I presented a novel comparative test method as part of a workshop at the EuroITV 2010 conference in Tampere, Finland.  We discussed different methods of user research and in which contexts to use them.  I’ve posted a picture which might give you an idea of how complex and specific the brainstorming can get after a full day workshop with world-class iTV professionals.  😉

Marcos Gonzalez-Flower of Siemens IT Solutions and Services, a German company facing the many challenges of the modern cable company, gave the opening presentation on Thursday morning.  He spoke of the role of broadcasters who must evolve to eventually position themselves as mere content aggregators, as users are increasingly interested in building their own TV offerings through increasing use of personalization and personal recorders which allow us to watch our favorite shows whenever we want.  This trend is resulting in the gradual abandonment of traditional linear TV viewing.

He showed that this transformation will affect the whole world of advertising, which must redouble its efforts to offer new and innovative advertising models. In this regard, he discussed a new concept from SKY in England called Adsmart.  This model involves sending personalized advertising (based on monitoring user behaviour) directly to the user’s terminal and then triggering these advertisements at the appropriate time (between program segments or between two programs, whether saved by the user or live).  He also mentioned that ads could appear during the loading of content or applications.

After the opening talk, I attended several other presentations, including one on the use of interactive applications in Belgium. The study demonstrated that users are slow to adopt interactive applications for their TV. The author suggested that personalization of content appears to be a promising way to increase the use of applications such as video on demand.