Though online advertising is at a nascent stage in India, it is likely to catch on as it offers several advantages over TV advertising. Diaz Nesamoney, founder and chief executive of online video ad company Jivox, discusses the new medium with Aruna Rathod

What does online video advertising offer clients that other media doesn't?
Businesses tend to advertise for two reasons - brand building and lead generation, and often a mixture of both, in each campaign. It is difficult to generate leads through television advertising. With online video advertising, response rate/CTR (click through rate) is a way of measuring the success of a campaign.

Multi-national corporations have experimented with video ads, found them reaching their target audiences and now they are convinced video advertising must be on the media plan.

Which category of products is most likely to advertise on online videos?
Mostly consumer goods like cellphones and retail products. The conusmer would like to see the product before buying, and an online video is the best bet.

Especially in the case of automobiles, an online video is next to seeing the car itself. Auto brands are our major clients as it allows customers to see the vehicle. Financial services too prefer online videos, but at the moment these ads haven't been coming in.

How does Jivox make its advertisements creative?
The very fact that emotions can be shown in a video makes it creative, and we have our expert staff to help clients.

The internet is being accessed on mobile phones. Does Jivox offer this value addition?
We are working on providing this technology but have found that this is a small market, since one needs a high-end phone to access the internet and its applications. This kind of phone is very expensive that not all can afford it.

How big is online video advertising in India? How many people watch online videos in the country?
Currently, the total Indian online ad market is worth about Rs400 crore, and it is expected to grow to Rs4,000 crore by 2012.

The growth depends on the video ad inventory available and effective means to target and measure these ads. Our goal is to enable and extend the global trend towards video advertising in India - with technology and alliances - and to be a key part of the video advertising ecosystem.

How often does Jivox monitor the ad performance on various sites?
We monitor the performance on a weekly basis. We continously monitor the ad, place it on various sites and check the response.

How does Jivox advertise itself?
We use online videos on specific sites, our partner sites. We also have a direct sales team, marketing events, public relations.

Which of the Indian metros are most aware about advertising online?
Delhi followed by Mumbai.

Jivox says that it offers a self-service online video advertising platform. What exactly is self-service in this context?
Those who log on to our site can access a self-service video ad creation tool and create their own ad. We offer a video, music, text, and logos, and it takes only about 15 minutes to create an ad.

We charge the client for placing the ad on various sites. If the client is a big one then the agency plays a large role in suggesting sites. Our targeting engine is very effective at isolating appropriate audiences for advertisers based on geographic, demographic and contextual factors, increasing the effectiveness of their video advertising.

How do you or the client decide where to place an ad?
We have built sets of categories we recommend and explain to the client, who then chooses. If the client wants it on a particular site then we do it for him.

What are the forms of video advertising that are possible online? Which would work the best for India?
Currently video ads are viewed in 'in-stream', 'in-banner' or 'in-text video' formats.

An in-stream video ad is played or viewed from a video player that is playing news or entertainment content, which is paused while video ads are delivered.

In-banner video ad is displayed in IAB standard ad units; which are standardised definitions of sizes of a portion of a web page. An in-text video ad is user-initiated and triggered by users mousing over highlighted words within content.

It is too early to say which one of the above works best for India, as the market is still in its infancy.

How much does it cost to place an online video ad?
The placement and cost of the ad depends on how many people you want to reach and the period it will be displayed on the site.