re: I laughed

said by Achtzehn:

increase the relevancy of the TV advertising

Did anyone else laugh at this?
Believe it or not, some people actually do like the ads they get. And with that, some people don't like to see ads that don't mean anything to them. Yea, that group will eventually weed out as times continue to change, but there still are those that do want to see them.

Like TK Junk kinda said.. I'd rather see an ad for a BMW or a nice car and not Jo-Jo's discount bargain "buy our junk cars for twice the price" commercials.. OR, the pawn shops, Billy Bob's Check Cashing & BBQ ads.. etc.

I'm not a fan of ads, BUT, there are local businesses that do put out ads that I DO want to see.. Kathie Griffin is coming to a theater in my area.. I didn't know it until I saw it on TV last night, actually , as I wasn't skipping ads on the DVR... go figure.

Moral: There are always more than one side to the story and it's not always about one person or lifestyle as there are many...

spewak
R.I.P Dadkins
Premium Member
join:2001-08-07
Elk Grove, CA
·Consolidated Com..

spewak

Premium Member

Really?

"Comcast is including a FAQ with the e-mail to customers, saying this new system will prove useful to customers "because time spent watching ads will be more meaningful."
I am sure that like many others, I forward thru commercials anyway, meaningful or not!

mememeandyouuuu
@comcast.net

mememeandyouuuu

Anon

This is so stupid!

You know what? I'm not gonna go out and buy a new Toyota when I drive a Nissan just because I saw it on TV. I drink diet cola but I'm not gonna go out and buy diet Coke just because I saw it on TV when I prefer diet Pepsi! Any emails I get from this "Canoe" project will just be deleted.

Sometimes I just have to shake my head... Who are these idiots that sit around the conference table during the Wednesday morning managers meeting and think up these cocamammie ideas?
openbox9
Premium Member
join:2004-01-26
71144

openbox9

Premium Member

Re: This is so stupid!

said by mememeandyouuuu :

Sometimes I just have to shake my head... Who are these idiots that sit around the conference table during the Wednesday morning managers meeting and think up these cocamammie ideas?
The same "idiots" that rake in cash hand over fist because a large portion of the sheep audience targeted by ads do purchase the products. That's why advertising still exists.
alexintexas
join:2003-01-11
San Antonio, TX
Netgear CM500
TP-Link Archer C7
Obihai OBi200

alexintexas

Member

Conoe???

TWC here in San Antonio has this, and has had for over two years its called "Zone Advertising" .

Did Karl miss something????

»www.cablemediasales.com/ ··· &dma=sao
fiberguy2
My views are my own.
Premium Member
join:2005-05-20

fiberguy2

Premium Member

Re: Conoe???

said by alexintexas:

TWC here in San Antonio has this, and has had for over two years its called "Zone Advertising" .

Did Karl miss something????

»www.cablemediasales.com/ ··· &dma=sao
... and Comcast has "Comcast Spotlight" which targets consumers by "zones" or "areas".. has for almost a decade now. It's not the same thing.

This is much more targeted. The Zone advertising is based on zip codes or boundaries. (Often the old HUB areas or head end areas that comprise the now larger conglomerate cable system) However, this lets them target the set top box directly in a much smaller, targeted area. Possibly could even give them, in the future, the ability to target those with one ad for you who has, say, a $180 a month cable bill, and a different ad for oyur actual neigbor who has a $60 a month cable bill.

It's not the same thing.
ctggzg
Premium Member
join:2005-02-11
USA

ctggzg

Premium Member

Addressable advertising pilots are dangerous

Let humans fly the planes and not worry about spewing ads while they're doing it.
ctggzg

ctggzg

Premium Member

Re: Addressable advertising pilots are dangerous

Nobody?

graycorgi
Premium Member
join:2004-02-23

graycorgi

Premium Member

Doesn't seem like a bad thing

I'm too lazy to fast forward between ads but I do leave the room to tend to errands while the commercials are on.

Who knows, maybe this will increase the chances of me discovering a useful product ... hah

Most companies with enough money for a TV ad have a bad product, since they should have used that money on developing and manufacturing the product instead.
gbh2o
join:2000-12-18
Longs, SC

gbh2o

Member

Name choice

I'll bet a respected news organization like canoe.ca really appreciates having their name recognition diluted by being associated with this gar-bage. Baltimore is not that far from their area of influence.
fiberguy2
My views are my own.
Premium Member
join:2005-05-20

fiberguy2

Premium Member

Re: Name choice

said by gbh2o:

I'll bet a respected news organization like canoe.ca really appreciates having their name recognition diluted by being associated with this gar-bage. Baltimore is not that far from their area of influence.
Did you know about Canoe.ca prior to this? .. or did you just find them as you were searching google to find more information about this? (I put my money on the latter)

I'm sure a news source in Canada and a Unites states video delivery, tv marketing / ad insertion system have much in common.
patcat88
join:2002-04-05
Jamaica, NY

patcat88

Member

big brothers

So they are serving each house with custom ads, or each headend/fibernode with custom ads?

Remember federal law offers little to no protection for your cable TV viewing habits »caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/c ··· 551.html

We all know digital cable logs everything you do with your box.

•••

Matt3
All noise, no signal.
Premium Member
join:2003-07-20
Jamestown, NC

Matt3

Premium Member

Neat

I think this is neat. I hate advertisements for restaurants and businesses that aren't local.

kieranmullen
Premium Member
join:2005-12-12
Portland, OR

kieranmullen

Premium Member

Err? Adblock Firefox Extension (free)

Works wonders.