Interview: Denuo's Tim Hanlon on dynamic ads in time-shifted TV content

While researching a feature on advertising in time-shifted television content, published on ClickZ today, I spoke with Tim Hanlon, EVP of Ventures at Publicis-owned strategic consultancy Denuo. Hanlon had a lot to say about various impedances to advanced targeting and optimization of campaigns for VOD content. A few of his comments below:

On the lack of dynamic ad insertion in on-demand TV content:

In VOD environments, I’m incredulous that the cable community still operates in a ridiculous fashion, with two and three month lead times to insert an ad into the stream. The ability to measure it on the back end is months after the fact.

It’s less an issue of the advertiser and the programmer. It’s almost squarely the fault of the intransigence and slowness of the cable operator, for whatever reason.

On the inevitability of dynamic ad placements in VOD:

The ability to do more real time ad insertion in non-linear video environments including those of television is an absolute inevitability. The advertisers have gotten very comfortable with that process online. The ability to real time insert, real time optimize… we’re starting to see the beginnings of that in online video as well. But again, that bigger nut, what if we could do that in classic television environments — not only in linear, tune in now, but also non-linear viewing.

As Nielsen has shown, people watch television on their own time frames. It stands to reason that dynamic ad insertion in non-linear video environments is absolutely crucial for the financial underpinnings of the television business. Television advertising cannot be just a linear event; it also needs to be a non-linear event.

On who owns the client dollars:

Broadband video has been an interesting jump ball in the agency world in the last few years, particularly television groups that want to own video across multiple touch points.

How VOD comes into play is similarly challenged. You’re going to see interactive people and classic television people grapple for the stewardship of that behavior. It’s both. It’s not like buying CPMs in the TV environment. A lot of the data are a little more optimizeable and adjustable.

It’s going to be an interesting battle, and maybe an ugly one, because of these ridiculous little silos that exist in the agency world. Perhaps among other things it finally forces the melding of that which is digital and that which is classic media once and for all.