NET SENSE

Google's video exchange ambitions

Commentary: What will tomorrow's ads look like?

By Bambi Francisco, MarketWatch

Last Update: 12:02 PM ET May 25, 2006

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Google is trying to get everyone -- and I mean everyone -- to create video advertisements.

 

Here are a few of my observations about Google's video advertising for AdWords and video ads in general:

 

-- I expected more. When I heard that Google had a video-ad product, I expected it to be a sophisticated self-service video-ad auction service, whereby advertisers could bid against each other to place their ads on videos. Think of it as AdWords for video. But Google doesn't have such a product. Google CEO Eric Schmidt said to me a couple weeks ago that if someone were to invent such technology, Google would take a look at it. There is such a company, actually. Booyah Networks, based in Boulder, Co. has created a self-service, automated auction technology for ad placement in videos. To me, a self-service automated system where advertisers can select the video inventory and bid to be placed in that inventory is far more interesting than what Google announced. To be sure, video inventory is scarce these days. But I'm sure it will be overflowing soon enough, and we'll recall these quiet days with nostalgia.

 

Click for full article