• by Laurie Petersen , June 11, 2007

Visible World and ImageSpan today are announcing a new online dashboard that allows advertisers to tap into thousands of videographers and photographers to create rights-cleared creative.

Iain Scholnick, chairman and CEO of Sausalito, Calif.-based ImageSpan, says the new platform promises nothing short of a revolution for the $8 billion rights management clearance process.

"Advertisers are on the front lines of a complex new world of mashups and multi-copyright-holder content projects due to increased demands to scale campaigns and tailor them to local markets in real time," Schnolnick said. The new platform "provides a marketplace where advertisers can electronically secure rights-cleared images and video to create, customize, target, tailor, monitor and actively change ads on-the-fly to reflect changing market conditions."

For example, Schnolnick said, an automaker could order local footage be shot by the more than 7,000 videographers and independent photographers available to shoot and upload raw content on demand through its new dashboard. This can then be woven into a national ad campaign making for a seamless and more consistent brand experience rather than the "cut to local" appearance most such ads get now.

While the custom footage could not be "instantly" produced on a literal basis, turnaround time of a few days at a dramatically lower cost can streamline the process and make this type of production work accessible to many. Schnolnick said it cuts as much as 90% of the costs from the process.

The service also offer on-demand access to millions of rights-managed images and enables content holders to assign rights, permissions and license models for multiple pieces of digital content.

"The marketplace we're creating with ImageSpan will make it easier and more affordable for advertisers to secure the content and rights they need for on-the-fly customization of video advertising to any market and on any screen - from TV to PC to mobile," said Tara Walpert, president of Visible World. "As a result, companies will be able to more effectively promote their businesses in local markets, and eventually to specific households and individuals, at greatly reduced costs.

New York-based Visible World was founded in 2000 and has drawn investment from WPP, Comcast and Time Warner.