Friday, February 27, 2015

Finally, Comcast is on board Yuan Xu (Danny)

Comcast is reported to acquire the TV ad-targeting company: Visible World – Finally.
The transformation towards data driven advertising has been a long march especially in the TV industry. We have seen targeted ads everywhere on the internet for years, same in tablets and even phones. Yet little movement had been seen in the TV industry. Magazines could be hard given the high customization cost of prints, but for TV channels, the cost of customization can be fairly low. Also, given the hardware set up these broadcasting companies already have, it requires minimal hardware changes in the delivery of customized content. This move by Comcast may well be a pioneering act that hopefully can wake the rest of the industry.

Advertisers have long been dreaming to target consumers across different screens. Given the important role that TV has in a typical US family’s life, it is an inevitable part of the ideal comprehensive targeting strategy. I am very curious how Comcast will utilize their new acquisition to better integrate their program with the rest of the advertising industry.

The Wall Street Journal commented:
Such a move would thrust the cable giant into a stronger position in the burgeoning market for data-driven TV advertising.


New York-based Visible World has long helped advertisers deliver ads to specific audiences and households based on zip codes, using data from cable set top boxes and other sources. In 2013, the company rolled out AudienceXpress, a subsidiary whose software tools help marketers buy TV ads the way they do online.

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