Think of any television program you’ve watched recently, do you remember all of the commercials? I didn’t think so, these largely commonplace 30 second commercials are what I like to call “Advertising 1.0” since, similar to the definition of Web 1.0, you can observe the information but you can’t interact with it. It is the marketing equivalent of the one way street, where the rules are rigidly defined, the advertisers speak and we the consumers must dutifully listen. However, LiveHive Systems of Waterloo, Ontario is breathing new life into television advertising and changing the way we the viewers watch, and more importantly engage with TV. The company’s system is based on a two-screen digital advertising platform, and allows the TV viewers to interact online (via phone, laptop, desktop, or PDA) with their favorite TV shows –and with each other- as they compete for points and prizes.

This system is based on LiveHive’s idea of NanoGaming; fear not because prior to writing this blog I was not familiar with the details of NanoGaming either, so I have included a brief summary taken from LiveHive’s website to explain the basic process:

How NanoGaming™ Works

Behind the rich NanoGaming experience is a very sophisticated combination of technology, people and processes. All players need to experience NanoGaming is a TV, computer and an Internet connection. When their favorite show is about start, players go to their NanoGaming site of choice and select “Play Now”. Players choose their show from the “Events” list, and when the event begins, so does NanoGaming.

• The Control Center translates game-state information into relevant prediction propositions and automatically generates context-sensitive odds for each event or “NanoEvent”.  This information is sent to the Fantasy Site and available outcome possibilities are then broadcasted to all NanoGaming players. Players make their predictions on the presented outcome possibilities. Some examples of possible questions include: Predictions, which ask fans to predict the outcome of future television events during an episode, such as “How many yards will the next pass be?” or “What will Simon say about Jordin’s Performance?” Trivia questions, which test fans’ knowledge of a show and its contestants, such as “What is this contestant’s home town?” or “Who was last year’s winner?” Instant recall challenges, which require fans to recall specific events that occurred in the current episode, such as “What did the judges say about the last contestant’s performance?” or “What color were the contestant’s shoes in the last scene?”
• The outcome of the event is determined by operators at the Control Center and then broadcasted directly to the player.
• All player points are updated and players are notified of their win/loss in a matter of seconds.
• NanoGaming also provides the opportunity for social interaction between viewers. This can take the form of chatting or polling during a live episode. Here, the viewers create content and conversations relevant to the show they are currently watching on TV.

Using NanoGaming, LiveHive is essentially creating a new environment for the television viewer. The shift from traditional one-way communication is underway as this Waterloo based firm promises to take viewers (and advertisers) to a place where the viewer can now actively engage with the program, ultimately creating a stronger connection. NanoGaming is more than just a fun way for the viewer to become involved, it also introduces opportunities to create a more effective advertising campaign than traditional television commercials offer. By sponsoring NanoGaming sites, firms can access audiences from some of the highest rated TV shows (such as the Super Bowl and the Academy Awards) and because TV and Internet are combined, consumers’ levels of attention, association and recall are increased. Consider the following statistic pulled from LiveHive’s website:

80 percent of NanoGamers reveal that NanoGaming would decrease the amount of channel surfing that they would do while watching an NFL game.

So not only are viewers actively engaging with programs, but with the help of NanoGaming are also less likely to stray during commercials, while also cultivating greater levels of advertising recall. Increased loyalty, greater recall, and voluntary engagement in advertising; clearly broadcasting stations and advertisers alike recognize the potential of this technology in capturing an increasingly fickle audience.

NanoGaming is also a useful tool for collecting market research. It gives advertisers access to individual player demographics, behavior, playing habits and preferences. This valuable information can then be used to correctly match the marketing message, approach, ad placement, and products featured with the most responsive market segment(s).

Last week LiveHive Systems announced a major update to its Facebook application tvClickr. This application is built on the NanoGaming platform which lets viewers interact with each other as they watch a program live on television, and is available exclusively to the Facebook community. This application is developing a strong following, with over 8,000 monthly users and was recently featured in a Tech Crunch article

New to the world of NanoGaming, I have decided to add the tvClickr application to my Facebook profile and test it over the next week while I tune into my favorite TV shows. I look forward to writing a follow-up blog next week to review my tvClickr experience. For anyone who has tried NanoGaming or tvClickr I encourage you to post your thoughts and comments about this new way of watching television and the state of “Advertising 2.0”.