• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, July 22, 2009

In a move designed to give advertisers more flexibility and allow them to adapt video spots more easily, Captivate Network is offering 30-second ads across its out-of-home digital video network, which reaches business professionals in the elevators and lobbies of office buildings in top media markets around the U.S. and Canada.

Mike DiFranza, the founder and president of Captivate Network, said "the new format will complement our other creative units -- full screen brand integration, sponsorships and our 15-second format." The offer of 30-second spots is intended, in part, to lure big brand advertisers that have TV spots of that length ready to go "off the shelf."

Captivate operates a network consisting of about 8,900 digital screens in roughly 1,000 North American office buildings in 24 big cities in the U.S. and Canada. Altogether, Captivate claims to reach an audience of about 3 million business professionals daily, most earning more than $75,000 per year.

The audience also includes a good number of executives who wield power over corporate purchase decisions, recommending it as a business-to-business medium. According to Captivate, the typical 50-story office building has about 5,000 corporate workers taking an average of six elevator rides per day.

Recently, Captivate has been working to build out its content offerings with new editorial partnerships and an expanded online platform.

In June, Captivate announced a deal bringing Thomson Reuters content and advertising to the network. Last year, Captivate launched a consumer-oriented Web site, Captivate.com, where visitors can find more detail about stories and ads shown on the flat-screen displays in elevators and participate in social network features involving other workers in the same buildings.

Driving traffic to the Web site also allows Captivate to measure the impact of content and ads more precisely. To coordinate programming and content across these multiple platforms, Captivate hired Deanna Murray, formerly director of programming for AOL, as director of content.