• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, April 2, 2009

Online security firm Goodmail Systems on Thursday debuted a new product to allow Hollywood studios and TV networks to market movies and shows by inserting trailers and promos directly into emails.

Known as CertifiedVideo, the highly anticipated system launches in partnership with top Web portals, including AOL, Yahoo, Cox and Comcast. AOL is the first email provider to implement CertifiedVideo, while the first CertifiedVideo senders include Country Music TV, DailyCandy.com, Fox Digital, iVillage, LiveNation, The New York Times, Target, Thrillist and Turner Networks.

Due to security concerns, most email providers have until now prevented video from playing in emails, or blocked messages with videos from reaching users -- a measure that has prevented online video from reaching its full media and marketing potential, according to Goodmail CEO Peter Horan.

"Americans watched more than 14 billion online videos this past January," said Horan. "Consumers can now watch videos within their email inbox without having to click to an external Web site."

What's more, the technology reduces the opportunity for flighty consumers to disengage from brand messages, Horan added. "Brands can tap into shifting media consumption habits and craft truly interactive, email 3.0 marketing campaigns," he said.

Goodmail's flagship CertifiedEmail offering allows users to authenticate messages from legitimate commercial, government and nonprofit organizations. The aim is to thwart scammers from sending what appear to be legitimate messages used to obtain personal information such as Social Security or credit card numbers.

Clients send their email through Goodmail, which tags each message with a blue-ribbon icon to indicate that it is legitimate. The Mountain View, Calif.-based company handles about 3 billion messages per month.

In technical terms, Goodmail analyzes prospective senders' video players for code stability and platform compatibility. Once approved, senders can use Goodmail's existing CertifiedEmail infrastructure to affix cryptographically secure CertifiedVideo tokens to outbound messages that instruct receiving email providers to deliver them directly to the inbox with video content enabled.