Vdopia launches new format for mobile video advertising

Mobile video advertising company Vdopia has announced the launch of a new file format .vdo that enables advertisers and publishers to seamlessly run video-enabled ads on the mobile web without Flash or plug-ins.

Watch the demo of the format

This patent-pending format powers allows brands to auto-play video on mobile web pages, adjacent to content, on virtually any smartphone – without disrupting the user’s web-browsing experience. Currently, .VDO Mobile Video Ads run across iPhone, iPad, Android and BlackBerry (OS5/OS6) devices. Windows Phone 7 and Symbian are expected to be officially certified in Q3 2011.

“Our new .VDO technology makes mobile video ads scalable for the first time ever, using nothing but HTML5 and Javascript,” said Srikanth Kakani, founder of Vdopia. “With mobile usage and smartphone ownership rapidly climbing worldwide, Vdopia continues to push the boundaries in mobile video advertising to help advertisers; their agencies and publishers accomplish their business objectives.”

The company stated in a press note that prior to the launch of this format, brand marketing efforts across iOS, Android and Blackberry were complex and cost-prohibitive to enable.  Advertisers had to choose between a richer experience on a single platform (often limited to running inside apps) or static banner ads for broadest reach. With the .VDO format, it is now possible to auto-play video inside mobile web browsers across all of these platforms with a single implementation.

For publishers, the .VDO format upgrades mobile advertising inventory to multimedia capability without any additional investment. Publishers simply install Vdopia’s HTML5 tags, saving time and money.

“In 2002, Flash created a new paradigm, delivering video over the Internet and making possible the likes of YouTube, Hulu and any site with video content and ads. Yet, today, millions of smartphone users and the brands seeking to reach them are left out of this video experience. They are frustrated by missing content and unsupported plug-ins when they surf. The .VDO format provides a universal platform for delivering video content, beginning with advertising, across the mobile web,” said Kakani.