Mobile video ads to be served on The Weather Channel

The Weather Channel (TWC) is adding two new advertising sources for online marketers. First, video ads are being added to their mobile offerings for the coming year; then a new ad placement offering is available for local advertisers. According to TWC these placements should result in higher ROI for mobile marketers.

by Kristina Knight

The mobile video ads will launch in Q2, 2008. The ads will feature a banner on the index page, a five second pre-roll billboard and a 15 second post-roll video ad. For the beginning launch phase, these ad placements are being sold as sponsorships so that the advertiser will virtually "own" the section upon which they advertise. With no other competition, the ads should be well received.

In 2007, weather.com, TWC's online home, averaged 6.3 million monthly unique users. The company began offering online and mobile ads in 2005 but this is the first time video has been added.

In addition to the new video ads, local advertisers can place an ad on the local forecast page. TNS Media Intelligence conducted a study for Weather.com which found that ads in the middle left, an unexpected placement, had a stronger effect on users. The ads are placed next to the 36 hour forecast box, a very popular content placement.