by Dave Zornow
New York, June 23 — Canoe Ventures may not always be on time but yesterday they were certainly on message. “Interactivity is here,” was the message CEO David Verklin repeated numerous times at the Advertising Research Foundation AMS 4.0 Conference in New York.
Verklin says RFI — Canoe’s first interactive app — is now up and running. “Request For Information” is an overlay to existing commercial content that lets consumers click a button to request request information, free samples or mailed coupons after following a double opt-in screening process.
In May, Canoe announced that E!, Discovery Channel, USA Network and AMC had committed to using RFI. MediaPost reports that the service is only available on Comcast and Time Warner, two of the six Canoe MSO partners.
Canoe has received alot of criticism for its slow progress in delivering on the promise of interactivity. “Just imagine what it’s like trying to get six cable companies to work together,” says Verklin. “The set top box universe is amazingly heterogenous. The challenge is to find something that works across all platforms.” Verklin says the solution is EBIF, the Enhanced Binary Interchange Format technology which Canoe will use to deliver interactive television spots.
“I think we are succeeding because of the support across the cable MSOs,” he said. “They are committed to making an interoperable and interconnected national cable structure.” Verklin says RFI is the first of several Canoe initiatives that will make interactivity simple and easy to use. “Interactive TV on network breaks has become a reality,” he said.
Sources: AdWeek, MediaPost, Canoe Ventures