FIM to Launch Self-Serve Video Ad Product for Local Advertisers

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The self-serve video ad space is rapidly becoming crowded with lesser-known startups, but a new entry has a familiar name. Fox Interactive Media will soon launch a service for creating video and display ads targeted to small, local advertisers.

"Self-service advertising is very important," said Ron Berryman, SVP and GM of FIM's Stations Group. It's an area that we're putting an awful lot of effort into," he continued, stressing the fact that the service will allow advertisers to create ads without working with a salesperson.

"We're capturing that market where small businesses can create their own ads without having a lot of touchpoints," he told ClickZ News at The Kelsey Group's Drilling Down on Local conference in Seattle on Friday.

The offering, dubbed FIM AdStore, will be accessible via local Fox TV station Web sites, and branded by each site. Advertisers will purchase the ads through a bid system on a CPM basis, Berryman said. He indicated ads could be sold on a performance basis through the system in the future.

The ad platform, developed by an Atlanta-based company in conjunction with FIM, will connect advertisers to a pool of video producers, writers, and others who will create ad elements and templates for the do-it-yourself Web spots and banners. "We actually built out a creative community online," said Berryman.

Others going after local ad dollars offer inexpensive ready-made ads in addition to providing pricier custom services. Web video firm TurnHere takes the custom approach, pairing local advertisers with video makers based around the globe. Firms including AditAll and newly-launched Mixpo sell ready-made video spots and handle custom jobs. AditAll in March announced it will use Google TV Ads to distribute video spots created through its online system.

So far, however, there's no direct TV component to the FIM product, although Berryman didn't rule out the possibility of individual station sites packaging television with Web buys through the platform. The sales aspect, he said, is up to each affiliate to determine.

Berryman also told conference attendees FIM will launch a new video search system that generates results based on user behavior.