Break Media and Panache Research Findings Show IAB Standard Video Ad Formats Effectively Engage Consumers

Business Wire, August 18, 2008

Industry-First Research Provides Valuable Step for Supporting Online Video Advertising

LOS ANGELES -- Break Media, the Internet's premier entertainment community for men, and Panache, the video advertising delivery-platform leader, today announced key findings from joint research which tested the effectiveness of four popular in-stream video advertising standard formats established by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) in May, 2008.

Leading brands, including Honda and T-Mobile, participated in the study by running campaigns run-of-site on Break.com over an 11 week period, which concluded on August 2, 2008. Each campaign used the four IAB standardized ad units: linear non-interactive (pre-roll), linear interactive (interactive pre-roll), non-linear non-overlay invitation ad (non-overlay ad) and non-linear overlay (overlay ad). The ads ran against short-form professional, semi-professional and user-generated content on Break.com with Panache providing the ad delivery and back-end reporting technology to test user interaction and engagement levels with each ad format.

"The standardization of video ad formats by the IAB was a critical first step in streamlining media buying, planning and creative processes across the digital video medium," said Keith Richman, CEO of Break Media. "Our research was a result of our desire to provide data about the effectiveness of those new standards to our clients and partners, and to lay a foundation for future research initiatives to build and expand upon."

Key Findings

Break Media and Panache were able to mine the data for trends and insights into consumer behavior and online engagement using the various ad formats.

Findings showed:

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"For the in-stream advertising market to evolve, the efficacy of ad formats--whether IAB-standard or new emerging formats--needs to be understood in order for our industry to scale," said Steve Robinson, CEO of Panache. "This research begins to fill the knowledge gap between the formation of standards and the prophetic future of an efficient and scalable online advertising industry."

"This study offers a window into the measurable effectiveness of new video ad formats, and it moves forward the broader discussion of online brand-building and advertising," said Daniel Taylor, senior analyst at Yankee Group. "As the industry develops new ways to engage online audiences, it's important to benchmark the progress we make. By making this study public, Break and Panache have advanced the entire industry."

The study conducted by Break and Panache provides a guide for advertisers looking to validate online ad spend and determine the best format and creative to lift key engagement metrics and build brands. It is also intended to spur additional insight on best practices for brands advertising online.

About Break Media

Break Media is the Internet's premier entertainment community for men. Its wholly owned branded properties (Break.com, Cage Potato, Chickipedia, Holy Taco, Wall Street Fighter and Screen Junkies) and the over 70 site Break Media Network reach 50 million men worldwide each month. Founded in 1998, Break Media offers advertisers unrivaled opportunities to market directly to a young, male demographic using innovative ad formats that introduce relevant brands to the audience either broadly or on a targeted, integrated basis. For more information, please visit http://breakmedia.break.com/.

About Panache

Founded in 2006, Panache is a privately held company headquartered in Los Angeles. The Panache technology enables Internet video sites and networks to dynamically deliver any ad format directly into video content from a third-party ad server or ad network. Ad formats can be generated and delivered to viewers based on profiling and behavioral targeting, resulting in a highly customized experience for the user and a highly scalable model for the video publisher. With Panache, ad formats are completely detached from the video player, allowing publishers to create and deploy new advertising formats in minutes without engineering resources. Panache's patent-pending solution makes it easy to deliver advanced interactive advertising to all video-distribution channels, including broadband, television, IPTV and other emerging technologies. For more information, visit http://www.panachetech.com.