Today Mediaweek published an article Comcast: Canoe to keep paddling in '09.
http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/content_display/news/cable-tv/e3i120e70a153d46e4bd9845bef98c6d0d5#3
For the most part it's a report based on comments from Comcast's quarterly earnings call. I have no qualms with the content of the article but it misses the point. In fairness to the writer the facts are the facts: Canoe's goal is to unify the platforms from multiple cable MSOs to achieve scaled addressability and interactivity. I think there is a story behind the story from two important perspectives.
1. Half of what the article says Canoe is going to do can be done today: "If all goes according to plan, Canoe will allow advertisers to target neighborhoods or demographic zones by income and other census-level data, with the ultimate goal of targeting ads to individual households." HH addressability is the holy grail but cable system targeting has been done for years. What isn't being done are the data analytics to support such a labor intensive media execution. (Not the media's fault by the way.)
2. Targeting by income or census-level data is misguided. It begins and ends with behavioral/purchase data. Adults 18-49 is meaningless. Even HH Income $100k+ is irrelevant. $100,000 income in Marin county, CA is different than $100,000 income in Des Moines. It's a waste of time. Today only geography and behavior matter. Internet ad anyone?
The television/media/advertising agency industries must let go of the past and let go now.
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