In an attempt to attract more brand dollars, Google is expanding into broadband video advertising. The company said that for advertisers like movie studios, text and display ads just don't do the
trick. However, video ads like movie trailers will not appear next to Google's search results or be embedded in other Google features, they will instead appear on AdSense, Google's network of
publisher sites. So, how big a deal is this? Obviously, video ads are nothing new. Publishers, ad networks and technology vendors have been combining to deliver these and other rich media ad formats
for years. The difference here is Google's enormous network of publishers. Also, the video ad market is tiny, but growing faster -- eMarketer says $225 million this year and $670 million in '07. The
video ads will be priced using a similar auction system to the one Google uses for search. For now, the ads will only run on static Web pages, but may be added later to Google Video and other Internet
video programs. To view them, users will have to click on a button; ads can last as long as two minutes. Advertisers upload video to Google directly and can narrow where they appear by individual Web
site, keyword, or site demographics.
Read the whole story at San Francisco Chronicle »
