In a move that is clearly timed to get the interest of conventional TV advertisers as they start planning their upfront budgets, OwnerIQ will enable marketers to serve pre-roll video ads to consumers based on the retail sites they visit, including the specific products and brands they research while visiting them.

 

The company claims that its real-time bidding platform, OPTMSplatform, has integrated with most of the major video inventory exchanges, giving it access to “approximately 90% of all pre-roll inventory available via RTB” in the U.S. and Canada.

 

“Today, brands that deploy video assets, whether through TV or digital, to support their retail channel have limited targeting options,” states Jay Habegger, founder and CEO of OwnerIQ, adding that the system will now enable those brands to serve video ads to consumers “who  have explicitly identified themselves as a shopper of a specific retailer.”

 

The company did not disclose which brands or agencies will be utilizing the pre-roll platform, but its press release includes a quote from Carat Media Director Nick Vallente noting that it’s not just for online video buyers, but will be attractive to TV buyers too:  “Brands spend millions of dollars on national and local TV advertising to support their retail channel,” said Vallante. “While it is still an effective medium, it can be very expensive and have a notable percentage of waste due to its targeting limits. Solutions like OwnerIQ’s pre-roll product are interesting because they can be a very efficient way to extend the reach of our TV campaigns against our retailers’ customers, making it a good complement to our TV buys.”