SAN DIEGO—Video On Demand (VOD) is most widely thought of in terms of digital cable TV homes being able to immediately access and view feature films. But generally overlooked in the VOD equation are the applications and implications that the medium carries for the advertising community and content providers. Cox Communications is looking to mine some of that potential with the launch of an ad-supported VOD trial in the San Diego market. Dubbed FreeZone, this VOD service—billed as being the first of its kind by a multi-system cable operator (MSO), namely Cox—has attracted commitments from such advertisers as Diet Coke, Volvo North America, Kraft and Sony Music Entertainment’s Epic Records.
As chronicled in SHOOT, a number of industry pundits envision VOD as being the hidden killer interactive TV (iTV) application. ITV, they contend, goes well beyond producing spots with interactive overlays. For example, a consumer in the market to buy a car could, via VOD, instantly see running footage of a particular make or model of automobile, accompanied by pertinent product info. Or an advertiser might simply choose to sponsor and have its agency create VOD content that’s less sales-oriented. An advertiser could, for instance, maintain a VOD channel of quality programming, ranging from documentaries to concerts to short films and episodic series.
Cox’s digital cable subscribers in San Diego will be able to tap into FreeZone for free entertainment content and information made possible by advertiser/marketer support. All content can be viewed on-demand with full VCR-like functionality (pause, rewind, fast-forward capabilities). The advertising platform also includes permission-based follow-up interaction between viewers and advertisers. Participating households can use their digital remote control and set-top box equipment to view FreeZone programming and, if they so choose, to respond to advertisers/marketers.
Though Cox wouldn’t disclose exactly how many digital TV subscribers it has in San Diego, a spokesperson for the company related that the number of potential viewers is at least in excess of 100,000. The trial run of FreeZone had gotten underway at press time and is slated to continue through Dec. 20.
According to Debby Mullin, VP-marketing and new media advertising at Cox, the trial will help advertisers determine how to best utilize VOD. It will also be scrutinized by Cox for possible deployment in other markets. Mullin, who’s based in Cox’s Atlanta headquarters, noted that the company will likely maintain the ad-supported VOD service on a permanent basis in San Diego.
VOLVO
Digital cable subscribers who enter the FreeZone, channel 997 in San Diego, can request the Volvo adventure channel as a destination. Volvo, which sponsors the Volvo Ocean Race, has existing footage from that event as well as related content that it co-produced with National Geographic. The content not only chronicles the event itself, but also provides insights into such areas as the science of sail boating and what it takes to crew a ship. Volvo, its agency Euro RSCG MVBMS, New York, and MVBMS’ integrated marketing communications unit FUEL North America, New York, brought in convergent media company Cylo, New York, to re-purpose this content for VOD. Given the interest in sailing and boating in the San Diego market, this entertainment fare was deemed a good fit for the Cox VOD trial.
Volvo’s other prime offering via FreeZone is a piece unveiling the XC90 sports utility vehicle. Containing running footage of the SUV and coverage from the Detroit Auto Show, this content was also re-purposed by Cylo for VOD. Cylo additionally designed and created interactive components, including a menu, enabling viewers to readily access and to respond to the Volvo Ocean Race and the more direct ad message/info for the XC90.
Cylo, Volvo, Euro RSCG MVBMS and FUEL are hardly creative strangers to one another, having teamed on combined traditional/interactive media campaigns each of the last two years tied to the National Collegiate Athletic Association men’s basketball tournament, otherwise known as "March Madness." The fully integrated promotion this past March entailed traditional broadcast commercialmaking, iTV, the Internet, wireless technologies and e-mail (SHOOT, 3/29, p. 1).
"We believe VOD is going to be a tremendous opportunity for advertisers," related Brad Trotter, Cylo’s VP/business development. "It represents a shift in control to the viewer that in and of itself is powerful. Beyond that, it also eliminates the constraints of traditional appointment-based broadcast TV-based viewing. Cox’s initiative in San Diego presents a new model for how advanced digital cable services can be used for advertisers."
