• by Laurie Petersen , March 5, 2007

YuMe Networks, a dedicated advertising network created and optimized for broadband video, officially launched today. The network offers advertisers the ability to target messaging to online video content the way they do with keyword placements. It's designed to bring more flexibility, addressability and measurability to the process.

Included is a technology solution ensuring "brand safe" content for the placements, addressing an issue of concern to brand marketers who don't want their ads to appear next to questionable material.

"Our network is going to bring real order to the current state of chaos in online video advertising," said Jayant Kadambi, co-founder and CEO of Redwood City, CA-based YuMe Networks. The system has been working with a handful of advertisers in beta.

YuMe uses a proprietary contextual mapping technology to scan online video content and then categorize it into such channels as Auto, Finance, Entertainment and Family Friendly. "Think of it as a Nielsen video programming guide," Kadambi says. YuMe attaches advertising to the selected content for delivery to any device--whether downloaded or streamed.

Kadambe said YuMe streamlines the video advertising process by providing a one-stop solution to placement and consistent reporting across all video distribution platforms and channels.

YuMe was also designed to address the inability of advertisers to run their ads against appropriate content--for both taste and category appeal. It can also separate out the "brand safe" opportunities in consumer-generated media to remove advertiser risk and allow targeting to specific content within CGM.

"As the popularity of online video content continues to explode, it's clear that smarter and more effective approaches to advertising are needed than what's available," said Tim Hanlon, senior vice president of Denuo, the media futures unit of agency holding company Publicis Groupe.

In addition, YuMe's technology offers real-time reporting capabilities and the ability to modify creative by market on the fly. This targeting ability could appeal to automotive advertisers looking to showcase local dealers in different markets, or airlines or restaurants wanting to run different price promotions in different locations.

For House Values, a real-estate marketer, YuMe took two TV commercials and turned them into 104 different online video executives with distinct ZIP-code-targeted calls to action. It was also able to report which times of day were generating the most response.

Kadambe said YuMe streamlines the video advertising process by providing placement and consistent reporting across all video distribution platforms and channels.

YuMe has received $7 million in venture funding from Khosla Ventures, Accel Partners and BV Capital.