SpotXchange's Blog

The client services team at Spotxchange has walked us through each step of the way with a true understanding of our goals and needs as an internet retailer. We know we can rely on them to not only manage our campaigns, but to always keep raising the bar for the future. They work hard to meet performance goals tailored to suit our business and this attention to detail exemplifies the attentive nature of their team.

Einaras Graurogkas

SpotXchange consistently achieved really strong results throughout its duration and were extremely helpful in dealing with any queries we had. We will be looking to run with them in future campaigns.

Matt Taylor

i-level

Equilibrium Introduces EQ Network Hosted Service to Automate Personalized Video Delivery and Monetization Via Advertising From Any Web Video.

First of Its Kind Service Facilitates Hyper-Targeting of Ads Using the Easy-to-Deploy Universal Media Delivery Bar.

Targeted Insertion and Delivery Service Turns Internet and Mobile Video From a Cost Center to Profit Center.

Service Introduced at NAB Show 2009 in Las Vegas.

NAB2009

SAUSALITO, Calif. & LAS VEGAS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Equilibrium® (www.equilibrium.com/), a software and hosted services company that specializes in helping enterprise clients of all sizes to manage, monetize and mobilize content, today announced the introduction of the EQ Network™, at the National Association of Broadcasters conference. The EQ Network enables content owners to deploy quickly a Media Delivery Bar™ on their site allowing viewers to effortlessly request personalized videos to be prepared and delivered via a breakthrough Ad-Per-View™ Software as a Service (SaaS). For the first time ever, content owners can also quickly personalize video experiences to web, wireless and mobile devices on-the-fly, without any pre-processing.

Equilibrium’s Media Delivery Bar provides Web site video content owners with the tools to hyper-target advertisements to individuals based on voluntary demographic information they supply. The Media Deliver Bar can be installed on any web page that contains video content within minutes, without requiring additional infrastructure costs or changes for the content owner or advertiser.

The Media Delivery Bar is easy to customize and assign to any video, providing either personalized advertising and/or sponsored viewing experiences in four simple steps through any EQ Network enabled site: (1) Viewers first choose the video and device to be delivered to, (2) opt in to share demographic information, (3) the requested video is automatically properly formatted without having to be pre-loaded into the Ad-Per-View system, and then (4) targeted video ads are inserted and delivered to the viewers’ existing Internet video player, wireless or mobile device. Advertising, sponsors and ID’s are also inserted on-the-fly into pre-roll, mid-stream or post-roll positions.

The EQ Network’s scalable Ad-Per-View technology automatically optimizes video content for billions of existing mobile devices, Internet video players and new ones as they become available.

“After seeing the preview of the EQ Network, it looks very promising as a no-hardware-required solution that content owners and advertisers will be able to use to set business rules on a per video basis,” said Stacey Foster, Coordinating Producer, Saturday Night Live. “Also very appealing is that the EQ Network automates the delivery of video content to the web and mobile devices, making it very easy to expand the reach of content while helping to cover costs through targeted advertising opportunities.”

The Internet video advertising sector is currently estimated to reach $850 million this year, according to eMarketer, and to increase by almost 80 percent by 2012.

“Equilibrium allows mobile video advertising to make a quantum leap forward by enabling dynamic video ad insertion,” said Michael Shehan, CEO of SpotXchange, LLC and Booyah Networks, Inc. “Combining SpotXchange’s advanced video ad targeting with the EQ Network and Media Deliver Bar empowers advertisers to reach consumers with the same accountability and accuracy as its online counterpart.”

Ads can be hyper-targeted using key features and services included in the EQ Network:

• Simple to implement, requires no infrastructure change to a Web site or web server
• Automatically transform, customize and assemble personalized programming
• Easily insert IDs, pre-rolls, post-rolls and advertisements where desired
• Dynamically generate and deliver personalized video and advertising experiences anywhere without worrying about file formats and pre-transcoding
• Extend video advertising reach to billions of devices
• Target advertisements and measure results with unprecedented precision

Both content owners and advertisers can gain from the EQ Network. Advertisers can track viewer demographics tied to contact information as well as the basic CPM impressions and easily build, manage and track highly targeted campaigns. Content owners benefit by receiving higher advertising rates with relevant, targeted impressions.

