ConvertMedia launches DIY tool for standalone video ads

Out-stream video ad SSP (supply-side platform) ConvertMedia is out today with what it describes as the first do-it-yourself tool for standalone video ads.

Ads in a video clip, such as a pre-roll ad at the beginning, are described as in-stream, while standalone video ads that are not in a video clip and can appear anywhere on the screen are out-stream.

The new tool, called ConvertMedia Studio, provides publishers with access to all the options available on the platform, including such appearance and behavior settings as auto-play, sound, detachability, and skipability. The platform offers a variety of ad formats, including inline desktop, slider, interstitial and the Interactive Advertising Bureau formats.

By contrast, head of product strategy Hanan Lifshitz told me, competitors like Virool, Teads and Q1Media provide preconfigured selections that do not offer as many choices. Some of ConvertMedia’s options are not available elsewhere, he said, such as a “coffee break unit” that plays when the page has been idle for several minutes.

The tool is the result of publishers’ continual requests for more and more options, Lifshitz said. He added that publishers can preview the resulting video ad in a sample page, while preview in the actual webpage is coming soon.

The Studio tool currently only applies to desktop web, with mobile web scheduled for release within a few months.

ConvertMedia clients include Salon.com, Men’s Fitness, the Daily Beast and the Guardian.

About The Author

Barry Levine

Barry Levine covers marketing technology for Third Door Media. Previously, he covered this space as a Senior Writer for VentureBeat, and he has written about these and other tech subjects for such publications as CMSWire and NewsFactor. He founded and led the web site/unit at PBS station Thirteen/WNET; worked as an online Senior Producer/writer for Viacom; created a successful interactive game, PLAY IT BY EAR: The First CD Game; founded and led an independent film showcase, CENTER SCREEN, based at Harvard and M.I.T.; and served over five years as a consultant to the M.I.T. Media Lab. You can find him at LinkedIn, and on Twitter at xBarryLevine.