By Ken Liebeskind
SAN FRANCISCO --VideoEgg, the video ad network for social communities, has launched AdFrames, a format that can run video ads in any environment with a cost per click payment system that is no longer impression based.
Microsoft, 02 and Paramount Pictures are the first users.
AdFrames play in a variety of sizes so they can play in a variety of spaces. “There are a rash of new environments that need to be monetized, like widgets, games and small spaces,” said Troy Young, VideoEgg’s chief marketing officer. “We wanted to integrate the ad experience and fill spaces that publishers can’t fill.”
The videos fill the different spaces and then expand when clicked to take up the page. The goal for advertisers and publishers is to have the ads expand so the video plays. “Impressions aren’t where the money is made, the money is made when the user rolls over and the ad counts,” Young said. “Publishers are paid when the ad expands, so we wanted to create something that always expands, is always rich.”
The pricing model is engagement based instead of impression based. “We’re shifting where the pricing is further down the line, which forces us to optimize our system for advertisers,” Young said. Impressions remain important because the goal is to “push impressions to the target demographic and optimize around the highest performing sites in our network.” The higher the number of impressions that can be sent to the sites, the higher number of engagements will be achieved, which is when the pricing starts.
The model may be detrimental to publishers who can’t generate enough roll overs. But those are publishers Young isn’t interested in retaining. “Some pages have higher media value and get engagement rates of five to eight percent, while others get a half percent or less,” Young said. “This is due to on page placement, how users move through the environment and the number of users on the page. The publishers who deliver the highest media value get paid the most.”
VideoEgg is a network of over 200 social networks, video and gaming sites, including Bebo, Hi5, imeem, Metacafe and Buzznet. AdFrames is a format that can used by network publishers. “We’re not selling a rich media service to advertisers, we’re not competing with Eyeblaster, we’re giving our publishers the rich media tools to run their campaigns,” Young said.
First-Time Feature Directors Make Major Splash At AFI Fest, Generate Oscar Buzz
Two first-time feature directors who are generating Oscar buzz this awards season were front and center this past weekend at AFI Fest in Hollywood. Rachel Morrison, who made history as the first woman nominated for a Best Cinematography Oscar---on the strength of Mudbound in 2018--brought her feature directorial debut, The Fire Inside (Amazon MGM Studios), to the festival on Sunday (10/27), and shared insights into the film during a conversation session immediately following the screening. This came a day after William Goldenberg, an Oscar-winning editor for Argo in 2013, had his initial foray into feature directing, Unstoppable (Amazon MGM Studios), showcased at the AFI proceedings. He too spoke after the screening during a panel discussion. The Fire Inside--which made its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival--tells the story of Claressa “T-Rex” Shields (portrayed by Ryan Destiny), a Black boxer from Flint, Mich., who trained to become the first woman in U.S. history to win an Olympic Gold Medal in the sport. She achieved this feat--with the help of coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry)--only to find that her victory at the Summer Games came with relatively little fanfare and no endorsement deals. So much for the hope that the historic accomplishment would be a ticket out of socioeconomic purgatory for Shields and her family. It seemed like yet another setback in a cycle of adversity throughout Shields’ life but she persevered, going on to win her second Gold Medal at the next Olympics and becoming a champion for gender equality and equitable pay for women in sports. Shields has served as a source of inspiration for woman athletes worldwide--as well as to the community of... Read More