Is LiveRail Revolutionizing Video Advertising?

LiveRail is a promising new web service that is aiming to change the way that people think about video advertising. From what I have seen so far of this service, which is still in beta, invitation-only status, LiveRail may just be able to accomplish its task. So, what is so great about it? It all comes down to the pay-per-click advertising method that LiveRail has been able to successfully implement into its unique video platform.

To summarize what LiveRail is, it is a complete web-based platform where publishers can upload, manage, monetize and track their library of video content, and where advertisers can manage targeted, pay-per-click (PPC) video ad campaigns across the LiveRail network of published video content.

Video creators & owners who have video content to publish online will be able to upload their videos to LiveRail.com, which will then serve the videos back to the publisher?s own website. Underneath the videos will reside highly targeted, relevant ad previews which viewers will be able to click. When viewers click an ad preview, at any point in the video, they will be able to watch that ad. The video will pause and the ad will be played until the user closes the ad again, which will resume the video from where it left off immediately. There is no unexpected video interruption by ads that play automatically. Ads are only shown when you click on one. LiveRail has an example set up to see how the system looks and works.

This new innovative platform benefits advertisers because they will only pay for those customers who are genuinely interested in what they have to advertise, not just per thousand people who happen to be watching at the time. This method of delivery means that advertisers have complete control over the entire process including audience targeting, choosing beginning and ending dates of ad campaign at will, and monitoring a campaign's views, click through rates and cost per view.

In a recent press release, Mark Trefgarne, the CEO of LiveRail had the following to say:

?The Internet has changed the way people watch videos… The time has come for video-advertising to catch up. The days of advertisers buying ad-views by the thousands, and just hoping that people actually pay attention is over, now we can serve targeted, relevant advertising just to viewers who actually want it. This model is better for advertisers and for viewers, because it means that video advertising is now open to any company with the creativity to create something cool, not just giant corporations. Targeting and paying on a view-by-view basis is more measurable, more effective and more manageable. For viewers we believe this revolutionary approach will mean that they get better, more innovative paid content about products and services that genuinely interest them. For video publishers we offer a way to monetize their content effectively, without compromising the viewing experience with obtrusive advertising.?

As a bonus for signing up during beta to provide feedback to LiveRail, advertisers are being provided with a daily $1000 budget for free to use within LiveRail. This is an opportunity to learn how the LiveRail works and to get to understand its features without commitment. To me, this is a brave move that shows that LiveRail stands behind this new service. Publishers, on the other hand, are not currently being compensated during beta phase but all who signup and use LiveRail during the beta will receive a 65% revenue share (instead of 50%) once LiveRail launches to the public.

This sounds like a great service, but, of course, I have a few questions. Will enough people willingly click on advertisements for this new approach to succeed? If you see a small preview under a video you are playing, would you take the time out to click it and voluntarily interrupt your video? Even though this service will provide only relevant ads to videos, is it better than forced video ads, which would probably receive greater exposure?

I want to hear the community's take on this revolutionary video advertising platform. Which way would you rather see video advertising?