I got a great scoop yesterday about a video broadband network set to launch in July that will go after political advertisers as a key market. According to a source close to the project, a network of small and large publishers is currently forming. The network will not only serve up video ads both before video content plays and in ad placements throughout publisher sites; it will partner with video content distributors to track down content that's appropriate for advertisers, then find publishers within the network to match it with.

"Now we can tailor a video with a message for a politician," says the
source.

In an effort to appease political advertisers who eschew the Web because it lacks the reach and frequency capabilities of television and radio (i.e. placing ads on a handful of websites typically doesn't reach the same number of people multiple times the way TV and radio campaigns can), the network was developed to target video ads by demographic and geography across a wide swath of websites. The network will also go after commercial advertisers.

It turns out a heated discussion between the source and conservative
campaign consultant Ralph Reed at last year's first annual Personal
Democracy Forum Conference was the catalyst for the network. Evidently, according to the source, Reed argued that "Until website publishers can deliver the audience on the Today Show, [Reed] didn't see how the Internet could be of any use to his candidates."

Of course, several Web ad networks already exist. One difference with this one is that it will employ a universal standardized video player across all sites that automatically plays video without requiring download of the player. Even on sites like MSN that automate their own proprietary players, the network player will override other players when a user views its distributed content, or fits the advertiser's targeting criteria. This will enable advertisers to place video ads on lots of different sites without worrying about multiple players and multiple reports on the results of their ads. My source also notes that the process of delivering video will be simplified, but in what ways or compared to what, I don't know.

The network's player is currently in development by Web ad technology provider, Klipmart, and other companies.

My Take
This seems like big news to me, especially because the network apparently will be easing the media buying process quite a bit when it comes to repurposing TV ads for the Web, something political advertisers have gravitated towards (albeit in miniscule numbers). Also, the promise of reach and frequency combined with a standardized video player is important to all advertisers, political and otherwise.

However, the reality is that the network model has traditionally scared away certain types of advertisers, particularly brand advertisers. Even when they just want people to click and donate funds, political advertisers, in essence, fall into the brand advertiser camp. In other words, they're concerned about how their brands are perceived, what content their ads are affiliated with. Typically, companies that run networks do not divulge all the websites in the network, and because ads are targeted by demographic, etc., rather than more precisely placed alongside particular content on particular sites, advertisers are not aware of exactly where their ads are running.

Because political advertisers, from my experience, tend to be highly reactionary and often make extremely quick media decisions based on polls or the news of the day, the "black box" aspect of networks may not be much of a deterrent. And, if politician's embrace of blog ads is any indication, they can deal with not knowing exactly what types of content to expect.

Be on the lookout for a real story on this from me when July rolls around.