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.

"As audiences spend a greater and greater part of their media consumption on the internet, online video can be a must-have companion to TV advertising," says Klipmart CEO Chris Young and iMedia contributor. "Online video can also deliver user metrics to help give advertisers a better sense of who is seeing their ads and how audiences are reacting to them. We think that broadband video advertising should be planned in the same method and consideration as the traditional TV and cable upfront."

eMarketer reported that online video ad spending in the United States is up from $225 million in 2005, heading towards $385 million in 2006 and by 2008 will reach a billion dollars.

"As more challenges face traditional TV advertisers such as media fragmentation and declining ratings, advertisers are searching for new ways to reach their increasingly fickle audience," says Cory Treffiletti.