“After many years of intensive research and development, we are pleased to offer the EQ Network to content owners and advertisers to automate the heavy lifting and time consuming content assembly, ad insertion and deployment tasks, while simultaneously insuring that every ad impression is relevant, effective, counted and monetized through the use of our Media Delivery Bar,” said Sean Barger, CEO of Equilibrium.

For more information and for a step-by-step video to see how the EQ Network and Media Delivery Bar work, visit www.eqnetwork.com.

I recently saw that the IAB produced a video and a new site called http://www.iamthelongtail.com, which highlights some of the stories behind the estimated 1.2 million websites that support themselves through advertising.  Personally, I really found the video very inspiring.  Many of these ‘long tail’ publishers have very loyal, niche audiences.  The publishers themselves care very deeply about their subject matter and produce quality content.  Their visitors trust the sites enough to return again and again.  However, these same publishers are often not recognized as quality sources of ad inventory by many media planners in the industry.  Granted, they aren’t household names like CNN. And they often don’t have the critical mass that many media planners need in order to invest their time executing a buy.  However, I’d like to point out that many ad networks, including SpotXchange, enable advertisers to sponsor these sites in a transparent manner with surprising ease and effectiveness.  And often, these same ad networks provide incredibly sophisticated targeting and optimization tools to manage campaigns on these types of sites.  Ad networks – love ‘em or hate ‘em, they do serve a purpose for all parties involved.  I’m hoping that was the point of the IAB producing this video.

We have a little saying we use over here at SpotXchange when something great happens. Seeing that our parent company is Booyah Networks, it’s not hard to guess what that little saying is.

Recently, we had reason to use this catch phrase to express our excitement after learning that SpotXchange is an Upshot50 Winner!

I’ll go ahead and set a little mood lighting for anyone in the dark about what the folks at Upshot Institute represent. They specialize in marketing analysis and provide consulting services for marketers and vendors. Upshot Institute has a particular interest in marketing technologies and how they may be applied in marketing organizations. Marketers, being in such a fast-paced and chaotic industry, understand the importance of companies like Upshot Institute and the guidance they provide the marketing community, through their resources and tools.

To read up more on Upshot Institute, visit their website.

The Upshot50 Awards were created to show appreciation for companies who provide “the most significant technologies shaping marketing today.” As an Upshot50 winner, SpotXchange has been recognized as a marketing technology leader, pushing the marketing world envelope with our innovative, performance-building, empowering tools and technologies.

Congratulations to my fellow online video advertising team at SpotXchange.

I have one word for you: “Booyah!”

“In fact, according to leading online video advertising network SpotXchange, in February 2008, over 90% of the InGame video advertisements they served were watched in full. This level of engagement means the effectiveness of the video ad goes through the roof.” – From article written by Slingo.com

Follow the link below to view full article:
http://xboxpc.com/955538-Online-Games-Find-Success-in-a-Recession.html

Realizing the need to have standards approved by all industry stake holders, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) formed the IAB’s Digital Video Committee (DVC) in October 2007. In the past 15 months, the IAB’s DVC has written and has submitted 4 major standard initiatives that have been approved for preroll video advertising. Any standard developed by the IAB must go through a public comment phase in order to allow non-IAB members, non-Committee members, agencies (American Association of Advertising Agencies / 4A’s), advertisers (The Association of National Advertisers / ANA), etc a chance to review before it becomes a full standard.

With the standards now approved and in place, marketers and agency buyers can include preroll video advertising in their media plans and have accountability just as they would for traditional media. Preroll video advertising can now be evaluated on an apples to apples basis with television on both a national and local level.

