YuMe, a well-funded video advertising startup, announced today that it’s bringing its technology to the mobile world.
Specifically, the Redwood City, Calif.-based company said it’s releasing two new mobile ad units, Mobile Connect and Mobile Billboard, as well as software development kits that will allow the creators of iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch apps to integrate YuMe’s ACE for Publishers ad platform. The ads can run as full-screen video, and they include buttons that can direct users to things like an advertiser’s Facebook Page or a downloadable coupon.
Nowadays, It seems like every ad company in the world is emailing me about its mobile ad units. For example, a company called mDialog announced last week that it’s introducing new interactive features to its video iPad ads. And of course Apple has launched its own iAd program.
When I asked YuMe co-founder and president Jayant Kadambi what makes his ads different, he said it’s less about specific features and more about the cross-platform advertising that YuMe can offer. Now YuMe’s 600 video publishers can also run high-quality ads on mobile devices. And advertisers can come to YuMe to purchase ad space on a website, a mobile app, and on Internet-connected TV properties. Those advertisers can build mobile-specific ads, but if they don’t want to do that, YuMe will also resize a single ad to fit different screens.
“I think everybody’s come at it from a vertical, niche-y standpoint,” Kadambi said. “It’s about the video. It’s not about the format of the video.”
YuMe has raised $46 million from Menlo Ventures, Accel Partners, BV Capital, DAG Ventures and Khosla Ventures.
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