Industry veteran Cory Treffiletti talks with our news editor about Klipmart's upfront initiative, and about online video in general.

Klipmart Corporation has launched an initiative to put online video into the mix of the traditional television upfront. The company also announced it has tapped industry expert Cory Treffiletti, formerly of Carat Fusion, to lead this effort. We talked with Treffiletti to learn more.

Roger Park: What prompted this online video ad upfront initiative?

Cory Treffiletti: The agencies are in the midst of their upfront season and while they're taking meetings with many of the traditional broadcast networks, they are also taking meetings with the folks from many of the larger online publishers. Agencies are starting to realize that what is going on in the broadband world is a TV-esque experience. While their audience is spending less time with traditional television, they are spending more time with digital or internet television. There are original programs launching and it makes sense to approach the buyers in the same environment as traditional TV. Since we know that's taking place, it becomes logical that Klipmart, a provider of internet video advertising solutions, would also want to enter into the conversation and help not only educate the buyers, but also make it easier for them to enter the marketplace.

Park: How has the definition of television changed?

Treffiletti: Television is defined as the ability to stream video, typically in the form of an electromagnetic wave, from one device to another. If you remove the definition of the format of the wave, what's taking place online is no different than in TV. There is video programming being streamed from one device to another, in this case a computer, for an audience to view. In that respect, what we see people spending time with on their computer is television, and especially now that TV shows such as "Lost" are available online as well as on TV sets.

Park: What are some of the challenges of online video?

Treffiletti: The challenges right now are that it's not easy. There are no standards and there are many, many vendors in the space. This is coupled with the fact that the inventory is growing and the formats are in flux for how the video is delivered. Klipmart offers a unique service in that they are focused on this space and they can make it easier for advertisers to run video in either an in-page unit or in-stream (pre-roll). Over time this will all get easier.

Park: What are the metrics that matter with video?

Treffiletti: The metrics for video are NO different than any other form of media. The means by which we analyze TV, print, internet and any other form of advertising need to have the same basic set of metrics-- Reach, Frequency and what we are now calling Engagement. Engagement is going to be defined over the next year or so by the ARF and other governing bodies, but in the meantime we can continue to look at traditional brand metrics such as awareness and purchase intent and the traditional internet metrics such as impressions, clicks, time spent, et cetera.

Park: What defines a successful online video ad campaign?

Treffiletti: I would ask the same question for TV… what defines a strong TV campaign? In the end its sales or market share. ALL advertising exists to drive these two metrics, so why would we want to break out one format of advertising from another? You can certainly look at the number of people who saw a campaign as well as the time spent playing the video, but in the end these are just transitional metrics that try to provide a proxy for sales.

Park: What is the future of online video?

Treffiletti: The future is for an advertiser being able to offer different versions or different executions for a video message across multiple platforms such as TV, internet and mobile, in a cost efficient and effective manner. There are many new developments being put in place right now that will make this a reality in the next two to three years, but for now we will work within the parameters of what we have to work with. Online video is here and it's VERY effective for advertisers.