Unicast Brings Full-Screen 'Interactive TV Advertising' to Web With New Version of Video Commercial(R)

    NEW YORK, May 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Unicast, a pioneer in the online
 advertising solutions industry, today announced it will roll out a second
 version of the Video Commercial(R) just four months after the format's debut.
 The newest version more closely unites robust Flash interactivity with
 full-screen, broadcast-quality video and will be available to the market in
 mid-June.  The Video Commercial with companion interactivity is the first
 broadcast-quality (vs. broadband quality) online ad format that allows for
 side-by-side unlimited interactive experiences with advertisers'
 television/video assets.
     The Video Commercial with companion interactivity significantly extends
 the interactive capabilities of the Video Commercial by allowing for
 side-by-side interactive elements during and after the video presentation.  In
 contrast, the first version of the Video Commercial -- the Video Commercial
 with an interactive trailer -- emphasizes advertisers' video assets and then
 introduces dynamic interactivity in the form of a Flash trailer at the end of
 the spot. For full demonstrations on both versions of the Video Commercial,
 visit www.unicast.com.
     Currently, a host of leading agencies such as Avenue A, Ogilvy
 Interactive, and RPA are developing campaigns for advertisers using this
 latest version of the Video Commercial.  Campaigns are expected to go live in
 mid-June, concurrent to the general market release of the new Video Commercial
 unit. Affirming Web publishers' widespread support of the Video Commercial
 format, ads will be viewable on major Web sites such as ABCNews.com,
 About.com, AccuWeather, AtomFilms.com, BusinessWeek Online, Discovery iMedia,
 EA.com, ESPN.com, Forbes.com, FoxSports, iVillage, Lycos, MSN, SportsLine, and
 Tribune Interactive to name a few.
     "Unicast's Video Commercial is a key tool in helping our clients grow
 their online investments, because it allows them to use creative they believe
 in and trust online," said Edmund Purcell, management supervisor, RPA.  "The
 latest version of the Video Commercial, which integrates side-by-side
 broadcast-quality video and full Flash interactivity, presents our clients
 with even further flexibility and opportunity for their online campaigns."
     Last January, Unicast introduced the original Video Commercial in a
 six-week beta program in which five major advertisers bought 100 million
 impressions across 15 leading Web sites.  Additionally, these advertisers
 contracted with a research firm [Dynamic Logic] to study the effectiveness of
 the campaigns. The final results based on these five advertiser studies showed
 that, on average, the Video Commercial campaigns outperformed Dynamic Logic's
 Video/Audio MarketNorms(R)* by up to 59% and the Rich Media MarketNorms by
 5-11 times.  In addition, aggregated responses from almost 3000 exposed
 consumers showed that the vast majority "felt like they were watching a TV
 commercial" and "found the ads entertaining."
     "Unicast has built its business on consistently providing ad formats that
 incorporate its advanced technology so advertisers and their agencies can take
 full advantage of the Web's unique interactive capabilities," said Richard
 Hopple, Unicast Chairman and CEO.  "The Video Commercial with companion
 interactivity extends this tradition by ushering in the first generation of
 truly 'interactive' Television advertising.  Never before has a single ad unit
 been able to unite advertisers' brand and direct response objectives in so
 compelling a manner."
 
     About Unicast's Video Commercial
     The Video Commercial is a fully interactive, 2MB, 15 to 30-second ad unit,
 which plays pure digital video at a rate of 30 frames per second -- up to
 eight times faster than traditional broadband video.  The Video Commercial is
 delivered via Unicast's patented, pre-cached (non-streaming) delivery method,
 so that ads play perfectly/without delay for every consumer all of the time
 regardless of bandwidth, Internet connections or the Web site they are on.
 Video Commercials exhibit television-quality, allowing advertisers to build
 fully interactive ad campaigns that leverage their valuable offline creative
 assets, and providing Web publishers with a demanded ad unit, which
 advertisers will equate with traditional media.
 
     About Unicast
     Unicast is an online advertising solutions provider, which provides a
 comprehensive Online Format Suite to over 1400 site and network partners and
 650 agency and advertiser customers.  Unicast acts on behalf of both the
 buyers and sellers of online advertising, developing products and service
 enhancements to ensure that all of their online advertising needs are
 fulfilled through one central source.  Unicast is based in New York City with
 offices in Chicago, Los Angeles, Brazil, Hong Kong and London.  More
 information on Unicast and its Online Format Suite can be found at
 www.unicast.com.
 
     * Dynamic Logic's MarketNorms(R) is a syndicated database and benchmark on
       marketing effectiveness.  The results cited have not been adjusted for
       exposure frequency, demographics, ad size, websites, advertiser industry
       and other factors that may contribute to brand lift.  These findings are
       aggregate in nature, reflect past results and are not a guarantee of
       future results for individual campaigns.
 
 

SOURCE  Unicast