A startup cashes in on the popularity of online video through ads.
By Sarah Pierce - Entrepreneur.com:
Until now, the world of online video has been chaos for advertisers. As the popularity of user-generated video and premium content has exploded, marketers have been left scrambling to find ways to reach a new generation of consumers.
It sounds easy enough, but this new frontier has lacked a reliable way for advertisers to track or measure how many people view their ad, or even guarantee their ad reaches the right audience. And with advertisers reluctant to buy ad space, content owners have been forced to either offer their content for free or charge viewers a per-download fee.
The result is a lack of quality, easily accessible online video content. According to Jayant Kadambi and Ayyappan Sankaran, that’s exactly what drove them to start YuMe Networks, the first dedicated advertising network created and optimized specifically for broadband video.
‘We quickly figured out that content owners aren’t licensing good content to people because there was no way to make money on it,’ says Kadambi.
After nearly 3 years of building their network from the ground up, they officially launched YuMe in March 2007. For the first time, advertisers can place targeted messaging in online video content, just as they’re able to do with text and banner ad placement on websites.
Since its launch, YuMe has been a virtual dream come true for video webcast advertisers who previously had little control of who their ads reached. YuMe does the work for them by scouring online video content and categorizing it into customizable channels like auto, finance, entertainment and family-friendly. Advertisers can then select the customized video channels that most closely match the brands, products and messaging they’re trying to deliver.
In addition to reaching the right audiences, advertisers can track how many people view their ad, as well as measure its success.
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