• by Ross Fadner , May 12, 2004

Streaming media applications firm EyeWonder on Wednesday unveiled a new interstitial ad format dubbed The VideoStitial. The unit launches this week on Forbes.com and BusinessWeek Online with a campaign produced by Havas Advertising's Euro RSCG 4D. The new ad unit was produced by EyeWonder in conjunction with CommFlash-developer FPBA Group.

The VideoStitial's purported innovation in the interstitial space is its ability to stream 2-MB ad units instantly as users click through to another page without the long loading times usually associated with interstitial units. The VideoStitial will also load independently of media player downloads or Flash-supported software by using CommFlash's in-browser interstitial technology.

Byron Biggins, vice president-sales and marketing, CommFlash, says the new product will address advertiser and publisher inconveniences. "Advertisers and publishers don't want to be subject to a wide variety of download times of large video files which can result in random and unwanted ad placement," Biggins says, adding: "They want to control where and when the commercial is launched."

Biggins claims that the VideoStitial is the first interstitial that delivers in-browser, full-page ads. He says it can also launch pre-stitial video or Intromercial ads upon entrance to a Web page.

Biggins says that the VideoStitial will compete with Unicast's Video Commercial, but differs from it in four main areas. The Video Commercial downloads the entire video ad (up to 2 MB) before it launches. Depending on the user's connection speed and the file size, it can take up to several page views before the file is downloaded. The video ad then launches in another window through Windows Media Player 9.0, which--according to Biggins--has a reach of about 60 percent.

Biggins says that the EyeWonder/CommFlash VideoStitial only requires a 20- to 30-K applet download before it launches, while the rest of the ad is streamed. This is primarily why the VideoStitial claims a 1:1 play ratio. Biggins also maintains that because no downloads or plug-ins are required to view the ads, VideoStitials reach 95 percent of online consumers.

One of the criticisms of Unicast's Video Commercial has been its long load times. For sites that have rapid traffic turnove--such as financial Web sites where users periodically check stock prices--visitors may have already left before the Video Commercial loads.

Biggins concedes that the VideoStitial can't quite generate the video quality of a Unicast Video Commercial, but maintains that people who understand online advertising "recognize that reach and frequency are more important for campaigns than video quality."

However, this may not necessarily apply to big brand advertisers, who don't always "understand online advertising" Biggins notes, adding that they're attracted to the TV-like quality of the Unicast Video Commercial.

Nevertheless, the new offering from EyeWonder and CommFlash is able to deliver near TV-quality ads, while enabling placement optimization, says Howard Manus, vice president-operations, BusinessWeek Online. "Because it loads instantly, we can specify exactly which pages it will play between. It makes re-purposing TV spots online very easy," Manus says.