Dear iTV Doctor:
Our network group is lining up a package of interactive applications for fall '09 deployment on cable, telco and satellite. We're not counting on advertising and sponsorship to offset our costs, so we want to keep our design, development and deployment costs as low as possible. Do you have any suggestions on how to keep iTV costs reasonable?
Counting Pennies in Programming
Dear Counting:
Yes, as a matter of fact, there are a number of strategies that you can embrace that will stretch your iTV dollars.
First and foremost, state your objective and keep to it. If you want to win awards or make a statement about your brand, so be it. But more and more network groups want to engage their viewers, build equity in their brands, and start changing viewer behavior so that they will be able to take real numbers to their ad sales folks. That's not done with expensive and occasional interactive events. That's done by reaching the largest possible audience and offering them interactive opportunities frequently (on a number of shows and two or more channels).
Secondly, make sure you're being realistic with your iTV deployment plans. Know what your distributor partners can handle, and when they can handle it. We've all seen too much time and money wasted by over-enthusiastic designers who create fabulous concepts that simply cannot be deployed broadly, if at all. And the distributor capabilities change over time, and what they can deliver (in terms of target audience and interactive capabilities) in 12 months may be substantially different from what they can deliver today.
Third, whether you are building your applications internally or going to an outside vendor, pay strict attention to how long it will take to get your project up and running. You may find that the time required to design, build, test and certify your application puts you outside of your window of opportunity. That being said, my suggestion is to balance cost, time and creative design. That fancy-schmancy feature that is just "way too cool" may eat up half of your budget, eliminate half your audience and double your production schedule.
Lastly, and this is simply a personal bias from a real television fan: We all watch television shows because we want to see what happens--whether news, sports or entertainment. We certainly don't want interactivity to get in the way of our viewing pleasure--and in most cases we don't want to be pulled away from the show itself. Let's remember the enormous amount of creative energy (and expense) that goes into the television show in the first place. Our job, on the interactive side of things, is to enhance the viewing experience, engage the viewer and bring them back for more!
But if you have a different opinion, let me know, by writing to itvtdoctor@itvt.com
The iTV Doctor is Rick Howe, who provides interactive television consulting services to programmers and advertisers. He is the recipient of a CTAM Tami Award for retention marketing and this year was nominated to Cable Pioneers. He is also the co-author of a patent for the use of multiscreen mosaics in EPG's. Endorsed by top cable and satellite distributors, "Dr" Howe still makes house calls, and the first visit is always free. His services include product development, distribution strategy and the development of low-cost interactive applications for rapid deployment across all platforms. Have a question for the iTV Doctor? Email him at itvdoctor@itvt.com
