Superpages.com beta tests video ads

Superpages.com has begun beta testing a local video advertising program that, while launching in the Seattle, Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay area, will eventually be rolled out across the U.S.

by Helen Leggatt

The online video advertising program on offer from Superpages.com is aimed at small- to medium-sized local business. The turnkey service offers professional on-site video production which will reportedly cost around $1,000. The resultant 30- or 60-second ‘documercials’ will then be subject to placement and distribution fees.

Superpages.com isn’t the first directory service to provide video as an ad option. Earlier this year, Citysearch introduced a similar feature.

More and more consumers are watching online video, with comScore reporting that U.S. Internet users watched over 7 billion online video streams during the month of March this year.

“There is a clear trend in advertising as more consumers are willing to engage with videos online,” said Eric Chandler, President (Internet) for Idearc Media. “Superpages video advertising allows small- to medium-sized local businesses the opportunity to tell their unique story in a new medium. These ‘documercials’ also let consumers take an up-close and personal look at a business before making a buying decision.”

The company has plans to make the videos available to mobile users once the technology and capabilities become available.