ABC Takes 'The River' To Xbox Live Kinect

The-RiverEmmet Cole of "The River," last seen on a ship on the Amazon, provides the setting to search through scary rooms for hidden clues about the missing man. ABC Entertainment's promotion for the new series "The River" running on Xbox Live, the first Microsoft Kinect-powered branded experience, taps hand gestures. It aims to reach an audience a bit younger than those viewing the broadcast TV show.

While the target audience for TV show ranges from 18 to 49, the Xbox Live demographic drops to about 16. Finding the right medium to promote the show hasn't been easy. The theme, unique to broadcast television, provides a similar feel to a paranormal activity type of movies. It's not a silky drama, which would lend itself better to using traditional promotions and marketing spots, said Ben Blatt, director of digital strategy for ABC Entertainment.

Kinect, the Xbox voice and gesture control module, enables viewers to use their hands to go through drawers and file folders, for example. The promotion will run through Feb. 7, the day the show premieres. "This type of technology works best for an action-oriented show, rather than a romantic comedy," Blatt said.

Think of a Flash-based Web site created to promote movies, rather than a game, where the visitor gains points to win. It takes between five and seven minutes to walk through the entire experience, according to Blatt.

ABC will determine success through two measurements, such as engagement metrics from data collected through the Xbox back-end platform. "We're an advertiser on their platform, but we're also an entertainment company, so think of this as offering entertainment to Xbox users," he said. "Microsoft knows what gets an audience to respond."

The first versions of the Kinect for Windows SDK and run time were made available for download Wednesday, enabling companies to start installing platforms. It took Microsoft years of research at a development cost of "hundreds of millions of dollars," according to Craig Eisler, GM for Kinect for Windows.

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