Press Release

Exclusive Deal Will Fuel Growth of the $8.6 Billion Mobile Video Market, Providing Thousands of Programmatic Buyers Globally with a Better Way to Engage Consumers at Scale

SAN FRANCISCO & LOS ANGELES & LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Virool, the fastest growing video advertising platform for marketers, and Rubicon Project (NYSE:RUBI), the global technology company leading the automation of advertising, have extended their exclusive alliance to provide programmatic buyers and sellers everywhere with the new InLine outstream¹ video advertising format for mobile web inventory, on both Apple iOS and Google Android.

InLine video solves the riddle of monetizing mobile web inventory by dynamically embedding viewable and user-activated video advertising natively within written content. The new format allows publishers to significantly expand the availability of premium mobile video inventory within their existing content without the cost of producing original video content. In addition, InLine video is respectful of the consumer experience – launching only when the video area is viewable, playing sound only when user-initiated, and dissolving back into the page on completion.

Mobile video advertising is forecast to reach $8.6 billion globally in 2018.² For the first time, Virool’s InLine video advertising for mobile web – which had previously been available solely for direct sale via Virool – is available to programmatic buyers and sellers at scale, exclusively through Rubicon Project’s global advertising automation platform.

“One of the biggest challenges facing buyers and brands today is that there is not enough premium mobile inventory available with in-stream placements alone,” said Naftali Goldsmith, VP of Mobile at Xaxis. “As consumers continue to migrate to mobile – and engage with mobile video in particular – brands are turning to in-line and in-feed placements to increase reach and balance pricing. InLine from Virool, leveraging Rubicon Project’s expansive premium inventory, is a good example of how of mobile video can efficiently deliver at scale and performance.”

According to the IAB, consumer time spent watching mobile video increased by 50% in the last year in the United States; and at similar rates globally. Publishers using Rubicon Project’s Seller Cloud platform can now easily integrate the InLine video unit into their mobile websites, providing buyers with guaranteed premium and viewable outstream video placements at scale, and protecting their consumer experience with user-initiated brand content. More than 60% of the comScore 100 publishers utilize Rubicon Project today.

“The vast majority of publishers are nowhere near capable of providing advertisers with the volume of high-quality, pre-roll video inventory they seek. These sellers are literally leaving money on the table every day,” said Erik Requidan, VP Sales and Programmatic Strategy, Intermarkets. “InLine video advertising, which is setting a new standard for viewability, has been an ideal solution to this problem for our publishers on desktop – bringing in new advertisers, driving strong net new revenue and getting a positive response from consumers. We’re thrilled to now have the opportunity to get our clients started with InLine on mobile web as well – in many cases jump-starting their mobile web strategy.”

“InLine empowers publishers to monetize mobile traffic on Apple iOS and Google Android devices through video, while giving advertisers the ability to reach these attractive audiences,” said Sonja Kristiansen, Head of Publisher Development at Virool. “We’re thrilled to make mobile InLine video ads available at scale via Rubicon Project, aligning world-class supply and demand with today’s most engaging outstream video ad format.”

“Until now, video advertising on much of the mobile web has been limited to full-screen takeovers,” added Joe Prusz, Head of Mobile, Rubicon Project. “Our extended alliance with Virool brings significant new, premium mobile video inventory to the market, enabling greater monetization opportunities for sellers and deeper, more impactful opportunities for brands to reach and engage consumers.”

Availability and Technical Specifications:

• Direct buyers and sellers should contact the Virool sales team at clients@virool.com.
• Programmatic buyers and sellers should contact their account team at Rubicon Project or email VideoSales@RubiconProject.com to get started.
• InLine video advertising leverages the VAST protocol, the same IAB specification used by standard pre-roll in-stream video, providing standardized functionality, reporting and increased scale across premium publishers. For more information, go to: http://www.virool.com/inline.

About Virool Inc.

Virool is a programmatic video marketing platform for individuals, small businesses and global brands and their agencies. More than 30,000 global advertisers are using the Virool platform to promote their video messages, engage their audience and elevate their brand. Leveraging precise audience targeting and a fully transparent and insightful analytics suite, Virool offers custom creative solutions that enable one-click social sharing. More than 100,000 online and mobile publisher properties have run video content from Virool via programmatic partnerships, native placements and direct integrations. Founded in 2012, Virool has raised $6.62M in seed funding from a collection of top VC firms and angel investors. It is the biggest seed investment that any Y-Combinator graduate has ever received.

About Rubicon Project

Rubicon Project (NYSE: RUBI) has engineered, and continues to enhance, the Advertising Automation Cloud, one of the largest real-time cloud and Big Data computing systems. The Company's mission is to automate the buying and selling of advertising by offering innovative products to connect buyers and sellers globally. www.RubiconProject.com @RubiconProject #Automation #Excellence #CultureMatters

¹ “Outstream” video ads are those that are inserted into text-based articles, as opposed to “instream” video ads, which are inserted into video content as pre-roll, mid-roll or post-roll.

²Cowan and Company, "Annual Ad Buyer Survey III: 2015 Outlook" and MAGNA GLOBAL via eMarketer

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150617005300/en/

Source: Rubicon Project