Mirriad Launches Highly Scalable In-Video Ad Unit

Sudipto Ghosh

May 2, 2018

Independent ComScore Research Demonstrates Reliability and Validity of Mirriad’s Video Impact Score (VIS)

Video technology company Mirriad has announced the launch of a new 10-second in-video ad unit supported by Mirriad’s Video Impact Score (VIS) designed to ensure advertisers can count on quality brand exposure within mainstream popular video content. This completes the first phase of establishing the first true standard for ‘in-video advertising’ by addressing key industry requirements for safety, verification, viewability, and value by working with the world’s leading independent advertising measurement companies.

This first of its kind, patented technology solution enables advertisers to embed their brand messaging and imagery within premium content in multi-title content across different platforms including video on demand and linear broadcast.

The power of content marketing has been understood for decades but has been very difficult to scale as each brand instance is different and consistency against media planning or buying, including programmatic, has been virtually impossible. Mirriad has delivered the new ad unit at a time when audiences are tuning out of traditional video advertising but are consuming more video content than ever.

Independent research, such as the recent large-scale in-video campaign delivered in China, has shown that in-video advertising consistently delivers meaningful results to advertisers who can now reach millions of viewers across select video entertainment platforms around the world.

Says Mirriad CEO Mark Popkiewicz, “In-video advertising offers tremendous marketing power to advertisers, well beyond the capabilities and scale of traditional brand integration. Marketers can now reach large audiences on-demand through a consistent ad unit with verifiable quality and impact – essential in today’s highly scrutinized world of value for money and data transparency especially in the two largest advertising markets in the world.”

Mirriad In-Video Ad Units embed products and brand signage within the visual narrative. For example, an advertiser’s message might appear as ad units containing signage such as billboards, posters, mobile or TV screens and be combined with others displaying the brand’s product, all digitally rendered to be contextually relevant and blended naturally with the content. The combined effect of these ad units drives high levels of effectiveness and even more so when combined with traditional pre-roll advertising.

Mirriad solves the challenge of consistent delivery of the ad units by developing an automated measurement and gating technology called the Visual Impact Score (VIS), integrated into its advertising platform. VIS solves a formidable problem by ensuring each instance of ad exposure meets thresholds known to drive effectiveness such as exposure size and proportion, clarity, proximity to action and prominence. Mirriad commissioned independent research from global measurement and analytics firm comScore, which analyzed a large statistically-valid random sample of the new Mirriad ad units. The audit demonstrated the reliability and validity of Mirriad’s VIS score, with 98.5% of the tested ad units passing the test. Full study results are available in a whitepaper.

“comScore has been measuring branded content and product placements for over a dozen years, providing a consistent measurement for brands, agencies, and networks,” said Gary Warech, Senior VP, Commercial, at ComScore.

Gary added, “In working with Mirriad, we tested a sample of its new in-video ad unit and we were able to demonstrate the reliability of the VIS score. We look forward to the opportunity to continue working with Mirriad to provide ongoing independent verification of its VIS score across future campaigns.”

A separate study, by digital marketing company Miaozhen Systems and commissioned by car leasing company Tangeche, evaluated the overall brand effectiveness of Mirriad’s In-Video Ad Unit after a 24-week campaign which ran on Alibaba’s entertainment platform Youku. According to the study, Mirriad’s in-video ads delivered nearly 800 million impressions and drove a 17-point uplift in brand awareness with 94 percent of the exposed audience planning to take follow-up action. Miaozhen Systems has also independently verified the reliability and consistency of the in-video ad unit and Mirriad’s VIS.

Currently, Mirriad delivers in-video advertising by naturally blending brand advertising into popular entertainment content.

Mirriad creates advertising opportunities within existing video content across multiple shows. Advertisers can reach target audiences in a contextually relevant way without interrupting the viewing experience. The new ad format can be used alone or combined with other media and is aligned with existing media trading.