'Net Features : YuMe

A "Social" Pre-Roll from YuMe

Pete Prestipino — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 02:00:00 GMT

Video advertising provider YuMe released a new product feature which it hopes will work to increase the brand engagement factor of video ads.

The new YuMe pre-roll ad (see below) enables brands to select up to three optional links as overlay buttons on their video ads, including Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, other websites, offers, and dealer/retail information. This format replaces the current pre-roll format from YuMe and commands the same CPM as a traditional video-only pre-roll.

“Consumers are actively consuming online video and brand advertisers are getting more adventurous and creative about their cross-screen video ad campaigns and offering consumers more ways to interact with their brands,” said YuMe CEO Jayant Kadambi. “These new interactive video ad formats will help brands connect the dots and engage with consumers more fully wherever they are viewing content — whether it be on their phone, PC or TV.”

Screenshot of YuMe pre-roll ad - note the social media icons in the lower left.

Online Video Producers, Advertisers at Odds

Mike Phillips — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 14:05:00 GMT

While there is no doubt that online video is a booming industry, just how that video is used as a marketing tool is much less clear -- particularly between video producers and advertisers.

Research from DIGIDAY and YuMe (a video ad network) show that advertisers view brand lift and percent of the video completed as the two most important ROI metrics for online video. Producers see it quite differently. Nearly half of the producers surveyed said clickthrough rate was the most important metric. Advertisers ranked clickthrough rate as the least important metric when measuring online ad effectiveness.

This disconnect could have serious implications for the growth of online video advertising. Mostly, because when asked what would get them to spend more on video advertising, advertisers said better reach and better measurement were the top two factors, at 75.4% and 72.5%, respectively. It's going to be tough to gauge reach and measurement if there is confusion on exactly what's being measured and what's considered an ROI success.

Furthermore, differing goals of online video will result in different videos. One focused on getting a click is going to focus less on the narrative than one aimed at getting users to watch for more than a minute, for example. As online video advertising matures, it will be very important that advertisers and those they charge with producing the video are on the same page. There is a lot at stake. In February, eMarketer predicted that the online video ad market would reach $5 billion in 2014, while Forrester predicts about $3 billion.

YuMe Manages Excess Video Ad Inventory For Microsoft

Pete Prestipino — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 14:01:00 GMT

Video advertising network YuMe announced that it has been selected to support Microsoft's existing video advertising services. Scheduled to begin this summer, YuMe will provide video advertising network management capabilities and sales for unsold inventory on Microsoft's online properties.

"In working with YuMe, we will further maximize the value of our unsold video inventory through YuMe's robust platform for video advertising network management," said Rob Bennett, general manager, MSN Entertainment, Video & Sports, Microsoft. "YuMe offers the ability to connect additional ad networks to its platform, and we plan on utilizing this service to provide YuMe and other ad networks access to Microsoft's unsold video inventory."

YuMe will monetize Microsoft's video advertising inventory by selling Microsoft's excess video ad inventory as part of YuMe's network of channels (News, Sports, Entertainment, etc.), allowing advertisers to purchase by audience and content genre. "YuMe brings a best in class video advertising platform and sales team to Microsoft to immediately monetize excess video inventory on Microsoft properties," said Jayant Kadambi, CEO and co-founder of YuMe. "Our selection by Microsoft is testament to both our technology's strength and our expertise in helping publishers best monetize their content and advertisers best reach their desired target audience."

As part of the agreement Microsoft will also utilize NetworkMe, a capability of YuMe's advertising platform that allows publishers to aggregate all of their video content into one private ad network, providing a consolidated view of available inventory. With NetworkMe a publisher gains unprecedented inventory liquidity and the ability to maximize CPMs and fill-rates across multiple properties.