When compared to television advertising, all preroll video advertising purchased through SpotXchange will give the buyer much more accountability in the following metrics:
1) how many unique viewers were reached
2) frequency capping for each piece of creative by viewer
3) real time optimization by creative by site based on ad playrate, ctr and conversions
4) re-targeting viewers based on their interaction or lack of interaction with the ad
5) target in-market buyers for auto’s, home goods, consumer electronics and many more product categories.

As a contributing member of the IAB’s DVC, SpotXchange would be happy to review all standards with you and answer any questions you may have. Here are brief descriptions for each of the 4 major standard initiatives and links to the full document.

1) A Digital Video Advertising Overview
This document serves as a high level introduction to the digital video ecosystem and defines in-stream(pre-roll), in-banner and in-text ad units.
http://www.iab.net/media/file/dv-report-v3.pdf

2) Digital Video In-Stream Ad Format Guidelines and Best Practices
This document defines the creative sizes and advertising specs that video sites can offer advertisers. These guidelines simplify operational aspects of creating and delivering pre-roll ads.
http://www.iab.net/media/file/IAB-Video-Ad-Format-Standards.pdf

3) Digital Video In-Stream Ad Metrics Definitions
This document defines additional non-currency in-stream metrics such as playrate and completion rate for all sites. This will allow buyers to receive common reporting metrics from multiple media partners that are consistent.
http://www.iab.net/media/file/DV_In-Stream_Metrics_Definitions.pdf

4) Digital Video Ad Serving Template (VAST)
VAST establishes a standard way for ad servers to respond to video player ad requests. VAST supports linear video ads, non-linear overlay ads, and companion banners, thus matching the formats specification previously released.
http://www.iab.net/media/file/VAST_1_11_FINAL.pdf

Happy New Year to you!

Brightcove Inc. today announced that SpotXchange is participating in the Brightcove Alliance, a global ecosystem of leading technology and distribution partners who have integrated with the Brightcove online video platform, as well as solution providers building customer websites and video applications using Brightcove. Through the Brightcove Alliance, organizations worldwide have access to a broad range of expert partners, pre-integrated technologies and services to support online video initiatives of any size and scope in every market. 

This partnership will provide Brightcove customers seamless integration with the SpotXchange Marketplace where they can efficiently monetize their unsold video ad inventory. Advertisers within the SpotXchange Marketplace compete for opportunity to have their ads run against inventory made available by participating Publishers. Rather than letting inventory go unsold, publishers can make real-time calls to SpotXchange requesting ads that meet the precise specifications (set in advance by each publisher). SpotXchange will then return any ads, in order from highest to lowest CPM, that meet the publisher’s quality and targeting criteria.

SpotXchange is profiled on Brightcove as an advertising partner here:  http://www.brightcove.com/partners/technology-partners/advertising/spotxchange/

MEDIA ADVISORY

What: SpotXchange President/CEO Michael Shehan will participate in the panel, Internet Video, Advertising & Marketing: The Next Generation of Consumer Reach at Digital Hollywood at CES in Las Vegas on January 10, 2009.

Shehan and fellow panelists will discuss where consumer reach is headed as online video becomes a part of the marketing mix.

SpotXchange demonstrations and interviews with Shehan can be arranged prior to the event.

Where: Digital Hollywood at CES
Las Vegas Convention Center
Las Vegas, Nevada

Who: Michael Shehan Founder, President, Chief Executive Officer, SpotXchange

When: Internet Video, Advertising & Marketing: The Next Generation of Consumer Reach
Saturday, January 10, 2009
12 to 1 p.m.

