There is no doubt that the traditional 30 second TV ad is ready for a makeover. Viewers are using theirPVRs to avoid irrelevant and irritating advertisements and even advertisers themselves are starting to give the format a thumbs-down. Casual wear company, Gap, for instance, excluded TV advertising from its recent holiday schedule.

But whilst Yankelovich Partners, in their 2004 survey, found that 65 percent of consumers feel bombarded with too many marketing messages  and that the resistance and negativity was growing - advertisers can be heartened by research that indicates it is not ads per se that people dislike, so much as inappropriate ads.

A recent survey by Continental Research, for Sky, found that whilst households with PVRs did tend to skip ads, and view less than households without them, the extent to which the message was delivered was similar in both groups. The most critical element in generating brand recognition and, vitally, driving consumers to action, is relevance.

It is essential, therefore, to match advertisements with their audiences: a move that gives viewers a more engaging experience and advertisers a bigger bang for their buck. The cable world has already attempted personalization to a certain extent. Comcast Spotlight in the US, for example, with its Adcopy and Adtag services. These allow different TV ads to be sent to different zip code areas, with the ads being defined according to the general demographics of the region.

An auto ad, then, can show various models in the range, or have the end of the ad "tagged" with the name and contact details of the local dealer. But the disadvantage is that the regions targeted are still large - containing hundreds or even thousands of subscribers - and there is no allowance for differences within neighborhoods. And, given that both advertisers and audiences agree that the Holy Grail is communicating one-to-one, cable networks are intrinsically unsuitable for high levels of personalization because they send everything to every subscriber.

Unlike cable broadcasting (and terrestrial and satellite, for that matter) IPTV is an ideal mechanism to deliver a high degree of tailoring. Its inbuilt addressability means that IPTV ads can be targeted at large groups, small groups or even individual television sets, with many hundreds or even thousands of ads simultaneously sharing one avail.

Whilst geographical location can be part of the equation, other information such as income; psychographics; interests; age; purchasing history; family make-up and language can be used to fine-tune advertisements. And because IPTV's inherent bi-directionality enables viewers reactions to advertisements to be monitored, real-time factors like programme content, time of day and behavioral information can be taken into account.

Despite its obvious advantages for advertisers and IPTV service providers who traditionally have been left out of the advertising value chain, addressable IPTV advertising has so far been hindered by the lack of a simple and practical method of implementation. Attempts to date have used older technology, intended for the cable environment, which is unsuitable for the reach and level of personalization offered by IPTV. And because these implementations have generally used products from different suppliers, they have been difficult to implement, expensive and lacking in scalability.

It is easy to see that if delivering individual ads to every household is desired, the possible number of streams is enormous: potentially the same number as the subscriber base. So, given the mismatch between what is presently available and what is needed, it is not surprising that whilst IPTV in general is seeing dramatic growth, targeted IPTV advertising has not yet taken off.

But one the delivery difficulties are overcome, it is likely that viewers will start to see targeted ads ranging from those very similar to ads currently being produced  where, perhaps, a company buys the whole ad avail and uses it for variants of products within a single range, matching them to the audiences to ad forms that are much more internet-like and interactive. Viewers will not only be able to visit websites for more information on products or services but also to see further video clips or "long form" variants of the ads. It is also likely that narrative advertisements a where a story is gradually delivered over time  will eventually be delivered on a one-to-one basis, with viewers even selecting storylines or choosing alternative endings.

Content synthesis software, such as that developed by Visible World, already can break ads down into their component parts -different scenes, background music, voice-overs etc -then reassemble them in potentially millions of different versions with each component adjusted to suit its audience.

Other internet-type functions, such as pay per click and conversion tracking, as well as in-context advertising, closely mirroring the content of the program being watched, are sure to migrate to IPTV. And because IPTV enables many ads to share one avail, in essence dividing the cost, TV advertising need no longer be out of the question for smaller businesses, special interest groups or even individuals.

IPTV providers, therefore, have the opportunity to generate valuable revenue streams from tailored advertising, particularly if they choose a network-based product, such as Packet Vision's, which allows them to retain control over the core delivery function. The high level of localization and personalization offered by IPTV plays to many telcos strengths and, in a step-change from traditional broadcasting, offers control over which ads go to which audiences. It gives the ability to count specific eyeballs and  perhaps even to charge different rates for different audiences. And viewers, for the first time, stand a chance of receiving relevant and engaging ads, rather than being bombarded by off-target ads that positively alienate.

Patrick Christian is founder and managing director of Packet Vision Limited, which specializes in network-based addressable IPTV advertising delivery systems. He can be contacted at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it