Best to wear plugs

Alongside a number of marketers and online video purveyors — including AOL, CBS, Discovery, Broadband Enterprises, Hulu, Yahoo and Microsoft — Publicis property VivaKi is embarking upon an initiative to launch a new video advertising format.

Dubbed "the Pool," the standard will "improve the effectiveness of online advertising" and the quality of the viewing experience, according to MediaPost. It is expected to debut at year's end.

The project kicks off next week with a barrage of focus groups intended to narrow five already-developed video ad formats down to the top two. The final two will be more closely examined with quantitative research, until one is chosen as "the new industry standard." Descriptions of the five formats were not disclosed.

"We were kind of frustrated by the lack of innovation in video whether it be VOD, or online video, and the fact that it all is basically pre-roll, which is an old TV model," said Curt Hecht, who heads VivaKi's Nerve Center.

"At the end of the day, I don't think the consumer perspective was ever taken into consideration when that model was created."

Applebee's, Capital One, All State, Nestle and Purina, and a handful of undisclosed, are among the Publicis clients that will pilot the offering.

If all fares well following the Pool's launch, Hecht said the collaborative will explore improved standards for social media, video search and mobile advertising.

VivaKi itself launched late last year. It represents Publicis' attempt to harness the digital media world to serve the best interests of agencies and more traditional brand clients.