M+E Connections

LAS VEGAS — Cisco Jan. 8 used CES to debut a new DOCSIS licensing plan for cable operator customers using the company’s Converged Broadband Router (cBR-8) platform in order to deliver broadband and video services.

Dubbed Infinite Broadband Unlocked (IBU), the licensing program is geared toward helping cable operators compete with fiber-based systems, by simplifying license acquisition and management. The offering doesn’t require operators to purchase large numbers of new bandwidth licenses for service groups, instead offering just one license type based on bandwidth consumption.

“IBU helps cable operators be more competitive and gain subscriber market share,” said Sean Welch, VP and GM of cable access for Cisco’s Service Provider Business. “We have listened carefully to our customers, and with this new offer we have specifically focused on making DOCSIS licensing simple and aligned with their business objectives.”

The IBU licensing plan is available for current and new Cisco cBR-8 customers.

Also during CES:

• Verizon subsidiary Oath introduced a new research study, dubbed the Brand Love Index, which focuses on what drives consumers to commit to brands.

Oath worked with research firm Kantar Consulting to analyze data around more than 150,000 consumers in 13 countries, to define the drivers behind brand loyalty.

“Building a successful brand is more complex than ever, but it’s clear that love is the most important ingredient to creating long term affinity and ultimately driving sales,” said John DeVine, chief revenue officer for Oath. “At Oath, we’re passionate about building brands people love and insights from our new Brand Love Index will help our global partners adapt their strategies to create more meaningful connections and deliver on what consumers really want.

“We are excited to work with our advertising partners to determine their brand love score, a proprietary metric derived from the Brand Love Index, to help ensure their marketing campaigns and messages are impacting it, in addition to driving awareness and purchase intent.”

The debut study found that a brand’s ability to do something other brands don’t (or by doing something better) is the top driver (30%) of brand love worldwide, and that a majority of American consumers (60%) had at least one mobile touchpoint with their top brand in the last year.

The report found that 12% of consumers worldwide (14% in the U.S.) expect their favorite brand to share their values, with 62% of American consumers saying they expect their brands to publicly support equality and diversity. Nearly 60% of U.S. millennials said their brands should support equal pay for women and women in leadership roles.

The report concludes that the use of native ads for cross-device, advanced targeting, in order to better tailor messages, is a crucial step toward holding on to consumers’ loyalty.

• Roku debuted a new home entertainment licensing program to allow brands to build audio devices for Roku TV and the Roku ecosystem, and also announced it would develop and launch a voice assistant, the Roku Entertainment Assistant, optimized for home entertainment.

TCL will be the first manufacturer to debut a device under the new Roku licensing program.

“We’ve always focused on making it incredibly simple for consumers to find and enjoy streaming entertainment on their TVs, and with an expanded Roku ecosystem, consumers will be able to add great sound to their TVs and audio around the whole home in a modern way,” said Roku CEO Anthony Wood. “Consumers will love the benefits of a home entertainment network, such as having more affordable options, adding one device at a time, using their voice, having a simplified set up and Wi-Fi connectivity, and holding just one remote control. And, of course, OEM brands benefit by offering their products in a more appealing way to our already large and engaged audience of millions of active accounts.”

The licensing program will allow partners to manufacture sound bars, smart speakers, surround sound and multi-room audio systems that use Roku software to work together as an entertainment network, connecting wirelessly and controlled using voice commands and one remote.