I was at a recent CARF event, on the state of research across the various associations for TV, Radio, Newspaper, Magazine, Outdoor and Interactive advertising, and was struck when Theresa Treutler of the the TV Bureau prefaced her presentation by saying "TV is Video."

I understood her to be saying that as more and more TV migrated to the Web, there would be no real distinction between TV on a TV set, and TV on a PC video player -- it would simply be the size of the screen that would change... I think there are inherent and interesting contradictions in there, but when I saw the presentation given by Neil Sweeney, SVP Business Development and Sales (North America), StreamTheWorld for the Video 5 Ways panel at the MIXX Toronto event, the slide showing how CBS is using its audio player to help monetize Online audio streams made me think: "Hmm, if TV is Video, then Radio may just be the new TV..." 

In the end Radio, Newspapers, Magazines and Outdoor will all have more and more PC-based Online Video components linked with their content. And then the content will be ported to the Mobile sphere. Media owners and producers looking to monetize their content on these platforms need to remember that neither the computer nor the mobile phone is actuall a TV set, so how you monetize, should take into account the inherent strengths of the medium, as opposed to just monetizing with pre-roll commercials recycled from TV for Online.

To that end, in Toronto, we missed a presentation from Mark Coleman of DoubleClick (as he was unable to make it to the event due to a family emergency), but in Montreal, his counterpart Jeff Sundheim showed how Overlays, and Flash in Flash really make advertising sing in the space. In the Flash In Flash example previous, various products are highlighted as full-length TV content plays Online. HBO's Entourage shows links to shirts by Tommy Bahama, suits by Hugo Boss, etc. inside little red brackets that show the user where to click.

The Video stops while the user interacts with it, and allows a quick jump to the Website as well. Other Flash In Flash examples allow users to dynamically change both clothes and surrounding props within stills on the player before the actual Video content launches, allowing for multiple product placement opportunities.

That's not TV folks, that's what we in the biz call Interactive Advertising! 

Now since high def Video Online will soon be ubiquitous, and users of Online Video will soon be able to port virtually everything they collect Online back to their large screen digital displays, do you think they will interact with the large screen to the same extent that they do now with their PCs?

And what about when all this arrives on their iPhone?

And my last question... Any thoughts on how Advertisers will be able to pull together measurement of all of this cross-screen activity?

Let me know.

Paula Gignac, President IAB Canada