ATG Expands eStara Connections to Include Online Video Advertising

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ATG (Art Technology Group, Inc., NASDAQ: ARTG), the premier provider of e-commerce software and platform neutral optimization services, today introduced eStara Video Connect, an addition to its eStara Connections product line that transforms passive video advertisements into active, revenue and lead-generation tools by enabling consumers to instantly ‘take action’ while watching video ads. These actions, such as in-bound phone calls or visits to advertisers’ websites are tracked and measured in real-time, allowing media companies and Internet video providers to provide advertisers with true return on investment data from each online video ad.

“We use eStara Video Connect as part of our BetterVideo player, which allows us to provide our customers with actionable videos that in turn deliver more measurable leads to advertisers.”

ATG will demonstrate Video Connect at the Kelsey Interactive Local Media conference beginning Wednesday, November 19^th at booth # 122.

Dallas-based Media Distribution Solutions is one of the first companies that have already implemented eStara Video Connect: “Video advertising is clearly on the rise but to truly take advantage of the medium, video ads need to allow viewers to act and then deliver rich statistics so that businesses can measure the effectiveness of their campaigns,” said Mike Shell, CEO, Media Distribution Solutions. “We use eStara Video Connect as part of our BetterVideo player, which allows us to provide our customers with actionable videos that in turn deliver more measurable leads to advertisers.”

According to Forrester Research, by 2012 video advertising will account for $7 billion, or nearly 12 percent of the $61 billion market for interactive marketing. While much of this market today is made up of pre- and post-roll video ads from major consumer brands, a growing segment includes direct-response advertisers who see the potential to drive direct leads to their businesses with online video.

Statistics from the Kelsey Group reveal the untapped opportunity to use video for direct response advertising: After viewing video ads, 47.3 percent of consumers reporting visiting a Web site, 19.1 percent requested information about a product or service, 18.2 percent visited a brick-and-mortar store to check out a product, and 16.9 percent made a purchase. This data shows that consumers are taking action when they see something they need or want in a video ad; eStara Video Connect simply gives consumers the power to act instantly, right from the video player itself.

Two Flexible Options

eStara Video Connect is an ideal solution for local and vertical media, online directories, Internet Yellow Pages companies, and Internet video providers who are either looking to add video to their advertising packages, or who already offer video advertising but are looking to more effectively track and measure leads generated from video ads. Customers can choose between two flexible options to add eStara Video Connect to their sites or platforms:

Video Connect API
Media companies or Internet video providers with an existing video solution can choose the Video Connect API. This option offers the flexibility to add eStara Connections capabilities on an existing flash module or player, which can be used before, during, or after the video is watched (or on-demand by the viewer at any time). This option supports Adobe Flash and Adobe Flex video formats.
Video Connect Flash Container
Media companies without an existing video solution can choose the pre-configured Video Connect Flash container. This option offers a turn-key, flash video container pre-configured with eStara Connections capabilities. This option supports Flash video formats.

Click to Call, Save & Send, and More

eStara Video Connect brings to video existing eStara Click to Call and eStara Save & Send capabilities, as well as several new capabilities. Specifically, Video Connect allows consumers watching video ads to:

1. Call the advertiser’s business with a single click; viewers can opt to be called back by the advertiser on a mobile or landline phone number, or can place a PC-to-phone call using VOIP;

2. Go directly to the advertiser’s Web site and map its location using Google Maps; and

3. Send the advertiser’s listing information to friends using SMS, email or fax; or save it to a file, a contact list, or a Web bookmark.

These capabilities are delivered to advertiser videos via software-as-a-service (SaaS), eliminating the cost and complexity media companies or Internet video providers would incur if they provided these services themselves. Once up and running, Video Connect customers and their advertisers can log-in to the eStara Webcare console to access reports on the performance of their video ads, including the number of in-bound phone leads generated from each ad via Click to Call as well as the number of Save & Send actions generated by each ad.

“While consumers are more comfortable watching video clips online now than ever before, direct-response advertisers – many of whom are small, local businesses – have struggled to find a video advertising model that is cost-effective and measurable,” said Ruth Habbe, vice president, eStara Business Group. “eStara Video Connect solves this problem by making video ads actionable, and by giving media companies a rich tool for tracking consumer actions and leads generated from each and every video ad. Over time, we also expect that retailers, insurance companies, travel and hospitality businesses, and telecommunications entities using video as part of their Web marketing strategy will be able to significantly boost online sales by adding eStara Video Connect to their e-commerce Web sites.”

eStara Connections, a family of services that engage online visitors with human assistance and other tools that help convert transactions and leads, are part of ATG’s expanding line of e-Commerce Optimization Services. Delivered as flexible on-demand services, these offerings help companies lift online revenue by optimizing the experience of any commerce- or transaction-oriented sites – even those not running on the ATG Commerce platform. The product line also includes ATG Recommendations, which present consumers with personalized product suggestions based on their known intent and shopping behavior to drive conversions and order values.

About ATG

A trusted, global specialist in e-commerce, ATG (Art Technology Group, Inc., NASDAQ: ARTG) has spent the last decade focused on helping the world's premier brands maximize the success of their online businesses. The ATG Commerce application suite is the top-rated platform by industry analysts for powering highly personalized, efficient and effective e-commerce sites. The company's platform-neutral e-commerce optimization services can be easily added to any Web site to increase conversions and reduce abandonment. These services include ATG Recommendations and eStara Connections. The company is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with additional locations throughout North America and Europe. For more information, please visit http://www.atg.com.

© 2008 Art Technology Group, Inc. ATG and Art Technology Group are registered trademarks. All other product names, service marks, and trademarks mentioned herein are trademarks of their respective owners.

This press release contains forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause ATG's actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Important risk factors affecting ATG's business generally may be found in its periodic reports and registration statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov . Risk factors related to the subject matter of this press release include the possibility that the ATG product deployment will not be successful, on time or significantly enhance the user's Internet experience or will not increase customer revenue across brands; that those customers leveraging ATG will not have the opportunity to increase revenue and decrease future costs; the need to adapt to rapid changes so products do not become obsolete; the possibility of errors in ATG's software products; the possibility that the solution will not make customer implementations faster or more flexible or permit the customer to meet its customer-facing or infrastructure requirements; that the ATG product will not continue to be integrated with third party applications servers or will not support all Web services enabled systems; that ATG's product strategy may change in the future; and the risks and costs of intellectual property litigation. ATG undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this press release.