SA grabs global interactive award

Created by Multichoice Interactive and Oracle Innovision, (a division of Oracle Airtime Sales), the DAL won the Best Advertising Service Category Award at the ceremony organised by the Association of the French interactive television developers, publishers and service providers (AFDESI).

Oracle Innovision's Sean Fairless says South Africa has now been recognised as a leader in Interactive TV applications: "Other countries have been using Interactive TV for many years. We launched our first DAL in November 2002 as a pilot project, but it was only in August last year, that Interactive TV became a business focus. This makes the award even more significant."

He explains that the interesting aspect of the BMW 1 Series application was that it featured three separate video windows. As a viewer clicked on a particular information category about the car, such as 'safety' or 'versatility', a new video would pop up. The layout was visually appealing and easy to navigate from the exterior to the interior of the vehicle.

Fairless says motor vehicle manufacturers have been the early adopters of Interactive TV in SA and have also become repeat advertisers, with MultiChoice Interactive and Oracle Innovision creating DALs for Toyota, Peugeot and Audi and now set to launch another DAL for the BMW 3 Series this month.

The event was held during MIPTV and featured MILIA, the leading global forum for owners, buyers and distributors of digital content and new interactive technologies.

The awards were separated into nine categories with nominees from around the world such as Sky Interactive (UK), MEDIASET (Italy) and Craftwork (Denmark). The competition incorporated all new formats of global television interactivity, through remote control, fixed and mobile phone.