Touchstorm Launches First Distribution Vehicle for Hybrid Video

NEW YORK, Jan. 9, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Touchstorm, the premier source for online video distribution, today announced the launch of Arena, the industry's first hybrid video platform. This latest addition to Touchstorm's product suite places brand videos on a contextually relevant page, and then distributes that page to publishers. Arena places a brand's hybrid video on a page filled with relevant content such as articles, other videos and even display advertising, giving marketers a native environment for their hybrid video—videos that are too long to be distributed as pre-roll and too branded to be featured as editorial.

At launch, Arena will distribute these pages to Touchstorm's one-of-a-kind Earned Media Network, which currently boasts a comScore-measured potential reach of 58.4 million.

"Brands are now making lots of videos and that's a good thing. The problem is that many of the videos brands are making are what we call 'too long to be pre-roll' and 'too branded to be editorial.' Arena exists to solve that problem," said Touchstorm Founder and CEO Alison Provost. "It isn't a viral solution, nor do we award four acres on Farmville just for watching the video.  Arena puts branded videos in an editorial context so that people truly interested in the topic engage deeply with the video and the other content we pair it with.  Then, we distribute Arena throughout our vast, top comScore-ranked network, and wow - brands get real views from real people who really care.  This new Touchstorm product lets branded videos play to a packed arena, and who doesn't want that?"

In order to foster maximum viewer engagement and deliver customer conversion, Arena's content pages come fully loaded with pre-made social widgets, live comment sections, interactive tools and best-in-class measurement capabilities. Unlike traditional "native advertising" solutions, video placement and position on Arena's pages makes logical sense to consumers and does not attempt to trick viewers or trade views for an unrelated action in social media.

Each page is 100% brand-owned content and distributed across Touchstorm's Earned Media Network, which comprises of top publishers, niche verticals, mobile, VOD and bloggers. Arena is built in compliance with IAB standards, and provides an easy-to-use dashboard to measure and monitor performance.

Arena was developed in response to growing industry demand and the introduction of new video formats, all requiring specific distribution mediums. Arena equips brands and publishers with a solution to navigate this evolving landscape and achieve the reach, engagement and conversion needed to deliver ROI in content marketing campaigns. Arena also provides a significant monetization opportunity for Publishers by giving them additional inventory through its revenue-sharing program.

About Touchstorm
Touchstorm (www.Touchstorm.com) is an online video distribution company and a pioneer in online editorial videos. The company produces, distributes and optimizes online video for a wide range of clients using proprietary marketing tools and their Earned Media Network.

Touchstorm's Earned Media Network distributes videos into the editorial well of top-tier publishers around the web resulting in engagement scores significantly above industry benchmarks. With headquarters in New York and throughout the U.S, Touchstorm is an independent and employee-owned company. Their pioneering work and fast growth landed them on the Inc. 500 list of America's Fastest Growing Companies in 2012.

Media Contact:            
William Nikosey
kwittken + company 
(646) 747-7150
[email protected]   

SOURCE Touchstorm