• by Wayne Friedman , October 5, 2010

Addressable advertising systems have been getting attention from all media companies -- now one major traditional media seller is doubling as an investor. NBC Universal says it has taken an equity stake in New York-based Invidi Technologies.

Inividi says NBC Universal is the first broadcast/cable network group to make an investment in its company.

Addressable commercial systems promise better targeting of ad messages for advertisers. For example, two different commercials from the same advertiser can target two different viewer homes airing in the same program.

"As advertisers face a more complex ad environment, we believe addressability has a high potential to enhance the return on television expenditures and advance TV advertising as an even more compelling marketing vehicle," stated Mike Pilot, president of sales and marketing for NBC Universal.

Invidi already has deals for its addressable systems with Dish Network, DirecTV and Verizon. Its technology has been tested in Comcast's Baltimore systems, where addressable ads were 65% more efficient and 32% more effective.

Significantly, NBC Universal is poised to merge with Comcast Corp., the largest owner of cable TV systems in the U.S., and a major backer of the addressable advertising efforts. Comcast is a partner with major other larger cable systems in Canoe Ventures.

Invidi's other investors include Google, media agency Group M, Motorola Ventures and venture-capital firms Menlo Ventures, InterWest and EnerTech. Google's total investment is said to be between $10 million and $15 million, with overall investment from these previous investors said to be around $23 million.