So, you want to run video ads on the web? In true internet fashion, much like rich media, email and search before it, online video has become the hot new online ad vehicle and everyone wants to join the party. But, before you repurpose your clients' TV spots online, there are a number of specifics to consider in order to pick the most effective, most creative solution.

How do you want your ads to run? The options are many: in-between pages, in stream, in a new window, to name a few. Can your target audience see your ads at their bandwidth? What types of interactivity does your video lend itself to? Have you thought about enhancing your video assets with Flash?

Much has been said about the pros and cons of video ads on the web, but the current reality is that with Eyeblaster you can now run up to 2MB of broadcast quality video, packed with interactive features and other elements that convert plain old TV ads into interactive brand experiences. And your ad can play well for dial up and broadband viewers alike, thanks to Eyeblaster's bandwidth detection technology. That goes for all seven Eyeblaster formats, including floating ads, expandable and polite banners, window ads and commercial breaks.

top ^

Introduced last week, the VideoClip Module is brand new ad format specifically designed to streamline the process of running interactive video ads online, allows advertisers to insert interactive video ads into streamed content. By serving ads directly into user-requested video, advertisers can deliver their "commercials" without intruding on the user's surfing experience while combining the branding attributes of broadcast commercials with direct response qualities of rich media by incorporating Flash elements into the spots. Helping kick off the VideoClip Module launch are Beta publishers About.com, IFILM.com, WWE.com, and Style.com, who will be participating in attitudinal research.

Commenting on the VideoClip, Alan Schanzer, managing partner at The Digital Edge, said, "Ultimately, marketers will create commercials with an eye towards the Web that will take advantage of the interactivity. The ability to have a Flash overlay on a video ad and to have interactivity within the unit is really incredible."

David Cohn, Director, Integrated Advertising Sales at World Wrestling Entertainment, added, "VideoClip gives us the ability to easily deliver more WWE™ video content to our fans while providing our advertisers with an unparalleled cross-media advertising opportunity."

Click here to see an example.

Another popular Eyeblaster format is also getting a facelift thanks to video - the Commercial Break. Eyeblaster's Video Commercial Break provides a full screen video experience, complete with interactivity, which plays within an active Web browser between page loads. Similar to other "web commercials," the Video Commercial Break offers superior play ratios thanks to Eyeblaster's SmartStreaming, which delivers broadcast quality video to the user quicker than other delivery technologies. Click here for an example.

top ^

The Online Publishers Association has found the 18-34 year old demographic! They are on the web, using broadband and spending over 50% more time online than their dial-up brethren.

Online Advertising is back in a big way, outpacing the growth of the overall advertising economy and setting a record for total dollars – nearly $2.3 billion – in Q1 2004.

Online advertising revenue is up for eight straight quarters. The Laredo Group’s Leslie Laredo and Jeff Leibowitz weigh in.

Marketing to children and teens on the web has become a touchy subject of late, with requests to the FTC to curb aggressive marketing practices.

Online sales are up over 50%! It’s not just the ad industry that’s booming through 2004.

top ^

Summer is here, and that means big summer blockbuster movies… and their tie-ins. Whether your movie appears in theaters, on DVD, or in a video game, Eyeblaster's rich media formats have the power to make your campaigns as hot as opening weekend. In this issue, the Eyeblaster spotlight is on Hollywood.

Dodgeball
	Agency: Campaign: Ad format:	Mindshare Dodgeball Polite Banner / Advergame
Troy
	Agency: Campaign: Ad format:	Grey NY Troy Floating Ad
Fandango
	Agency: Campaign: Ad format:	DNA Studio Fandango Summer 2004 Floating Ad with Reminder
SpiderMan 2 Video Game
	Agency: Campaign: Ad format:	Ignited Minds Activision - Spiderman 2 Eyeblaster Polite Banner with Video
Shrek 2 Video Game
	Agency: Campaign: Ad format:	Ignited Minds Activision - Shrek 2 Floating Ad with Video

top ^

Eyeblaster has kicked off its own branding campaign to promote the Eyeblaster Rich Media Platform using the company's expandable banner format across a number of advertising and media B-to-B sites.

Click here to view demo.

Eyeblaster's own creative department and VPI.Net's experienced rich media and game development teams collaborated to develop a campaign that conveys a realistic Newton's cradle engine all under 60k. "The code VPI.Net developed is advanced enough to be used as part of a Graduate physics dissertation," said Pete Deutschman, VPI.Net's Executive Vice-President, "but the final execution was very smooth thanks to both the Eyeblaster Rich Media Platform and VPI.Net's experienced team of designers and developers. We think it is a great example of what can be done within Eyeblaster's Expandable Banner Format."

top ^

Ad Club of Washington, DC: "Eye Opener" series, "How to Develop and Execute an Effective Viral/Non-Traditional Advertising Campaign." June 29th, City Club Franklin Square

Interactive Ad Club of LA: Creative Breakfast, July 22nd, The Four Seasons Hotel.

IAB Advertisers Forum: September 20-21, New York City

"Battle for the Heart" Creative Roadshow: Coming to a City Near You

top ^