Local Video Ad Network Picks up Big-Name Publishers

Jivox, a do-it-yourself, online video advertising service designed for small and medium-sized businesses, has added some big-name publishers to its network since launching six months ago.

The company recently penned agreements with several large Web properties including Examiner.com, Accuweather.com, Weatherbug.com, and Media News Group. Diaz Nesamoney, Jivox founder and CEO, said the network now has more than 600 Web sites in the network and reaches more than 55 million unique visitors.

Nesamoney said Jivox has two main prerequisites for publisher sites: They must be “premium,” meaning Jivox won’t partner with most small-time bloggers or other amateur sites, and they must have a local element. The local aspect is important because most of Jivox’s customers are aiming to get their messages seen by people in their region or planning to come there, said Nesamoney.

He said most customers pay about $500 monthly on Jivox network video ads. That outlay gets them 30,000 to 40,000 views. Advertisers cannot choose the sites where their ads will appear.

“If they went to these sites themselves, they couldn’t buy such a small number of views on the sites,” said Nesamoney. He said Jivox essentially pools ad inventory and makes it available to small-sized advertisers at a reasonable cost. “It makes a small business look and appear as a much bigger business,” he said. “They get a quality ad, quality placement and they can buy a very small number of views. For the sites, it’s not worthwhile to service these smaller customers but they can view us as one of their biggest advertisers.”

Jivox video ads run in a 300 x 250 position and they can include coupons that can be downloaded as PDF files and printed by consumers. The do-it-yourself system allows advertisers to use stock footage, images, music, or their own video segments.

Nesamoney said his company had “pretty a modest network” back in March when it was launched but by June it had grown to about 40 million visitors. He said Jivox is “pacing growth” and being selective about the publishers it uses. He noted that, while the newly announced sites are national or global in size, they all have a local element.

In announcing its growth, Jivox pointed to a recent study by Jupiter Research and the Online Publishers Association that said people are more likely to act on ads seen on local media outlets.