Podaddies Joins the Video Ad Insertion Race

Updatable video ad insertion, especially for mobile devices, has a lot of potential for advertisers looking to provide new ads to already downloaded videos, even if the technology is still clearly in its early running. This week another horse got into the race in the form of Podaddies, which is a combination of video ad network and a technology that can be linked directly to videos so they can have new ads played with them.

I met up with Nate Pagel, CEO of Podaddies, in San Francisco’s South Park and he told me that his system will not only provide updated ads to videos on Web pages, but also to devices like the video iPod when its connected to the Internet, or through other mediums like blogs or e-mail.

“Everything you can do on a Web page, you can do on a download,” he said of his system’s ability to provide updated ads by placing code directly into online videos.

Podaddies has been around since it launched last December, but is now trying to get the word out to advertisers and agencies that its service is available after securing some $1 million in additional funding from The Band of Angels, The Angels Forum and other investors. Pagel told me he recognizes companies like Kiptronic, ScanScout and YuMe are his competitors, but he believes Podaddies’ ability to do dynamic ad insertion will win out. His system works with Quicktime and Flash formats, but not with Windows Media as it’s not as highly adopted with podcasters. He is watching Microsoft’s recently released Silverlight technology however, and told me “I’m a fan, and we’re looking at it, but it’s not on the roadmap.”

Podaddies first task is bringing small and medium sized video content distributors to its service he said. “Right now it’s about independent video sites that don’t have a way to monetize their content,” Pagel said. “We help those folks stay in business by providing them advertising.”