Sky enhances Sky AdSmart with new functionality for advertisers

[Scubbie]

Sky enhances Sky AdSmart with new functionality for advertisers

Sky is today announcing two major new enhancements to its tailored advertising service Sky AdSmart which will give advertisers even more control over their TV campaigns.

From November, advertisers using Sky AdSmart will be able to deliver TV ads to Sky homes by area postcodes. The ability to focus advertising using the first two letters of a postcode builds on the existing location-based targeting offered by Sky AdSmart which allows advertisers to select either TV regions or metropolitan areas including Leicester, Belfast and Cardiff.

Sky AdSmart will also enable advertisers to use their own customer data to help them reach their preferred audiences. This will let advertisers create their own bespoke customer segments, in addition to the choice of 90 customer attributes already offered by Sky AdSmart.

The enhancements will be announced today by Sky Media’s Deputy Managing Director Jamie West at the IBC 2014 technology conference in Amsterdam. He will also announce that so far 224 brands have run 640 individual campaigns using Sky AdSmart. In total, 577 million Sky AdSmart ads have been viewed in Sky homes.

By enabling advertisers to target their campaigns more accurately with Sky AdSmart, Sky Media aims to increase the size of the TV advertising market by attracting new brands to the medium. 70% of Sky AdSmart advertisers hadn’t previously advertised either on TV or on Sky.

Jamie West, Sky Media’s Deputy Managing Director, comments: “We’ve seen a huge and growing demand for Sky AdSmart, opening up the UK’s most-loved medium to scores of advertisers who previously thought it was not relevant or out of reach. Building on our successful launch, we’re further strengthening the product to give advertisers additional ways of reaching their desired audiences on TV. We look forward to continuing to develop Sky AdSmart to give advertisers even more control over their TV campaigns.”

Available in a fifth of UK households, Sky AdSmart tailors what’s shown in TV ad breaks according to a household’s profile and location. Originally launched across Sky’s wholly-owned entertainment, movies and sports channels, it has since been extended across a range of Sky’s partner channels, including Nat Geo, Fox and History.

For more information on Sky AdSmart, please visit www.skyadsmart.co.uk

[dog-man]

I rarely watch anything as it is being originally broadcasted these days. I tend to 'skyplus' everything I want to watch and I fast forward through the adverts. I can't recall the last time I watched a full advert. I am not interested in them. If there is anything I require, I will research it.

I have already opted out of this service.

[Isitme]

Me too! As I have said before, the fast forward arrows are rubbed off my remote. The only thing I watch live is the News and I always watch BBC, so no adverts there.

[gymno]

Cue the jokes about what will be advertised where then...

Here in essex i guess it'll be alloy wheels & tanning salons.

[dog-man]

The day they force adverts on us by stopping the fast forward ability through adverts will be the day I leave sky forever!

[Isitme]

Cue the jokes about what will be advertised where then...

Here in essex i guess it'll be alloy wheels & tanning salons.

.....and next week in Scotland, maybe house moving companies.

[lincoln]

VPN +proxy + fiber + torrents = no adverts

[bubblegun]

.....and next week in Scotland, maybe house moving companies.

LOL, very droll.

I have AdSmart enabled on my account for now, but just out of curiosity as to how it will affect the adverts we get based on the ****e my wife watches! (i know I swore ...oops!).

[dog-man]

I assume that opting out of tailored advertising within 'my sky' means I have in fact opted out of adsmart

[Scubbie]

I assume that opting out of tailored advertising within 'my sky' means I have in fact opted out of adsmart

Yes. However there will be other adverts that you'll see instead.

Whilst I appreciate that many people fast forward through the ad break or put the kettle on or answer a call of nature when watching something live, then do subsidise the broadcasting costs. Many other people will be happy to let them play through. Some adverts can also be quite entertaining.

During the beta testing I've seen a few too many repeats of some ads in order to test the AdSmart features but also I've seen some of the regionalised ads that are applicable to other areas, so perhaps I can say a little as to the potential benefits.

Some examples might be the Scottish drink drive campaign, the welsh campaign to promote the change in the organ donation law, various localised car sales deals.

Previously you might have seen these on ITV, but no where else. Sure Channel 4 and Channel 5 have advertising regions, but those regions cover such a large area that it wouldn't be good to show the types of adverts that may only be of interest to a small market within that region.

With Christmas coming up it is possible that we might start seeing theatres advertising their Pantomimes. For me Oxford might be a little too far, Newport a little difficult with the ferry, but perhaps Southampton and Portsmouth would be interesting.

Perhaps the QA Hospital (the main Hospital in the Portsmouth area) might want to promote a campaign to attract funds for a new scanner. Pushing it out to everyone in the PO area wouldn't necessarily be popular since St Richards at Chichester covers one area and St Marys in Newport on the Isle of Wight covers another. Sure some of the people in these areas might go to Portsmouth, but it depends on the specialist needs.

Perhaps the Tour of Britain cycle race might wish to advertise where it is racing in the few days leading up to the local event? The adverts could let those directly affected know which roads will be closed and recommend potential viewing points where there will be facilities for the crowds. Such advertising would help those just outside the area where they are racing to know to avoid the area, whilst attracting additional people who might wish to be spectators.

These are just a few of possible ideas where a targeted campaign might be beneficial to these who want to advertise what they are doing in order to attract interest.

Remember that when the AdSmart ads are placed the advertiser can choose just how many times you are shown the advert, perhaps also a time frame. This means that you shouldn't be shown the same advert literally on every break for months at a time, unless they've paid for it.