MediaInCanada.com carried an interesting story on Nov. 19 regarding a new dynamic ad platform that will change the face of TV advertising. According to the article, Rogers Video will become the first marketer to try out the innovative Flex-Advertising introduced earlier last month by Corus Custom Networks. The cable giant will use the service to change and update new release titles and dates on Corus’s TV Listings Channel.

The new service will supposedly make television advertising as dynamic as Internet advertising.

“We are providing our clients with the opportunity to change their ads as often as they like,  said Tyler Alton, VP/GM of Corus Custom Networks, allowing them to keep their marketing messages current and their customers informed.”

“Clients simply log onto our extranet, make the necessary changes to their ads and confirm their requests. Then their ad is sent to broadcast on the TV Listings Channel,” added Angela Joyce, the company’s marketing manager. Typically, she explains, information that needs updating includes prices, dates or availability.

Corus Custom Networks’ full-service broadcast design team will create customized ad templates for Flex-Advertising clients and post them on the extranet – after which clients can manage evolving changes.

The TV Listings Channel plays uninterrupted 24-hour channel guide information in a split-screen format that allows advertisers to run commercials of 15, 30, 60 or 90 seconds on the top half of the screen while the channel guide appears at the bottom. The channel reaches over 1.8 million viewers each week in over 80 markets across BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario.

Regarding the marketing of the new service, Joyce said that her company has identified national advertisers who change their print and on-screen creative regularly, and we are presenting customized pitches directly to them. In addition, we are making the agency and media-buying community aware through presentations that demonstrate the technology” and the ways Flex-Advertising can be advantageous in the marketing mix.

Perhaps one of the main advantages with Flex-Advertising is the ability to measure the impact of any given ad in real time and swiftly alter it when necessary. Advertisers are in a constant struggle to keep their marketing messages in line with customer needs. If Flex-Advertising takes off, they will be able to provide a medium that encourages change rather than hindering it.