• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, March 31, 2009

In an effort to offset depressed CPM rates with more impressive ad units, online media company Giant Realm today is slated to roll out its biggest Flash video overlay ever.

"This is partly a reaction to ever-decreasing CPMs," said James Green, CEO of Giant Realm. "We were looking to do something that (advertisers) were willing to pay for."

Targeting men ages 18-34, the New York-based entertainment portal/ad network was founded by the William Morris Agency in mid-2007, and has since grown to encompass dozens of sites geared toward video games, sci-fi and independent movies and music.

Measuring 938 x 518, Giant Realm's new custom-designed placement consumes a users' entire screen during the time it takes for a video player to load.

Once the overlay unit resolves and the requested content begins to play, a 300 x 250 companion unit appears beside the player and remains for the duration of the video. Both the custom-designed overlay and the branded companion units are clickable, in order to drive traffic to an advertiser's site.

Advertisers -- which already include The U.S. Air Force, Nikon, Gillette, and Lionsgate -- are paying a $20-$30 CPM for the units, according to Green.

Eventually, he anticipates the units to run across about 80% of the company's domestic network, which presently has a reach of about 18 million monthly users.

Within the Giant Realm network, the first communities to experience the new units will be Myndflame.com, GotGame.com, ScrewAttack.com, Starfeeder.com and Noobflicks.com.

Along with the William Morris Agency, Giant Realm's shareholders include SoftBank Capital, Comcast Interactive Capital, and the Edison Venture Fund.