• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, August 2, 2007

Investors issued another vote of confidence for place-based video with the completion of a $20-million round of funding for AdSpace Networks, which owns and operates a digital video ad network in malls around the country.

Much of the new funding came from two private-equity firms, the Walnut Group and the Hauser, Davis and Tysoe Group, with the rest coming from earlier investors, including AIG, Steelpoint Capital, DCM and GIC investments.

Dominick Porco, chairman and CEO, AdSpace Networks, remarked: "After very positive feedback from our mall and REIT partners in the first half of the year, AdSpace Networks is well on track to meet the goal of being in 100 malls by the fourth quarter of 2007."

In mid-July, AdSpace released the results of a study by Nielsen Media Research, which found that 47% of all mall visitors had seen content on the AdSpace network, and 34% could recall specific ads that had been displayed. This data was collected through "intercept" interviews by Nielsen, with 610 shoppers at six malls with AdSpace displays, across 18 dayparts.

On average, shoppers watched one of AdSpace's Smart Screen displays 3.3 times per visit, for a total of almost two minutes (114 seconds) viewing time. Each ad is about 10 seconds to 15 seconds long, which translates into roughly three spots per viewing and a total of almost 10 spots viewed during each visit.

AdSpace Mall Network runs a video program at its network of malls called "Today's Top 10," based on mall managers' selections of the best deals at each mall. The network runs a 12-second video spot for each featured product, and 250 retailers contribute content.