Enter London-based research company, iBurbia, which aims to be a one-stop shop for broadcasters, service companies and advertisers developing interactive TV content, from first concept to post-launch analysis.

"Until now, it's been all about guys with screwdrivers driving this stuff and there has been very little consumer insight into the development process. The whole emphasis in the UK was about getting it live and not about getting it right," says Nigel Walley, the creator of iBurbia and founder of parent company Decipher, a Soho based digital media consultancy.

According to Walley, the emphasis, even for the big ITV success stories of the last year such as the World Cup, Wimbledon and "Walking with Beasts," was, "'Get it live and make sure it doesn't embarrass us or crash Sky's or Telewest's system.' What we have seen is a slow shift in the last six months to getting it right, now that we know how to get it live," he explains.

Heavy hitters, like Sky, the BBC, Granada and Procter & Gamble, are coming to iBurbia's comfy, high-tech studios in the West London suburb of Chiswick to test their content at every stage of the process: from validating the basic concept to developing its usability, design and format with consumers, through to ensuring compatibility with every platform, and then assessing its ultimate effectiveness on air.

"Whilst there is a lot of speculation and market rumor and a dearth of hard information, largely because people are unwilling to disclose it, iBurbia will remain a very useful facility…a test bed for emerging technology," comments Justin Judd, controller of Granada Interactive, who recently used iBurbia to conduct research on how consumers are using current 24/7 ITV services.

"It's a fantastic train set. It's a wonderful plaything to be able to look at every version of interactive TV in one place," says Mike Bloxham, CEO of Interactive Insight, Decipher's research arm. Digital satellite, cable, Freeview (DTT), HomeChoice (VOD), TiVo, Sky +, PS2 and Xbox Live are all present at iBurbia's state-of-the-art facility, which is completely wired with observation cameras and can stream live research to clients' desktops anywhere. It's the only such facility in the UK and, indeed, anywhere in the world.

Humble Beginnings

Although iBurbia has now clearly established a niche for itself, it was conceived only last spring, when parent company Decipher wanted to conduct research to test its hypothesis that the better the program guide on satellite channels such as Sky, the fewer ads people watch.

"What we found was there were no really good facilities that had all the things we wanted to do," recalls Walley. "But we never intended it for outside use, just a one-off piece. It was just a room at the end of a corridor."

But the short lease on that room became a long lease on several rooms when, last June, iBurbia got a call from the BBC which was looking to do research around its interactive World Cup programming. "They had groups of blokes being brought here at 7 o'clock in the morning and fed coffee and bacon sandwiches and being paid to watch the World Cup while the live in-studio content was streamed back to the BBC's interactive people," recalls Walley. "Now this space is gaining a momentum of its own, with people calling us up and booking us out for the course of a project rather than as an after-thought," he adds. "There is a whole industry education process going on now especially for advertisers."

ITV Ads?

Procter and Gamble, which recently launched an ITV ad campaign coupling up its Fairy Liquid and Fairy Non-Bio cleaning products with Disney cartoon characters from the film "Treasure Planet," is an iBurbia client: "With P&G, we've been testing level of usage and different varieties of calls to action and how you can vary calls to action to get a desired result," Walley says. "They have been pleased and their ads have been getting results."

Still, many challenges for advertisers remain. There is little data about when and in what format interactive ads work best, and ad budgets are at an all-time low. Moreover, as much as interactivity is a powerful tool, it can be a destructive weapon for brands according to Bloxham: "It's far more immersive than a traditional ad," he explains. "When done right, it can enhance brand communication very well. But it also has the potential to do it much worse. It gets you closer to the consumer, but if it's not a positive experience, you've done more damage."

Nevertheless, there are positive signs for the brave new world of interactive advertising. This month alone, there have been at least 20 ITV-enabled campaigns on Sky channels and the number is on the rise.

DVR's and Advertising

Perhaps the biggest question mark facing TV advertising--linear as well as interactive--is the potential impact of digital video recorders.

"Its all about advertising business models in a post TiVo world," affirms Walley.

The UK is about to see a big ramp-up in the deployment of hard drive-equipped set-top boxes: Sky, for example, recently announced that it plans to sell 1.5 million of its new Sky+ boxes (currently retailing for around $350) over the next year.

iBurbia is now conducting a 2nd wave of research on whether and how DVR owners will accept ads on their new toy. Bloxham suggests customers could potentially request desirable advertising content like "the best of the last 10 years of Gap or Levi's advertising, or extended promos for movies. The worst case example," he adds, "would be just spamming it onto the box. We know that will alienate people."

Mobile Mania

iBurbia is also conducting research into mobile phones for Orange and France Telecom, as well as for a number of TV companies: "The mobile industry is a big new way to go after the potential consumer," says Walley. As new video-enabled phones hit the market Walley believes that "the big, new growth will be in mobile gaming."

Expansion Plans

Meanwhile, iBurbia has plans for expansion. This year, it hopes to open a fully wired screening room in Soho in central London where clients can observe their research while it's being conducted in the Chiswick studio and get valuable hands on experience using all the platforms and ITV gadgets themselves.

Next year, it plans to open facilities in the broadband trial market of Hull as well as in Manchester and Edinburgh for regional research where ordinary houses are converted into "fully wired domestic environments," says Walley.

In the current economy, it's no simple trick for a company like iBurbia to survive. Says Walley: "We have never built up debt, so we never invested or staffed up ahead of revenues. I'm sure being alive is our greatest achievement at the moment."

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