Woolworths will sign up with Zip TV as the first retailer to join the interactive advertising consortium which already represents a number of leading brands.

Mark Trinder, Head of Marketing Communications at Woolworth said: “Interactive TV is a great medium. It is able to excite viewers and galvanise tremendous response. We shall be working with our supplier partners to reach consumers, deepen the brand experience, and collate valuable data.”

“The shared learning available on the Zip Channel enables us to benchmark our activity, explore new creative concepts and develop compelling content to drive shoppers into stores.”

Donna Barradale, Managing Partner at Zip TV, added: “One of the key benefits to consortium members is the shared learning. It offers advertisers the opportunity to examine their iTV activity and maximise its effectiveness. However, the Zip Channel will also be open to all advertisers and selected research will be made available to a wider audience. It is our intention to continue to open up the market and ensure iTV advertising is a powerful tool in the marketers’ tool box.”

The Zip interactive advertising service launched with a campaign for Honda. Woolworths expect to run its first interactive television campaign before the end of the year.