Bringing audience-based trading back to TV
Watch Sorosh talk to Andy Plesser at Beet.TV about Karbon 2.
TV is the world’s largest advertising medium, turning over roughly $200B every year, dwarfing every other medium including the $40B display ad market. One of the main reasons behind the success and scale of TV advertising is the way it’s packaged and sold – via the reach and frequency of a specific demographic. You could argue about the accuracy of panels, but the fact remains that TV offers something that digital has struggled with to date – an audience-based approach to ad trading.
Videoplaza has, since it’s birth, been obsessed with helping video publishers build a profitable and sustainable business in the new IP-delivered TV world. One year ago, we launched Karbon, the world’s first device aware ad platform. We wanted to give our clients one workflow and enable them to sell one audience across all devices. Today 30% of our broadcaster clients’ ad volumes are running on non-PC platforms – be it mobile devices, tablets, games consoles, IPTV or other devices.
While content and ads are broadcast on traditional TV, the opportunities in the real-time and dynamic IP delivered world are countless. It’s not difficult to imagine how we will eventually marginalise the “50% of wasted ad spend”. That said, in the grand scheme of things it’s still early days. Today, IP video is still predominantly sold on its unparalleled premium environment and addressed towards content segments rather than audience segments.
This is all about to change. With a maturing display market and increased availability of user data, buyers are increasingly implementing an audience-based approach. This is a great thing and with Karbon 2, launching today, we are bringing this to the new IP-delivered TV. Starting from today you can connect various islands of data, 1st or 3rd party, to build, sell and target audience segments across devices.
This is not a turnkey solution, as much as we would have liked to build one. Most of the hard work lies with publishers to find, structure and package your user data in segments relevant and attractive to your clients. This requires a new way of thinking. The shift towards audience based trading needs to part of a broader data strategy.
We expect 30% of all video ad spend to be audience-based, equating to €2B in EU and US by 2015. Not knowing who your audience is quickly risks making you irrelevant for buyers. If you haven’t started defining and implementing your data strategy, now is a good time as audience-based trading, finally, is coming back to TV.
Vive La France – welcoming Hi-Media and Next Interactive Media
France is one of the most interesting and diverse markets in Europe when it comes to digital media and video consumption, and leads the way in terms of IPTV. So it’s with great delight that we welcome two new French clients.
Firstly Next Interactive Media is a subsidiary of the leading digital multi-media group, Groupe Tests, which owns and operates a range of magazines and online sites including RMC.fr, RMCSport.fr and BFMTV.com, the online news channel. We work with Next Interactive Media to monetise video content across their online sites, and ultimately via IPTV.
We are also very excited to be working with Hi-Media, one of Europe’s leading advertising networks, who over the last ten years have become a market leader in helping internet businesses monetise their audiences. Last summer Hi-Media launched their own video network called “Plein-Ecran” (“Full Screen”) which helps leading brands including Jeuxvideo.com, 750 grammes, Au Féminin TV, Marmiton, Auto Plus, La Tribune and BBC, monetise video content. We work with Hi-Media to ensure these brands can deliver video ads across a large range of different devices.
As well as working with these two market leaders, we continue to build out our team in France, and have added our very own IPTV specialist, Tung Tran Quang, who will be leading account management for the region, and joins us from another of our clients, broadcaster, M6, where Tung was previously working on the deployment of their catchup TV service.
The full press release in French in available here.
Brightcove and Videoplaza announce HTML5 video monetisation solution
We’re delighted to announce our latest collaboration with Brightcove: a comprehensive monetisation solution for HTML5 video, including support for VAST-compliant pre-, mid- and post-roll ads, a new HTML5 video player API for dynamically setting and changing ad policies, and HTML5 video plugin support for leading ad management platforms including Videoplaza.
This is fantastic news for our dozens of joint clients with Brightcove – meaning they can now deliver video content far more easily to HTML5 and Flash devices via a single integration, and then make use of Karbon’s pre-integrated monetisation – reducing complexity and workflows for you, and meaning the user gets a great experience whether viewing content on Flash or HTML5.
Rags Gupta, our chief commercial officer, commented: ’Today’s audience consumes video across a vast array of platforms and runtimes and enabling publishers to plan, target and deliver video advertising across these environments is the hallmark of our Karbon platform. Our close partnership with Brightcove and deep integration with Video Cloud ensures that our many common customers can reach, monetise and measure their audience consistently and reliably on both HTML5 and Flash-based platforms.”
You can read more about the Brightcove collaboration here.
STV partners with Videoplaza to drive monetisation across YouView and its digital platforms
London, 6th February 2013: Videoplaza, the leading global sell side ad management platform for video, today announced that STV, Scotland’s leading digital company and commercial Public Service Broadcaster, has selected Videoplaza’s ad management technology Karbon to monetise its TV content across multiple platforms and devices including mobile and tablet devices, games consoles, connected TV and YouView set-top boxes.
