Eyeview Brings Its Personalized Video Ads To Internet-Connected TVs

Personalized video advertising company Eyeview is announcing that its ads will now work on Internet-connected TVs, specifically those with Roku and Microsoft Xbox devices.

Eyeview’s technology allows ads to be customized using viewer data. For example, it allows a big chain to create a national ad that will include local stores and deals depending on where it’s shown.

Co-founder and CEO Oren Harnevo already suggested that this was a likely direction for the company when he announced its Series C funding last year. He told me at the time that because the system works by creating “hundreds of thousands” of variations for each ad (rather than personalizing it by using a Flash overlay like some competitors), Eyeview could bring its ads to other devices like connected TVs.

When discussing today’s announcement, Harnevo acknowledged that on TVs, smart or not, there are no cookies and therefore less data for Eyeview’s targeting and personalization. However, he suggested that the company will know the time of day, the location, and basic demographic information, which will allow it to deliver ads that are “a lot more relevant” than traditional TV campaigns.

Harnevo also acknowledged that the size of the current audience on smart TVs means that “the scale is not huge,” so it’s more likely that advertisers will see these ads as a “complementary” part of larger campaigns. That doesn’t mean it’s not valuable, though, and he argued that as audiences embrace the on-demand TV model and as companies like Eyeview enable this kind of advertising, “I think you’ll see the brand dollars shift very quickly.”

Eyeview says its ads can appear on “all broadcast and cable networks” on supported devices.