• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, June 16, 2008

Start-up Web video analytics firm Visible Measures today is expected to announce the availability of a service for advertisers and agencies to measure the "true" viral reach and audience engagement of their video ad campaigns.

Visible Measures' technology, which monitors user engagement throughout the entire video stream, has so far focused on helping publisher customers get a better idea of what parts of their videos work, and what parts don't.

Now, according to Matt Cutler, CMO of Visible Measures, the focus is broadening to include agencies. "We saw a huge demand from agencies who are trying to figure out the real value of their Internet video adverting," Cutler said.

Cutler said the company is presently working with several high-profile agencies, including Interpublic Group's Hill Holliday.

Visible Measures formed in 2005, and has since raised about $19 million in venture funding--led by General Catalyst Partners--along with an endorsement from YouTube's CMO Suzie Reider.

At its core, the new VisibleCampaign service is powered by the company's Viral Reach Database, a constantly updated repository that tracks video performance over 80 million unique videos across 150 of the Web's most popular video-sharing sites. This ostensibly enables it to report on campaign reach metrics no matter where the campaign goes or how the online community responds.

VisibleCampaign also provides measurements to show how audiences engage with video-based campaigns, so advertisers and their agencies can see both how many times a particular ad is viewed, and whether or not the central brand message is being delivered.

The company, which did not officially launch until January, is also announcing a series of joint research projects with market research firm Dynamic Logic.

Cutler said he would also like to partner with the industry's top analytics firms like Nielsen and comScore. "We know those guys well, and view their services as highly complementary to ours."