Launched in March 2012, Karbon will strengthen STV’s digital offering by enabling seamless monetisation of its content available via its catch-up service STV Player, website stv.tv, and hyper local online service, stvlocal.com across multiple connected devices. This includes YouView, for which STV was selected as one of the first two initial additional content partners. An end-to-end ad management platform for IP-delivered video, Karbon will enable STV to sell one audience across multiple devices, to simplify the ad operations workflow and will provide a future-proof advertising strategy to accommodate new platforms and devices as they emerge.
“We pride ourselves on being at the forefront of the evolution of TV, delivering must-have content wherever and whenever consumers want it,” said Alistair Brown, CTO, STV. “To strengthen our digital offering and take full advantage of the multi-screen opportunity, we needed an ad management system capable of monetising across all current and future digital platforms. With its innovative approach to cross-device video advertising, Videoplaza’s technology makes an attractive proposition which will enable us to future proof our ad strategy to accommodate new devices when they come to market.”
The deal marks a milestone for the TV industry with Videoplaza becoming one of the first technology providers to announce monetisation capabilities that extend to YouView set-top boxes. The YouView Internet TV service provides an opportunity for broadcasters to grow their audience reach and develop premium revenue streams through a digital advertising strategy. Bringing together catch-up and traditional TV, YouView enables viewers to watch and move between live and catch-up TV from the content libraries of STV and the UK’s Freeview channels, as well as the ability to pause and rewind live TV.
Stephen Byrne, UK Commercial Director, Videoplaza, said: “STV has been a true pioneer in the TV space as one of the first-to-market with online HD content and its trail-blazing STV Player. It is a truly multi-platform content provider and continues to push the boundaries of multi-screen viewing. Powered by Karbon, the first device-aware ad management platform, we are confident that STV will be well positioned to strengthen its digital strategy with a cross-platform ad strategy. We’re particularly excited to be empowering STV to monetise its offering for YouView, a TV platform, which represents a major development in the evolution of TV in the UK market.”
Celebrating 5 Years of Videoplaza and the New TV!
Last Thursday, we celebrated 5 Years of Videoplaza in style with more than 400 people in joint parties in both London and Stockholm. A massive thanks to all of you who turned out to celebrate with us. In London we took over the Museum of London for a historic celebration, and in Stockholm, we hosted guests at our St Eriksgatan office (which is an old bicycle factory).
There was a fantastic collection of people from the video, technology and broadcast worlds at both parties, and we were delighted to be joined by so many clients, partners, industry colleagues, friends and family.
We were celebrating not only our 5th year birthday as a company, but also the growth and the development of the New TV industry, which has evolved hugely over the last 5 years.
As we have grown up as a business, so has the industry we occupy – from the movement of video online to a multitude of devices, through ever evolving standards, to new commercial models and different ways to monetise content. It’s amazing to see how far it has all come, and we are hugely proud to be part of this exciting and cutting edge industry.
Here’s to the next 5 years!
Videoplaza continues expansion in Spain with a new team and office!
Exciting times in Iberia as we continue to build out our European operations with a new team in place and now a new office in Madrid.
We were recently joined by Xavier Ruis Planas, as Sales Business Director for the Iberian region. With over a decade of experience in the digital advertising field, Xavi has focused on the evolution of IPTV and mobile video advertising strategies. For the past three years, he held the position of General Manager and New Business Director for TV and Mobile at Smartclip, helping the company’s founders develop a leading business in Spain. Prior to Smartclip, Xavi founded his own digital company, Ad One, and successfully managed its growth and sale to Admsmedia group in 2008. We are delighted to have him on board.
With Xavi in place, we have now further added to the team with the hire of Carlos Prieto to the role of Strategic Account Manager. Prieto joins Videoplaza from Hearst Magazines, the global publishing giant, and producer of titles such as Elle, Fotogramas and Diez Minutos. Prieto was with Hearst for 12 years, starting in their IT and advertising production departments. In ’07 he moved into the digital area, and was part of the core team responsible for creating Hearst’s digital advertising business unit.
The team will based in our new office situated in the middle of Madrid’s financial district, where a number of key tech and media companies are now based including Google and Havas Group.
Xavi comments, “As IP content reaches more and more consumer devices in and out of the home, publishers, content owners and broadcasters in Spain are rapidly understanding that they can derive tangible value from IP-delivered content through the right approach to monetisation. The Spanish market is primed for significant growth and I am excited about helping publishers here take the value of their content to the next level.”
Meet the latest members of the Videoplaza Team
We are thrilled to announce the addition of key new members to the Videoplaza team.
