TANDBERG Television announced it will showcase a new on-demand interactive advertising system at NAB2006, booth #SU1164. The dynamic ad placement solution integrates advanced video on-demand (VOD) capabilities with interactive television functionality to deliver compelling advertising experiences tightly embedded in broadcast and VOD programming. Open and standards-based, the TANDBERG Television on-demand interactive advertising solution empowers advertisers to launch and manage advertising campaigns across all delivery platforms and viewing devices. Furthermore, the technology also enables advertisements to be matched according to programming type, geography and demographic data, so the advertisements are strategically targeted to viewers.

"With the television business shifting to digital and consumers looking for a personalized and interactive experience, TANDBERG Television has developed an interactive advertising solution to meet the need by enabling advertisers to reach customers on multiple platforms, on-demand, with targeted ads," said Braxton Jarratt, SVP, Marketing and Business Development, TANDBERG Television Inc.

Nearly 70 percent of advertisers believe VOD and digital video recorders (DVR) are rendering traditional TV ads less effective, according to a recent joint survey released by the Association of National Advertisers and Forrester Research. The new interactive advertising system from TANDBERG Television helps advertisers respond to an increasingly on-demand world by delivering more effective forms of advertising that complement the evolving viewing patterns of today's consumers. Advertisers can leverage the TANDBERG Television solution for greater intelligence on viewer needs and preferences in order to distribute the most appropriate ad in the format considered most valuable by the subscriber.

"As advertising takes on many new forms in an increasingly non-linear world, it's critical that open solutions be made available to facilitate the management of disparate advertising assets across a variety of delivery, ad formats and playback options," added Jarratt.

The TANDBERG Television solution enables advertisers to launch, manage and track their placements across:

• All delivery platforms -- including cable, satellite and telco
• All ad formats -- including on-demand, interactive, linear to on-demand, t-commerce and mobile
• All consumer media devices -- including operator set-top boxes, digital video recorders and portable playback devices

With the new ad solutions from TANDBERG Television, operators and programmers can deliver dynamic ad placements, playlists, interactive advertisements, branded portal and t-commerce capabilities to create rich, immersive subscriber interactions. The complete solution from TANDBERG Television includes:

• On-demand advertising -- Global management system for advanced video advertising technologies, including VOD ad placement, long-form VOD delivery and highly targeted ad systems. The TANDBERG AdPoint(R) solution addresses the diverse needs of advertisers and marketers by providing innovative tools for the production, management, and placement of advertising and marketing messages across platforms and methods.
• Interactive advertisements -- Two-way interactive television (iTV) communication that actively engages viewers, draws them deeper into the programming and creates a unique relationship between the advertiser, the content owner and the operator.
• Branded entertainment on-demand -- By linking from linear video to on-demand content, advertisers can tie branded content areas directly to advertisements. While viewing an ad, users can click for more information to launch on-demand sessions that provide deeper brand interactions.
• T-commerce -- Secure transactions from set-top boxes allow viewers to make purchases while watching television. T-commerce is a powerful product placement and direct marketing solution for advertisers, enabling viewers to request additional information or initiate purchases directly from their television screen.
• Mobile messaging solutions -- With its end-to-end mobile messaging system, TANDBERG Television supports mobile marketing campaigns, including registration management, content creation and scheduling, reporting and analysis and delivery to subscribers of all major carriers.

The interactive advertising system delivered by TANDBERG Television is based on open interfaces, enabling cable operators to easily deploy on-demand services using existing, preferred and next-generation backend components -- such as video servers, access networks, billing systems, and client applications -- as well as future iTV applications, including gaming and merchandising. By enabling multiple video server vendors to coexist in the same installation, TANDBERG Television allows operators to direct content to specific servers and load balance resources across vendors.