Blip, the New York-based portal/distributor of web original lifestyle and entertainment video  programming  for the Web, has agreed to be  acquired by Makers Studio, the Los Angeles-based web original producer, according to a report by Peter Kafka in AllThingD. Kafka says that CEO Kelly Day is to leave the company when the deal closes in September. We spoke with Day in April [...]

NEW YORK – Given the ad receptiveness of tablet viewers, brands should start building creative specifically for tablets, following some best practices for the medium, says Scot McLernon, Chief Revenue Officer at YuMe, in an interview with Beet.TV. For instance, short-form ads are often more memorable and have higher completion rates. Also, brands benefit when including interactive elements, such as asking viewers if [...]

NEW YORK - The tablet is on pace to become a vital screen for watching video and ads in video, says Travis Hockersmith, VP of Client Services at YuMe in an interview with Beet.TV. "We do see tablets as more or less the future of video consumption," he tells us, citing insight from a study YuMe conducted in partnership with [...]

Arlington-based startup Veenome is using some nifty-sounding analysis technology to help publishers get better bang for buck from their video. Now it's about to process a whole lot more video, following a deal with the Collective video ad network. Founder and CEO Kevin Lenane tells Beet.TV the service processes viewers' video page clicks: "We figure out where the videos are … and [...]

When repurposing TV spots for online video, a little interactive goes a long way, says Juan Lindstrom, Client Analyst at Millward Brown, in an interview with Beet.TV. Since web original video performs better in brand awareness, brand favorability and purchase intent, that's why repurposed spots need a boost, he says, citing research Millward conducted in partnership with online video advertising [...]

Videos ads on tablets often grab a viewer's attention more because tablets are highly personal devices and consumers are usually holding them in their hands, says Kara Manatt, VP, Consumer Research Strategy at IPG Media Lab in an interview with Beet.TV. IPG studied tablet effectiveness and drew several takeaways - consumers often use their tablets when in a quiet, comfortable spot, they [...]

Ad giant Interpublic is teaming with big broadcasters and cable operators  in an effort to automate television and radio buys, reports Suzanne Vranica in the Wall Street Journal. It's part of company wide initiative to automate media buying by managing data, more efficiently matching content and viewers. In June in Cannes, we interviewed IPG Mediabrands CEO Matt Seiler on efforts towards programmatic [...]

Brands should chill out about not having control of popular new online platforms and embrace them with unique, native ad creative, says a Publicis digital executive. "People who engage with video on a brand-owned site are watching, say, a minute of it," according to Digitas media group director George Hammer. "When you take that content and put it out in to [...]

The ad industry is fond of considering video inventory either low-grade fodder or "premium". But Mindshare's North America Chief Strategy Officer Jordan Bitterman tells Beet.TV the distinction depends on the goals of the advertiser. "One marketer may say 'premium' content has to be shot by a famous director, has got to have celebrity talent on it, has to be running on [...]

VICE, the fast-growing edgy news/entertainment/lifestyle video producer and syndicator of Web original video has taken a $70 million investment from 20th Century Fox which puts the valuation of the Brooklyn-based company at a whopping $1.4 billion, according to a report in the Financial Times. The FT expects a deal to be announced today, Monday. In April in Cannes at the MIPTV conference, [...]

NEW YORK --  Cross-platform marketing can play a huge role in amplifying a marketing message, said John Marson, VP, director of Resource Development at Horizon Media during an interview with Beet.TV. In a study Horizon conducted with its Crown Imports client and ESPN, the agency found that about 75% of screen usage was across more than one screen, he said. "It's an [...]

NEW YORK – Many video ad practitioners bemoan a persistent lack of quality ad space in the industry. But one exec thinks online operators should learn the value of scarcity from certain TV networks. "On BBC America, we have half the commercials as anyone else," says BBC Worldwide digital sales EVP Mark Gall. "A lot of fans are saying 'Wow, I really [...]

NEW YORK -- George Hammer has hit on the recipe for online video ad effectiveness: it's all about empowering preroll-weary viewers. "We at Publicis' looked at about 50 different types of online video formats and 100 different executions," said the VP and media group director of Publicis' Digtias agency. "What we found was, when we give consumers choice of which video they [...]

NEW YORK -- As the online video market has grown, ad prices have dropped, says Todd Gordon, EVP Integrated Trading at Magna Global, during an interview with Beet.TV. That's a natural evolution in the marketplace, he added. "When digital video was first available it was the most premium thing on a plan. As spending increases, the price in general has come down [...]

NEW YORK -- How should media agencies weigh up buying video ads through programmatic platforms versus conventional video ad networks. The US' largest independent, Horizon Media, tells Beet.TV's Video Ad Effectiveness Summit networks can be effective but used sporadically. "They're delivering a tremendous amount of value but, from a buyer's standpoint, it's a bit tactical," chief digital officer Donald Williams told interviewer [...]

When Extreme Reach CEO John Roland spoke with Beet.TV a year ago, he forecast how it will be "a pretty exciting year" for the firm, which helps brands distribute their video ads across the many new video platforms and TV. As if proving that prediction, today his company offered to buy DGIT's Video Fusion TV advertising unit for $485 million in cash. Interestingly, [...]

Over the last few years, we have observed as the big ad agencies have found a growing percentage of their revenue made up by two growth factors - digital and emerging global markets. Now WPP's CEO Sir Martin Sorrell, becoming the latest LinkedIn influencers writer, is setting his target higher still: "Now we will accelerate the implementation of our strategy by [...]

NEW YORK -- The biggest draw in digital video during the upfronts was for content in full-episode players, says Peter Naylor, EVP Digital Media Sales at NBC Universal during an interview with Ashley J Swartz, CEO and Co-founder of Furious Minds for Beet.TV. "We didn't do a lot of short form because I don't think there is a perceived perception of scarcity with [...]

NEW YORK -- This year, we are hearing plenty about how video advertisers are trying to reach audiences through integrated campaigns covering both TV and online platforms. But Dailymotion's North America GM Roland Hamilton tells Beet.TV online video can be a stellar reach mechanism in its own right. "There are pockets of content out there that aren't necessarily tied to an offline [...]

NEW YORK -- Good creative is simply good creative, but a brand needs to know which emotions an ad elicits in a customer and what the takeaway will be, said Barbara Singer, VP, Advertiser Insights & Strategy, ESPN during an interview with Beet.TV, citing research ESPN has conducted into brand image and brand metrics across screens. "Entertaining commercials can improve likeability, but [...]