ICEtv offers an interactive television application that provides content-specific t-commerce to sell TV entertianment and music. Viewers can purchase the show or film they are watching, or the music played in the show. Our iTV application is an unbound software component for the EBIF platform, so it will work in conjunction with any live broadcast, regardless of the network, as well as for DVR playback.

Why does ICEtv focus on video and music at the start? Becuase it is the most popular purchase made by consumers through the largest variety of platforms and sources.

 

The viability of interactive television and t-commerce depends on 3 factors: Convenience, Convergence and Diversity. These are the fundamental elements of both the industy and the consumer. Create a unique technology satisfying these basic needs for both, and a marketable solution becomes a reality. That was ICE's goal, and that has become ICE's achievement.

 

Convenience:
ICE offers an unbound,out-of-the-box iTV solution that provides a commerce platform for live broadcasts and DVR vieweings through which viewers can buy the DVD/Bluray/Digital format of the entertainment they are watching, and also buy the music they hear in it.

ICEtv is an application designed for cable/satelite STBs with the EBIF platform, as well as for stand-alone media platforms, such as TVs and players. The front end component has a very small foortprint, with the majority of its processes occuring remotely, within our Cloud. The backend processing also occurs in our Cloud - there is no integration with the broadcast. For ccontroled systems like those deployed by MSOs, headend integration is extremely minimal, requiring a simple gateway server rack. And the ICEtv menu can simply be pushed out to the end user's STB as part of a normal flash update. For open systems, such as with Satellite and internet-ready TV sets, there is no backend integration at all. And

Once implemented, the home viewer uses their remote control to access ICEtv during the live broadcast or playback on their DVR to purchase the show or film they are watching, and buy the music playing in it. The ICE menu can either stand on its own, appearing when a pre-designated remote button (selected by the pay-TV provider or assigned to the remote by the user) is pushed, or it can be a selection among the various menu offerings provided by the MSO or OEM.

 

Convergence:
ICEtv isn't just about interactive television, it's about a user's interactive "life". ICE has designed its system to cross platforms, offering MSOs, broadcasters and content creators the opportunity to converge the two screens (TV and computer) in a user's life into on virtual screen.

ICEtvwill work with a user's smartphone. A user can link their phone to the ICEtv menu virtually, submitting a commerce transaction request through the menu to their mobile device for purchase completion. A mobile device can also be used for purchase confirmation and discount offers.

ICEtv also reaches the online environment, offering the same services for online streamed video through services like YouTube and Hulu through ICE Online's Adgadget technology. It also provides an inverse advantage of linking the entertainment to the internet ads of the brands that sponsor TV.

 

Diversity:
ICEtv provides an opportunity for the MSO and OEM to platform a plethora of different services that they can offer to the user. Our initial t-commerce service focuses on music and video entertainment, but the system is designed to immediately sprinboard into listing any amount of products for sale as the data becomes available - not just for products advertised with the show, but products in the show as well (watch the video demo). And any other service can be integrated with the menu as ICEtv becomes a standard part of the home viewer's entertainment experience.

The "Cloud" Solution To iTV and Marketing

Cloud computing is transforming the face of marketing. Traditional marketing continues to plummet in relevance while users look to new technologies like DVRs and smartphones to provide convenient access to the services they love and expect. The vast majority of the consumer experience is interactive, both through the internet (with information search, eCommerce, social networks, and consumable media made available through major content sites like Hulu and YouTube) and through mobile which provide the same internet services as well as apps. The only part of a consumer's life still left passive and without any real interactivity of any notable kind is TV.

ICE Innovative Technologies finally changes this situation. But not just by providing real, consumable iTV, but by incorporating the web and mobile experience into it under ICE's Cloud Marketing technology and solution.

ICE's Marketing Cloud is a collection of services and applications that make internal marketing functions more efficient and external marketing efforts more effective, impacting and far more reaching. The ICE Cloud delivers fast and easy access to powerful marketing and campaign capabilities – without the cost, risk and complexity of traditional marketing platforms. 

Cloud computing” lets customers take advantage of services and resources delivered as an online utility – meaning users get the benefits of the technology without worrying about the technical details. The dramatic benefits of enterprise cloud computing services include: lower capital investment, faster implementation, reduced risk, proven security and improved scalability to handle the increased amounts of data. And, since cloud-based services can share data and processes, they can more easily deliver integrated capabilities and faster innovation. Simply stated, “the cloud” promises fast, easy access to the next generation of complementary business services.

Given these benefits, it’s no surprise that marketing services have shifted to the cloud at an accelerated pace. Marketing is the #1 discretionary expense for today’s corporations, yet marketers suffer from a constant lack of budget for capital investment and IT support. This means marketers need fast, easy access to tools that will help them drive demand for their products and quickly evaluate the effectiveness of their programs – which is exactly what cloud computing can deliver.

At the same time, cloud computing is transforming the way marketing gets done today. Buyers are spending more of their time online, searching for information, interacting with like-minded colleagues and friends over cloud-based social networks, and having their own content hosted in the cloud. Offline marketing techniques continue to plummet in their effectiveness, even as new cloud-optimized marketing strategies such as social media, paid search and search engine optimization deliver both short and long-term results.

These trends make cloud-based marketing services a no-brainer. The tools that marketers share with sales and support are doing their job very well, but marketers need more.  What they need is in the cloud.

The business of weaving products and services into the scenes and scripts of movies and television shows is variously called product placement, product integration or "stealth advertising," depending upon what segment of the television, movie or advertising industry is speaking.

three types of product placements:

• The simple placement of the product in a TV or movie scene.
• Mention of the product or service by one of the show’s actors or actresses.
• Use of the product or service by one of the show’s actors or actresses.

The price and value of the placement are negotiated on such factors as the visibility of the product, the length of time it is visible and the cost and popularity of the show and the actors involved.