eBay To Launch TV Advertising Marketplace

eBay will launch a new pilot program in Q2 2007 that will enable advertisers to bid for TV Ads in an electronic marketplace. Advertisers participating in the pilot program include Microsoft, Wal-Mart, Toyota, Hewlett-Packard, and Home Depot. No announcements were made as to which TV networks would offer their advertisement spots to be claimed by the highest bidder. I'm not sure who this is meant to benefit most: the networks who feel uncertain about the long-term prospects of the 30 minute spot or the advertisers who want more transparency in the buying process. Apparently both: the pilot program is being endorsed by the Association of National Advertisers and the American Association of Advertising Agencies.

"As you look at the existing media buying and selling process, there is a level of perceived inefficiency in the system," says Bob Liodice, president of the Association of National Advertisers. "The marketers believe there may be a more transparent approach toward the buying and selling of advertising."

It's looks like old media is taking a lesson from new media which made bidding on advertising popular on the Internet, but it looks like Google was left out in the cold on this one. Here's a link to the pilot program http://www.admarketpilot.com/.

technorati tags: eBay, Advertising