Television production and marketing firm Cylo will offer convergence technology from ACTV to its advertising and production partners through a deal announced Friday by the companies.
Silicon Alley-based ACTV and its subsidiaries create technologies for targeted, interactive television content and advertising. In addition to boosting New York-based Cylo’s own convergent media capabilities, the deal gives ACTV access to partners of the TV and Web content producer.
“ACTV has developed its technologies with a central focus on meeting the needs of the programmer, the advertiser and the consumer in the iTV world,” said Cylo chief marketing officer Kirt Gunn. “Their technical depth, and their eye toward the digital future, makes ACTV an important partner for Cylo.”
The deal could be a major coup for ACTV. Cylo produces television ad campaigns and Web content for clients including Ford Motor Company, American Express, Nasdaq, AT&T, Procter & Gamble, Nike and General Mills.
“Cylo has been one of the leaders in the traditional advertising world for many years, and have been at the forefront of leveraging new technologies that bring more value to their clients,” said Art Cohen, senior vice president of advertising and e-commerce at ACTV. “Our ready-to-deploy technologies can open up a world of new and exciting iTV advertising and marketing opportunities that Cylo can offer to its clients today.”
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. The companies will begin sending enhanced TV ads to AT&T Digital Cable customers in the area within the next two months.
SpotOn 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, or by region.
AT&T Broadband and Digital ADCO declined to specify advertisers participating in the pilot program.
