Maven Networks Launching New Internet-TV-Ad Platform

Scripps Networks, Fox News, 4Kids Entertainment Set to Launch

By Alex Weprin -- Broadcasting & Cable, 10/15/2007 12:01:00 AM

Scripps Networks, Fox News and 4Kids Entertainment are among the companies set to launch a new Internet-TV-advertising platform developed by Maven Networks.

Unlike most current ad platforms, the Maven system is forgoing pre- and post-roll video ads for ones that are integrated into the videos themselves in a more unobtrusive way. “The pre- and post-roll video ads just aren’t that effective online, and they really fail to take advantage of the interactive capabilities of the Internet. They were repurposed television ads,” Maven vice president of product management Todd Boes told B&C. “[The Maven platform] doesn’t interrupt the video, it doesn’t stop it, consumers can ignore it and then it kind of fades away or they can engage with it.”

An ad-insertion engine developed for the platform keeps track of not only how many people view a video, but how long the average view time is.

“By knowing the average view time, let’s say the average view time is less than one minute on a clip: Our dynamic-ad-insertion engine can make ad-insertion points before the user bails out, at the 45-second mark, for instance,” Boes said.

Clients using the system can have the engine choose the best points to insert ads, or use a cue-point editor to choose their own times.

Scripps will use the platform across its network sites, including its sites for Food Network, Home & Garden Television and DIY Network. The technology allows for contextual ads or other information to appear on the screen.

“If you were watching a Rachael Ray cooking show, across the video itself, you might see an upsell within the program specific to the recipe she is making. So the upsell could be Kraft Cheese, sitting on the right across the bottom lower third of the video, to say, ‘If you would like more recipes using Kraft Cheese, click here.’ It could pop an interactive overlay that goes right into a Kraft video or perhaps allow a user to plug in their e-mail address and request more recipes from Kraft themselves,” Maven VP of marketing Kristen Fergason told B&C.

“All the while, Rachael Ray is paused in the background,” she added. “The consumer can jump back into that video when they are completed with their engagement.”

The ads could also be used to direct viewers to other sections of the Web site or to items available in online stores operated by the company using the platform.

“Part of what we are testing is the kind of ‘buy-now,’ if you will. When Rachael Ray first popped on Food Network, she used a particular kind of knife that actually became one of the hottest-selling items in the Food Network store,” Scripps Networks senior VP of interactive sales Jeff Meyer told B&C. “So we think there is potential to do that sort of commerce, but we also think there is potential to drive people to the more considered products if the user interface is done correctly.”

4Kids, which programs children’s programming blocks for The CW and Fox, also streams the programming online, and the new ad platform will be incorporated into the online content.

In a demo of the platform shown to B&C, a still ad appears at the bottom of the video screen every 20 seconds. Clicking on it would open up a 15-second video ad while pausing the original video clip. The system keeps ads within the platform itself, rendering new windows and outside Web pages unnecessary.

In the demo, a major car company was the sponsor. By entering a ZIP code after the video ad ended, a page would pop up within the video screen showing the nearest dealership and their contact info. A viewer can return to their video with one click of the button, and it will continue fluidly from where the viewer left off when they first clicked the ad.

Coinciding with the release of the new ad platform, Maven, along with a number of its clients -- including Scripps, Fox News, Ogilvy, TV Guide and 4Kids -- is launching the “Internet TV Advertising Forum,” which will study different ad formats and technology capabilities with the goal of standardizing online ad solutions.

“They are going to work on some different ad formats, overlays and engagement scenarios, and those will be tested with actual consumers in focus-group settings,” Fergason said.

Results from the research are expected to be released in early November.