Firstly video industry veteran, Rags Gupta, joins us as Chief Commercial Officer. With over 12 years of experience in the online media industry, Rags has spent most of his career building businesses in new markets. Having joined Brightcove in 2005 pre-product and pre-revenue as part of the founding executive team, he was instrumental in taking the Company to market and signing major deals with several US media companies. In 2007, he moved to London to establish the Company’s European presence. Rags will be responsible for our marketing, sales and client relations teams, and will be a core architect of our client strategy moving forwards.
Maria Flores Portillo comes on board as our VP of New Business. Focused on pursuing partner alliances, Maria brings a number of years of mobile and online video experience. Her previous roles at major media companies include Strategic Partnerships manager at Google and Head of Business Planning at Upstream.
Joining the R&D team in Stockholm, Jonas Flodh will drive product innovation worldwide. He has been in the mobile, telecoms and digital media space for over 15 years managing business, product and corporate development activities for large multinational organisations. His most recent role was as Vice President, Products & Technology at Tradedoubler.
And Hanna Lindén becomes our Director of Talents, helping us to recruit and retain the best expertise in the industry. She joins from the respected executive search firm, The Up Group, where she specialised in digital, technology and online business searches.
In addition, Michael Stephanblome, the founder of Adjug and former managing director of Gumtree.com, joins other key industry luminaries on Videoplaza’s board of directors and advisors including Henrik Torstensson of Spotify, Andy Chen of Preview Networks and Richard Titus, serial entrepreneur and angel investor.
We’ll keep you posted on team updates as the Videoplaza family continues to grow, and you’ll hear from the new team shortly via the blog!
It’s Show Time: Videoplaza are on the bill at dmexco and IBC
Preparations are underway at Videoplaza HQ for one of the busiest months of the year. September is show time and Videoplaza will be on the road for two of the biggest events in the calendar – IBC and dmexco.
IBC takes place from 6th – 11th September in Amsterdam. Alfred Ruth, our CTO and co-founder, appears on a panel at 8am on 8th September, talking on the hot topic of interactive targeting – ‘Targeted Ads: Harnessing the Power of Interactivity’. If you are at IBC, come along and get involved in the discussion! You can register for IBC here.
In addition to Alfred, our new Commercial Director for the UK and Netherlands, Stephen Byrne, will be at IBC. Stephen joins us from Limelight Networks, where he oversaw enterprise sales. You can book a meeting with Stephen at IBC on 6th or 7th September here.
We are also exhibiting and speaking at dmexco in Cologne on 12th – 13th September. You can find us in Hall 8.1, Aisle D at Stand 69. Holger Schöpper, our country manager for DACH, will be giving his view of the market on a panel entitled ‘New Video – How can Germany catch up?’ at 12pm on 12th September. You can book a meeting with Holger or any of the Videoplaza team at the show here, and you can register for dmexco free of charge here.
We hope to see you in Cologne and Amsterdam!
Canal+ joins the Videoplaza Family!
Canal+, one of France’s largest broadcasting groups, has selected Videoplaza to support its video ad delivery and management across its mobile, web and IPTV, connected TV properties.
In the coming months, the Videoplaza Karbon platform will be rolled out across the Canalplus.FR website including iPhone and tablets, as well as across their IPTV offering. Canal+ has circa 6 million monthly unique visitors on its website (Mediametrie, April).
Karbon will allow Canal+ to consistently monetise its audience across all device types. Sophie Davidas, our Commercial Director in France comments, “We are hugely thrilled to be working with Canal+, an innovative broadcaster that is exploring the key opportunities presented by the growth of viewing on multiple devices. Being able to sell and serve advertising to one audience across different screens will enable Canal+ to continue to innovate. We look forward to working closely with them to make this happen”.
Growth in video consumption across devices is failing to deliver revenue
Videoplaza and IHS Screen Digest present research into A Future for TV – video advertising in a multi-device world
The ecosystem often turns to us to ask questions about IP-delivered video and online video ad spend. We all evolve faster when there is strong dialogue and commentary about the industry we are building together. That’s why we decided to collaborate with analyst house IHS Screen Digest, to deliver our research report on the IP-delivered video advertising industry: ‘A Future for TV – video advertising in a connected world’. The report is aimed at helping our clients, the industry, and us, understand more about the fragmented multidevice world we live in today.
The world is changing. TV advertising growth is flat in Western Europe and the US. Whilst TV is still a hugely important medium for achieving reach, audiences are shifting across other devices. The first of its kind, the report examines the growth of IP-delivered and online video ad spend, and the opportunities and challenges faced by broadcasters in an IP connected world.
You can access your complementary copy of the report here. We hope you find it interesting!
Coverage of the research report:
Videonuze – To grow, broadcasters must diversify into online delivery
Admonsters – Videoplaza report findings on IP-delivered video
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