Contact: Valerie Quintanilla
SpotXchange
Valerie@booyahnetworks.com
303.345.6623

About SpotXchange
In 2007 and 2008, the SpotXchange patent-pending online video advertising platform received the Streaming Media Readers’ Choice Award for BEST VIDEO AD PLATFORM. The company was spun off from Colorado-based digital marketing and technology company, Booyah Networks in March 2007. Booyah Networks ranked 23rd on the 2006 Inc. 500. Clients and partners include Clip Syndicate, Lycos, TVU, Pando, Voxant, Slingo, NeoEdge, United Press International and others.

MediaPost Online VideoInsider, Posted October 22nd, 2008 by Michael Shehan

With Election Day less than two weeks away, there still remains a large contingency of undecided voters. Many marketing channels are available to reach them, but what channel is going to be the most effective for candidates in terms of getting votes? Traditionally, television gets most of the budget during the entire election cycle. No doubt, TV is a powerful medium because of its reach and its ability to engage at an emotional level with pictures and sound. But are political media buyers missing a big opportunity by not utilizing the full resources of online video advertising? I think that presidential, gubernatorial, and ballot initiative campaigns can reach and engage swing voters in these final days at an even greater level via online video advertising because it allows for not only localized reach, but most importantly, it allows personalized reach.

Personalized messaging. The old adage is that all politics are local. The thinking here is that people in the same locale usually have the same concerns and issues. In some respects, this logic really isn’t flawed. However, in a world that grows smaller with ever increasing forms of communication, locale becomes less relevant.

Collectively, Americans want the best for our country. But, individually we each bring a unique perspective into the voting box. We are at different places in our lives and reside all over the country. Regardless of the fact that I live in Colorado, my concerns may be more in line with a steelworker in Pennsylvania, a mother in Idaho, or a tech executive in Silicon Valley, than with my neighbors. Therefore it may be more accurate to say that all politics are personal.

Online video advertising combines the best of TV advertising (the power of pictures and sound) with the best of interactive advertising. Video advertising enables political media buyers to combine context, locale and behavior with unique messaging. It may scare some people, but it is actually quite fascinating what can be done online from a targeting perspective. Reaching people based on their demographic profile (e.g. age, sex, education, etc.) is fairly standard. But now marketers can also target people based on intent and behavioral patterns such as what they’ve searched for, what sites they’ve visited, what they’ve done on those sites, and what they’ve purchased. It’s anonymous, but it’s powerful nonetheless.

For example, perhaps the Obama campaign knows that you’ve visited the Obama site and that you’ve checked out his plan for small businesses. He doesn’t know who you are, but he could tag you with a cookie, and retarget you on other sites with video pre-roll messages about how Obama will try to help small businesses.

From a targeting perspective the options are limitless. It’s important for political media planners to ensure that the messaging matches up with the target, though. It doesn’t have to be time consuming and costly to create variations of the ads that speak to different voters. Campaign managers can easily create ads using the same video, but change the voiceover. Or they can even just adjust the creative of the companion banner if changing the video is too cumbersome.

Damage control. Online video advertising can even be an effective tool in countering the negative and misleading messaging that has become a mainstay in today’s campaigns. News travel fast. Often campaign managers don’t have time to respond to the 24-hour news cycle with a TV ad. But online video advertising makes it possible to create and launch a campaign in minutes that combats negative news or smear tactics. A recent Veoh study concludes that video viewers are more engaged on the Internet than when watching their television sets. Campaign managers should capitalize on this, especially as the election cycle draws to a close and final assaults make their way in the news and in other forms of advertising.

Real-time feedback and real-time optimization. Campaign managers can not only launch video ad campaigns immediately, but they can also optimize ads in real-time. By taking into account video and banner click-through rates, the average viewing duration and cross-referencing those numbers with post-impression and post-click Web site activity (e.g. – donations), campaign managers can optimize each campaign to maximize effectiveness.

News spreads like wildfire with breaking news e-mails, blog posts, Twitter, social networking sites, and more. In most cases, it remains true that we have no power over how issues and candidates are presented in the news, but the power of online video advertising makes it possible for the candidates to speak one-on-one with the voters about issues that concern them.

Link to article