Multiple Sightings

By March 2008 there had been a spate of articles written about the mysteriously shrouded Project Canoe, a subterranean, though visible, cable systems operators' joint venture that surfaced periodically, in trade periodicals only to surreptitiously submerge again until the next press sighting, which have been sporadic ever since. Perhaps Winston Churchill said it best (October 1939): "I cannot forecast to you the action of the Cable Industry. It is a riddle wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma but perhaps there is a key. That key is the Cable Industry's national interest."

Around that time, in early March, my boss, David Verklin (Carat CEO), had emailed me during the 4A's Annual Conference, where I was presenting a keynote on TV Addressability, to share with him what I knew of the "Canoe." In hushed tones I relayed that my sources had informed me that he had been approached by headhunter Spencer Stuart, whose mission was to seek out a chief navigator. David asked that when I arrived back in New York I should get on his calendar so we could discuss a Canoe-ian strategy.

I remember after disconnecting from our call, pondering the Project's nomenclature and purported missionary purpose: was the selection of the code name Project Canoe meant to emphasize the cable operators' cooperative spirit, paddling for the common good of its members to sell more commercial inventory to national advertisers by enabling national advertisers - through the deployment of applications and measurement of said applications - to purchase customized ads and interactive ads across the companies' systems. And wasn't there a more descriptive, snazzy nomenclature available that would have encapsulated both esprit de corps and modernity. Isn't the visual of two Native Americans sitting in a canoe on a breezeless summer's day lackadaisically paddling, though in coordinated strokes, somewhat of an anachronism.

The Crackler of Coaxial

By pre-close April 2008, David Verklin was offered the position of chief paddler. The industry waited with baited breathe until July, when he would be returning from vacation, to assume the canoe helm. The man who masterminded the "Crackle of Change" was now in place to offer his inaugural strategy: the "Crackle of Coaxial."

The Late Fall River Show: The First Hundred Days

By late Fall 2008, David Verklin and fellow paddlers were gliding through the industry events circuit espousing the Canoe-ian goals (immediate and futuristic) and aspirations:

Allow advertisers to interact directly with television consumers.

Generate incremental revenue streams for programming networks by enabling new forms of inventory, such as polling/voting and requests for information.

Turn set top box data into currencies for advanced TV applications.

Zone addressability or creative versioning that will enable advertisers who purchase national cable networks to broadcast different commercials in all 2,200 cable zones based upon the matching of privacy protected datamining informatio.

Interactivity, such as request for interaction (RFI), that allows viewers to push a button on their TV remote to have, as an example, a brochure mailed to them.

Post-2008 Commentary

All of us wish Canoe speed and success. The media community needs more accountable metrics, invigorating interactive TV applications and cooperation between platforms, technologists, and software developers in order to engage consumers in the evolving televisual realm. Unfortunately, the one organization that seems poised to bring these goals to fruition has made little material impact, in my opinion, since its private and public inception. Noted accomplishments:

I would like to spend a written moment on this proposed first product. National Cable Communications (NCC), which is owned by the same operators that are stakeholders in Canoe Ventures, has been exploiting this opportunity with auto manufacturers for years. The problem they have encountered is that there are rarely enough creative versions to successfully exploit the application. Perhaps with Visible World's creative versioning model this can be overcome. Secondly, the media community really does not know that the 2,200 cable zones are individually homogenous by nature. Zip codes closer; households better yet; individual TV/set top boxes bingo. Privacy-protected, mathematically addressable technology from Invidi, with its ability to match advertisements to digital set top boxes and individual television viewers regardless of the program viewed, will certainly help achieve that most important of goals. Utilizing Experian and Acxiom third party data to enrich addressability, a definite plus. Creative developers Ensequence and Alcatel-Lucent are waiting in the wings to build user interfaces that are attractive, functionally intuitive and seamless in the eyes of the TV viewer. And hopefully, dialoguing with Rentrak, TiVo, TNS, and TRA's unique connection of viewing to product purchase as well as Navic's Admira historical set top viewing reportage and buying mechanism will facilitate better comprehension of viewing behavior and lead to exploitable discovery that will enhance all other endeavors.

That's the easy part of the equation. My biggest concern is the sales concept. If I understand the maneuver, Canoe will license its technology to the national cable networks, who in turn will be able to interactive-size their national commercial inventory, and in turn, will sell the interactive application value proposition to the advertising agencies and their clients. Isn't this a variation on an old unsuccessful theme.

Historically, the cable operators have not enjoyed much success in convincing national advertisers and their agencies to engage in their interactive/VOD deployment other than garnering monies from "trialing". Oftentimes the cablers have been hard pressed to demonstrate the value proposition to create a sustainable business model. Now, these same cable representatives will instruct national sales organizations, who are noted for their expertise in selling spots and dots - not interactive applications, on how best to position the applications.

These national sales organizations, in turn, will be responsible for interfacing with the ad folks. So not only will they have to sell in the value proposition to a resistant community - "been there, done that" - but also, figure out how to navigate the agency infrastructure to hopefully arrive at a possible decision maker. Is it the traditional media planner, the network television buyer, the local television buyer, the online planner, the online buyer, the account directors (online and traditional), or in some cases, a designated "strategist/new media-est", who has no budget but is responsible for championing new media within the agency - like a Sacajawea, the Shoshone Indian who guided and acted as interpreter and negotiator for Meriwether Lewis and William Clark on their exploratory expedition through North Dakota to the Oregon coast and back. Ah, the canoe metaphor is starting to make sense. And then, of course, there is pricing. Another time.

We're all rooting for you. A rising tide lifts all amphibious platforms, applications and concepts. But we strongly recommend less booty and more substance to ultimately garner more bounty.