IAR Bits and Bytes for Wednesday

Grey Joins ACTV’s Digital ADCO for SpotOn, Addressable Interactive TV Advertising

Interactive TV targeted ad firm ACTV Wednesday unveiled a partnership with MediaCom, a unit of Grey Global Group’s media service partner

MediaCom will work with ACTV on the development of addressable television messaging.

SpotOn, a service of ACTV subsidiary Digital ADCO, targets advertising based anonymous demographic or location-based information. Similarly to companies like Wink, SpotOn allows users to view additional information attached to interactive television ads. But SpotOn also targets ads, similarly to Web banners. Ads are targeted based on demographic, regional, or lifestyle information, as deduced from user interaction with digital ads.

Earlier this week, ACTV’s subsidiary Digital ADCO announced a deal with AT&T Broadband to roll out its SpotOn targeted enhanced TV ads for a pilot program in Aurora, Colorado. Those companies will begin sending enhanced TV ads to AT&T Digital Cable customers in the area within the next two months.

24/7 Media Taps Pass Privilege

North Carolina-based Pass Privilege announced a strategic relationship with ad network and tech firm 24/7 Media to become a national reseller and marketer for AwardTrack, 24/7 Media’s private label loyalty service.

The strategic agreement with 24/7 Media allows Pass Privilege to offer clients a customized package of marketing tools for customer relationship management, including email, Web site banners, sweepstakes, retention loyalty incentives and administrative control.

1stUp.com Unveils Pop-Up Ads

CMGI’s private-label, ad-supported ISP 1stUp.com introduced a suite of ad technology products.

The company’s new “Smart Pop-Up” ads target users visiting an advertiser’s competitors, or can be configured to appear when a user visits any other site or category of sites (e.g., sports content sites, for a sports equipment manufacturer).

The company offers similar URL-based targeting features in its floating ad bar, which users must keep open during their Internet session. Another ad-supported ISP, NetZero, also offers similar in-bar targeting based on Web location.