• by Wayne Friedman , October 27, 2010

Rocketing growth of online video has pushed companies to offer new research measuring tools -- while some executives talk up the need for an industry standard. 

Kantar Video, a unit of Kantar, believes it has the answer with a new real-time tracking and measurement tool: Videolytics. Key to the new software is its fingerprinting technology, which can track all online video no matter where or how it is distributed.

Kantar says it can follow and measure the video, even if it is taken offline, modified and re-posted virally.

The new software can optimize syndication across all video sites and devices. Marketers will be able to see the effectiveness of their video ads across specific sites, like YouTube, Hulu, and others, or by specific demographic, psychographic and attitudinal data.

The new research tool can connect to Kantar's other online access panels. Videolytics can provide in-video surveys to reach viewers directly and handle social media aggregation and metrics.

While many research companies are offering video metrics -- in every shape and size -- many digital marketers and research executives have expressed the need for some sort of "standard" to draw in more business. Still, others believe a variety of research tools is needed to measure a disparate number of digital media platforms and executions.

Industry estimates are that the digital video ad business will soar to $1.5 billion by the end of this year -- an almost 50% gain over 2009. More rapid growth is expected, with many predicting digital video ads could soar to over 10 times current levels in five years.