Company putting new spin on video ads

By Marcelo Duran
Associate Editor

Self-service video ads could be coming to a newspaper Web site near you.

SpotMixer, in cooperation with AdFare Marketing, is offering newspapers the tools to give local businesses a way to dive into the online video ad market.

Redwood City, Calif.-based SpotMixer in May rolled out a self-service online video ad service aimed at small-to-medium sized businesses looking to produce online ads quickly.

“Small businesses often have to make a choice between standing behind the cash register and making sure the business is open and doing their marketing program,” said Brett Gardner, SpotMixer’s vice president of marketing. “We wanted to lower the barrier of entry and with SpotMixer we’ve done this as much as possible.”

SpotMixer’s parent company, One True Media, first developed the software underpinning its current product three years ago as a way for users to create online movies. But it discovered that several companies were using the service to create ads, she said.

From Hollywood to Madison Ave.

“A lot of people were starting to use our services for their businesses — everything from real estate agents creating listings to people doing customer testimonials they could give out to prospective clients,” Gardner said. “So we launched SpotMixer, dedicated to businesses that want to create their own online video ads.”

SpotMixer offers hundreds of different premixed style templates, which include suggestions of where to place graphics and text in the video ad. Users can also create their video ad with still images, Gardner said.

Users can publish their videos to Google AdWords, YouTube or export their ad as an mp4 file and use it anywhere.

The template guides the user on what kind of text should be placed in a spot and users can also add a voice-over track.

“We offer you the opportunity to either upload a voice-over track or record one of your own, which is easier now that most laptops have a built-in microphone,” she said. “You can hit a button in the editing tool and record a voice-over that will synchronize up with your video.”

Recoup fee

SpotMixer partnered with Newbury Park, Calif.-based AdFare Marketing to offer the service to newspapers.

AdFare President Frank Lucero said SpotMixer is priced at $79 per month for a one-month plan or $59 per month for a six-month contract.

Newspapers can recoup some of that fee if an advertiser signs up, Lucero said. The amount varies from $20 to as much as $150 depending upon which service plan a marketer chooses.

AdFare will also create the ad for companies that send the company materials.

“No matter how simple (it might be to create a video ad) people don’t want to do this and AdFare’s alliance comes into play,” Lucero said. “They can press a button and all the information in the order will go to AdFare and we can then talk to the advertiser to see how they want (their video ad) to look.”

Lucero said that adding SpotMixer’s self-service portfolio is another tool to allow AdFare to provide additional features to its newspaper customer base, which includes Gannett, Tribune Interactive, E.W. Scripps Co., McClatchy Co., Freedom Communications and Copley Newspapers.
Do or DIY

Do-it-yourself Web technology is moving to the forefront as newspaper sites look to make it easier for small- and medium-sized companies to place ads online.

The New York Times, for example, just launched a self-service banner ad service using software from AdReady Inc.

“This new feature allows NYTimes.com to better serve small businesses and the long tail for online display advertising,” said Denise Warren, senior vice president and chief advertising officer for The New York Times Media Group.

Advertisers can create a self-service account at www.nytimes.com/selfservice, design an ad and launch an ad campaign on the site.

Advertisers will have access to AdReady’s library of ad themes, real-time ad customization tools, an intuitive Web-based interface and detailed reporting on all performance of their campaigns.

The toolset

Meantime, BrandMuscle Inc. launched the BuildMyAd platform that allows advertisers to customize print and online ads.

BuildMyAd lets any user create fully customized print materials through an online interface. The app’s five-step process walks the advertiser through planning, designing and purchasing display advertisements, as well as classified ads, printed inserts, online banners and other materials.

Each interface can be customized and all rates, sizes and packages can be set up by the publication.

Advertisers know upfront how much each ad costs before they get to the point of purchase and they can save their work at any time and return later to complete the order.