Though there’s potential for direct response from consumers, Trotter contended that VOD goes far beyond direct-response TV. "You can brand a whole channel—and in the process shape and enhance branding for the advertiser," observed Trotter. "The possibilities are limitless. An advertiser sponsors a concert tour, for example. You could have the Britney Spears Pepsi channel, featuring Britney Spears videos, concert footage, music and tons of content, along with Pepsi spots. This is content that people will make a conscious decision to seek out."
Cylo is currently in the midst of creating a VOD channel for Club Med, according to Trotter. The client-direct endeavor is slated to debut on FreeZone. The Club Med channel will offer a menu offering multiple vacation destinations. Digital cable subscribers can choose to view longform tours of Club Med’s premier resorts.
Trotter put the Cox initiative into perspective. "From a practical standpoint, this is a single test—one market, one deployment," said Trotter. "Cox is the first MSO to take this step. We’re looking at some time before the model shifts to the degree where people are creating content specifically for this platform and medium. What we’ve had to do at this point is find some content that could be re-purposed. But in the big picture, every MSO in the country is rolling out a VOD service and as those begin to take hold—and with the example Cox is setting, and the involvement of leading advertisers—I think we will see a lot more of this [ad-supported VOD content] emerge. The production companies, advertisers and agencies should be able to find opportunities to create different content that’s not constrained by the traditional broadcast model—content that can complement traditional commercialmaking."
ON THE MENU
A sampling of other advertiser offerings on FreeZone includes:
?Diet Coke’s "What’s your 20?" a series of five-minute vignettes about a 20-year-old woman’s experience as a production assistant on an independent film.
?Sony is promoting recording artists on its Epic Records label by offering access to music videos, video performer biographies and other projects.
?And the San Diego Zoo and the San Diego Wild Animal Park are showcasing on-demand tours of their venues and an educational piece on conservation.
David Raines, VP, integrated communications, for Coca-Cola, said that the company is "always looking for new ways to enhance the connections between people and our brands. And Cox’s VOD initiative is a great platform for innovating how we will entertain and interact with people in the future."
Cox’s Mullin noted that VOD could lead to "an enhancement of how commercials are made. Once this [VOD] platform is more available across different cable operators, you could start seeing more frequently a genre of spot such as a :30 that ends in a cliffhanger, with the longer format continuation available through VOD." Reminiscent of the famed Nike cliffhanger-style campaign (whatevernike.com, directed by Johan Renck of bicoastal Mars Media and Stockholm-based Peterssson Ackerlund Renck for Wieden+Kennedy, Portland, Ore.) featuring such athletes as Marion Jones and Mark McGuire—in which traditional spots drove traffic to the Internet to see varied conclusions to stories (SHOOT, 2/25/00, p. 1)—a package of spots designed for VOD would be different in one key respect.
"This is digital television," said Cylo’s Trotter. "A lot of people are thinking in terms of their experience with the Internet and streaming media—grainy pictures. But VOD maintains the integrity of the original production—DVD quality, along with the ability to pause, rewind and watch again."
There will be assorted barometers by which to gauge the effectiveness—or lack thereof—of the Cox VOD test program. Mullin said that Cox has commissioned an independent consumer research study by Frank Magid Associates to assess the VOD trial. Trotter added that by virtue of being a digital medium, usage can be tracked, with figures attached to channel traffic and how long someone watches content.
Advertisers, their agencies and media companies will also be using their own means to evaluate the VOD initiative. As alluded to earlier, there will be opportunities for consumers to request info. For example, another advertiser participant in the Cox San Diego digital cable experiment is Global Guard/ Satellite Security Systems, which protects automobiles from being stolen—and tracks those vehicles if they are. Viewers of the content showcased by Global Guard/Satellite Security Systems on FreeZone can request a coupon for a $100 discount off its services.
Universal McCann (UM), the media planning and buying arm of McCann-Erickson Worldgroup, has clients Coca-Cola and Sony Music’s Epic Records in the FreeZone. In a released statement, Mitch Oscar, senior VP-director of Universal McCann Futures, noted that FreeZone provides UM and its clientele with "a living laboratory that will enable us to glean valuable insight into consumer reaction to the evolving on-demand and interactive television universe, while developing and testing new models for advertiser-supported home entertainment."
