• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, July 21, 2005

Rich media shop Eyeblaster announced its plans on Wednesday to add non-rich online ad serving and reporting to the mix with an all-in-one administrative platform called AdVision. The digital ad server, which encompasses the creation, delivery, and management of clients' interactive communications, is now slated for an October release. The initiative places Eyeblaster in direct competition with rivals aQuantive and DoubleClick.

The development is a response to advertisers' increasing demand for more complex online ad campaigns without the additional headache, according to Doug McFarland, Eyeblaster's general manager, North America.

"As the digital marketplace becomes increasingly fragmented, we see a great deal of value in the provision of one simple and intuitive platform for all elements, from planning and buying to trafficking, tracking, optimizing, and billing," McFarland said. "Our research has indicated that agencies and advertisers are tired of moving from platform to platform as they manage their digital campaigns."

McFarland said support for ad placements in mobile and gaming environments will be ready by September. Currently the mobile component does not exist, and gaming capabilities are limited to interstitial placements on gaming Web sites, akin to any other interactive ad insertion.

The company has been introducing AdVision and its corporate initiatives to select clients, promoting the platform as an investment in the future of interactive advertising.

McFarland also said Eyeblaster has already lined up eight clients outside of the United States in countries like South Korea, where broadband and rich media are far more common.

In late April, aQuantive's Atlas launched its own rich media offering, Atlas Rich Media, which was integrated into its digital marketing technology platform, while DoubleClick was expected to launch a new and simplified version of its rich media tool, DART Motif, by the second quarter of 2005.