Software provides web video ad insertion platform.
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Press Release Summary:
With SmartAd(TM), broadcasters, Web video publishers, and advertisers can monetize video assets on Software-as-a-Service platform. Object recognition technology intuitively locates subject matter on screen and places ads in blank spaces. To further drive viewer experience, SmartAd automatically starts and stops video content at point where viewer interrupted video to click on ad. Ads are targeted to viewer based on geographic and demographic information as well as viewing history.
Original Press Release:
Keystream Launches SmartAd(TM), the Industry's First Automatic and Intuitive Web Video Ad Insertion Platform
SmartAd(TM) Enables Increased Click-Through and Engagement Rates with Automated Placement of Non-obstructive Advertising
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Nov. 10 /- Keystream(TM) Corporation (http://www.keystream.com/), the global leader in intuitive Web video ad insertion, today announced its SmartAd(TM) platform which enables broadcasters, Web video publishers and advertisers to monetize their video assets on an easy to use Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform. Keystream is the first and only intuitive Web video insertion company in the industry today to automatically and unobtrusively place video ad overlays on all types of Web video content.
The SmartAd (http://www.keystream.com/smartad.html) platform offers dramatic improvement in user response over traditional Web video ad models, including higher click-through rates. With SmartAd's sophisticated object recognition technology, the platform is able to automatically and intuitively locate subject matter on the screen and place ads in blank spaces. Blank spaces are found on average once every two minutes, providing an ad insertion opportunity that increases video ad monetization. Keystream achieves these higher interactivity and click-through rates as a result of automatically identifying the optimal location to insert the ads as well as the engaging nature of its ad formats. Keystream's SmartAd encourages users to interact with it and respond when rolled over. To further drive viewer experience, SmartAd automatically starts and stops video content where the viewer interrupted the video to click on the ad, ensuring that viewers never miss valuable content. Ads are also targeted to the viewer based on available geographic and demographic information and viewing history, which further drives higher click-through rates and provides a means for personalized advertising.
"As the largest commercial broadcaster in the UK, it's important that we continue to find new and creative ways to generate revenue through online video content," said Simon Fell, director of Future Technologies at ITV (http://www.itv.com/aboutitv/). "We have been trialing Keystream's SmartAd platform to measure and monitor user acceptance and engagement and have found that interaction rates per user are extremely high. Overall, the platform was extremely easy to integrate within a matter of days. Click-through rates have been high, which is encouraging in an area of web based advertising that has such massive potential."
SmartAd's sophisticated software is highly suited for the economics of Web video. By using a flat CPM-based revenue model, customers are only charged once an ad has been served, therefore increasing their return on investment. The flexible SmartAd platform supports both Flash and Silverlight for maximum reach and is content agnostic, supporting sports, drama, reality TV, user generated content (UGC), and live video streaming.
"The economic downturn is forcing advertisers to improve efficiency, and online video ads provide twice the recall rate as ads on TV. Online video ads, however, need to be non-interruptive or consumers will find other ways to get their content. People hate to wait," said Gerry Kaufhold, principal analyst with In-Stat. "Keystream's SmartAd platform analyzes what's going on in a video clip, and finds the right space to insert an un-obstructive ad that works even with full screen viewing, so the ad cannot be ignored. SmartAd provides intuitive and automatic ad placement, along with advanced reporting and metrics. It's a compelling approach for the next-generation of video advertising. Users get an improved viewing experience, advertisers get a better reception, and content providers get increased revenues. It's a win-win-win solution."
The SmartAd platform also comes with the SmartReporter(TM) (http://www.keystream.com/smartreporter.html) Web-based ad placement and reporting tool. This tool allows publishers and broadcasters to manually review all ad placements before the platform automatically places the ads. Once the publisher/broadcaster is comfortable with the appropriate ad placement, users can enable or disable on a per-clip or per-insertion basis, offering them greater control through customizable business rules of when and where ads are placed. SmartReporter is also designed to allow advertisers to upload media and target specific clips with the option to use metatags. This added flexibility helps publishers and broadcasters alike have increased visibility into reporting features, allowing them to measure a campaigns effectiveness by the number of impressions, abandonment, user interaction or click-through rates.
"When Keystream set out to create a platform for video ad insertion, we knew the market needed a solution that would create significant ad inventory for publishers and broadcasters, while providing better monetization opportunities," said Edward Ratner, co-founder & president, research & development (http://www.keystream.com/edward_ratner.html). "SmartAd offers powerful interactive direct response and branding opportunities where they simply didn't exist before and it's easier than ever to capitalize on these opportunities through the platform's automatic and intuitive capabilities."
To view an online demo of SmartAd, please visit http://www.keystream.com/gallery.html.
The SmartAd platform is available now. For more information please visit www.keystream.com/smartad.html or contact sales@keystream.com.
About Keystream Corporation
Keystream is the global leader in intuitive Web video ad insertion. Using Keystream's innovative SaaS-based SmartAd(TM) platform, Web video publishers, broadcasters and advertisers can generate revenue through automated insertion of non-obstructive, non-interruptive advertising into any video content. The platform offers a dramatic improvement over other video ad models, including increased click-through rates that are higher than traditional methods such as banner overlays. Founded in 2004, Keystream is a privately held company backed by Voyager Capital and angel investors. The company is headquartered in Mountain View, CA with additional offices in Cheshire, U.K. For more information, call (650) 969-6006 or visit www.keystream.com/.
