Coming soon to your flat-screen TV…

Ads specifically geared to your household! Yes, cable companies are finally going to be able to do what the direct mail business has been doing since the beginning of time. The New York Times reported that Cablevision Systems is planning to announce the largest project yet using targeted advertising on television.

Cablevision will use targeting technology to route ads to specific households based on data about income, ethnicity, gender or whether the homeowner has children or pets, beginning with 500,000 homes in Brooklyn, the Bronx and parts of New Jersey. The company segments subscribers by demographics, so an advertiser can divide ads among various groups: Procter and Gamble, for example, could send a Pampers spot to new moms, an Iams spot to pet owners or a Spanish spot to Hispanic consumers.

Advertisers have been eager to have the cable industry begin targeted advertising, and with good reason. It’s efficient and has the potential to produce good return. It’s going to take some time before this becomes a national reality, but we’re a step closer to true target marketing on the cable front.