Start-ups and technology companies have tried interactive applications in the past – multiple times, in fact.  2002 was a big year for interactive; so was 1999.  While the space may have been crowded in years past, most interactive providers have closed their doors.  Bad timing!  Because with the proliferation of online video, handheld devices, EPGs, and smart phones, users are really getting used to engaging deeper with their content.  The time is right for bringing an interactive application to market in the digital entertainment space. 

What’s more, it’s not just the audience who’s ready to dive deeper into the content.  Advertisers, content owners, and content distributors are all now in a better position to understand interactive entertainment, and all recognize it as an integral part of a successful digital entertainment strategy.  Even as recently as five years ago, ad agencies were using separate teams to handle online advertising, and those separate teams had a struggle to explain the value of their efforts to both the agency’s traditional internal teams and to the advertisers themselves.  Now, every agency has a digital arm that’s considered an essential piece of the puzzle.  The same change in mindset has occurred for ads in interactive applications, and advertisers are ready – and eager – to invest their spend in this format.  They understand the value of an application that allows them direct access to consumers who are literally leaning forward to engage with their brand.  With their smart phone and a laptop in the same room as the TV, today’s audiences are more connected than ever before.  Studies have shown that viewers who are engaged beyond a “lean back” experience watch longer and interact more – so why not add interactivity to your broadcast? 

Devious Media will:

•  fuse intuitive design with information and knowledge technology to create the ultimate participation experience

• expertly evaluate analytics pertaining to usability and popularity to ensure that your company is taking advantage of the most current media and technology trends

• provide the first-rate designers, writers, programmers, and marketing specialists that your company deserves, through Devious Media’s creative leadership and cooperative partnerships with extremely talented and accomplished creative professionals

Interactive TV is all about deepening the audience’s engagement with the content.  The methods employed range from games, trivia questions, voting applications, social media applications designed to increase your reputation in a virtual world – the possibilities are almost limitless.  Today’s viewers are ready for more, and we hope you’re ready to give it to them!

There are three primary types of interactivity:  set-top, two-screen, and mobile.  The most engaging and widespread interactive applications employ a cross-platform strategy, driving TV to web and web to TV to create “Viewsers” – participants who are both a viewer and a user.  We’ll break out each type of interactive platform for you below.

SET-TOP ITV

Interactive applications that rely on resident software on a cable or satellite set-top box and a remote control are known as set-top applications, or one-screen interactivity.   This can range from something as simple as an EPG, or electronic programming guide – you know, the channel guide! – to something as complex as a home shopping application in which you actually purchase goods by selecting options with your remote control.  This is the most holistic and easily understandable form of interactivity for most Americans, and engages users directly with their television set in what’s known as a “lean-forward” interactive experience.  It is, however, it is also the most challenging type of interactivity to produce, as a result of a complicated arrangement of ownership and the intricate negotiations around business, technology and creative control that accompany the launch of any set-top box interactive application.