API Vids

The third and last company I saw demo at NYVM was API Vids. This company was different from all the others. It was an ad network that delivered standardized video ads. But it was more than a network, it was also a platform. Any advertiser could use their platform to "author" a video so that graphics could show a call-to-action and embedded links could be strategically placed. Having used Google's video AdWords, it seemed like a big improvement. With Google's platform, I never felt that I had a lot of control of the way ads overlay on a video. For instance, I couldn't freely design a frame for my video, it would have to be embedded in my video. Or I couldn't add target links to multiple spots. In other words, API Vids offered more design functionality. This is becoming increasingly important as more and video is consumed online and video ads become larger revenue generators.