• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, September 13, 2011

Shopping for a video ad network? Then consider the field officially less cluttered. 

Exponential Interactive -- parent company of online ad network and rep firm Tribal Fusion -- just completed the acquisition of video ad network AdoTube, Online Media Daily has learned.

New York-based AdoTube has been building a network of publisher sites for about four years. Its software can be plugged into any flash player, or load ads on videos pulled from any source, including YouTube and Daily Motion.

To help advertisers with their in-stream ad campaigns, AdoTube more recently debuted an in-stream video advertising platform. The vertically integrated platform -- available as both a self-serve and white-label platform -- connects advertisers with media sources while providing them with the requisite analytics and campaign management tools.

"We are big believers in the potential of online video advertising and this acquisition accelerates our growth in the rapidly growing online video space," said Dilip DaSilva, CEO of Exponential Interactive.

Going forward, Exponential plans to operate AdoTube as an independent entity.

Not entirely new to online video advertising, Exponential -- under the banner of Tribal Fusion -- recently debuted its Firefly Video ad platform. Firefly is designed to distribute video ads within any display placement unit, while the ads themselves expand to cover an entire Web page upon being interacted with.

"In-Stream video ad serving is very much in its infancy," DaSilva said. With AdoTube, he added, "we feel we can offer advertisers online video solutions that leverage the best of online advertising and engage users in a much deeper way than simply inserting TV ads into online video content."

Launched in 2001, the private Emeryville, Calif.-based company has been profitable for every quarter for the last seven years, according to DaSilva.

To date, Tribal Fusion has had success with agencies like Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, and recently entered into a strategic partnership with Media Contacts to help the interactive arm of Havas MPG improve and streamline its media-buying process.

Previously, AdoTube raised about $1.2 million in seed funding, most recently securing about $600,000 in mid-2008.

As of May, Firefly had already been tested on more than 25 video ad campaigns for Hyundai, Dannon, Procter & Gamble's Tampax, Nissan, Asics, Guthy-Renker, and Häagen Dazs, among other brand clients.

Firefly Video launched initially across Tribal Fusion sites, which the company claims has a potential reach of roughly 120 million U.S. consumers. Firefly also plans to partner with other premium publishers interested in serving and selling video ads.

Unlike pre-roll, which requires a specially integrated video player, Firefly Video's ad unit runs in a standard display ad unit, which allows publishers to monetize video with no need for special integration or additional technology.

Similarly, late last year, Tribal Fusion launched a full-page video overlay ad unit that is guaranteeing marketers 100% user engagement. Once users roll over the so-called Full Engagement Video units, they expand to the width and height of the browser window, and play videos as a full-page overlay.