CondeNet, FeedRoom in Video Content Pact
Conde Nast's Internet teams up with New York-based The FeedRoom to fit video content into three of its more popular Web properties.
Conde Nast’s Internet unit is teaming up with New York-based The FeedRoom to fit video content into Epicurious.com, Style.com and men.style.com, three of its more popular properties.
The deal is an expansion of CondeNet’s business strategy to use video content, monetized with pre-roll advertising, to keep eyeballs on its Web sites.
A CondeNet spokesman said Web-based video content has become a major vehicle for publishers to increase viewership and loyalty, and pointed to the wild popularity of video-sharing Web sites like YouTube as confirmation that consumers are comfortable with consuming video content online.
Matt DeLoca, VP of sales at The FeedRoom, said his company’s technology is powering the distribution of the video content along with the embedding on pre-roll and synchronized banner ads for CondeNet.
DeLoca said CondeNet can choose between The FeedRoom’s banner ad serving service — 24/7 Real Media — or its own third-party service. CondeNet will bring its own advertisers to the table.
The FeedRoom recommends that the typical in-stream pre-roll advertisement be between eight and 15 seconds but DeLoca said the final decision on the length of the ads is up to the client.
“Our recommendation is to avoid the 30-second clip. That’s a TV spot and our research has shown that consumers aren’t willing to wait very long to get the content,” DeLoca said.
The FeedRoom does not support post-roll ads that run at the end of the video clip because the average user does not get to the end of the file. “We have technology that can set up a playlist model, with video running into each other and you might see a pre-roll that looks like a post-roll ad. But it’s really a pre-roll for the second clip,” he explained.
The FeedRoom also provides technology to deploy an online video strategy for The New York Times, USA Today, BusinessWeek and Meredith Corporation.
DeLoca said CondeNet and other clients typically manage the sales and inventory of advertising, which is usually contextual with the content on specific sites.
According to CondeNet, the overall viewer engagement for its video content is high, with the average video session lasting more than eight minutes and over three videos viewed per session.
CondeNet also plans to expand the online video capabilities to its Concierge.com Web site, the online home of Conde Nast Traveler, Wired.com and other sites.
