Ever wonder what it’s like to work at BrightRoll? Well let me tell you it’s pretty cool. But don’t take my word for it. We’ve invited BrightRoll employees to share what they love about their company and why they get out of bed in the morning to work here.

Scott Nishida works at BrightRoll headquarters in San Francisco where he serves as a manager for the BrightRoll Exchange, also known as BRX. Scott has been with the company for almost 18 months and spends his time managing client relationships, educating clients and prospective clients on the BRX value proposition, and helping grow the exchange business.

In his own words, here’s why Scott loves working at BrightRoll.

1. People – You’ll probably see this one a lot, but the collection of talented individuals at BrightRoll is pretty phenomenal, especially considering that we have been able to maintain the open, friendly environment that most startups strive for.

2. Culture – I’ve got to say, I’m kind of worried that our straight-out-of-college new hires are going to have a skewed view of “working in the real world” because the executives here sincerely care about the happiness and quality of life for employees across the board. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case at most companies!

3. Opportunities for advancement – Many organizations will hire a person to do a job; BrightRoll hires people to fill a need. More than that, BrightRoll encourages employees to grow and develop into roles that may not have existed before.

4. Benefits – Although related to culture, the medical, dental and vision benefits have always been great, and continue to get better.

5. Food – Being a lover of food, it’s nice that BrightRoll provides lunches and breakfasts on the regular. Between catered lunches, breakfast pastries, oatmeal days and happy hours, BrightRoll keeps us well fed. We can even request special snacks or lunch items.

Think your future is Bright? Then check out the current open positions at http://www.brightroll.com/careers, and be ready to tell us how you roll. To apply for any of the open positions at BrightRoll, please send your resume and cover letter to resume@brightroll.com with the position you are interested in indicated in the subject line.

Americans are undergoing a digital transition that is changing the way we view video content. Every other person we pass seems to have his or her heads buried in a laptop, tablet or smartphone screen. Online video currently reaches over half of the U.S. population with rapid growth projected for the foreseeable future. As digital video becomes more pervasive amongst today’s consumers, advertisers may start to wonder which screen provides them with the best return for their ad dollar: digital or television? The answer is simple: you need both. Digital video and television are two forms of a dynamic advertising medium working toward the same goal: utilizing engaging content to promote brands to consumers.

As more data points to the fact that digital video is here to stay, the next stage of its evolution is how digital video will affect agencies and advertisers in their 2012 planning and beyond. According to a recent study, both advertisers and agencies plan to take dollars from display, broadcast TV, print and other media in the upcoming year and shift those dollars to online video advertising. Another recent industry study found that an overwhelming 80 percent of respondents multitasked on another device while watching television. While this may seem like bad news for television, the exact opposite is true. A recent joint study by Nielsen/IAG showed that online video advertising actually boosts the efficacy of television spots in four leading measures including general, brand, message recall and likeability. Taking these studies into account, advertisers are given the supporting data that investing in the digital video ad medium not only reaches a unique and growing user base, but also boosts the efficacy of existing television campaigns as well.

Digital video viewership is also expanding past niche groups, like tech-savvy teens and early adopters, as technophobes of all ages reach for their mobile devices and laptops. For example, a recent study found that moms are more likely than the general population to own a smartphone, and that half of moms who do own one admit to being “addicted.” Additionally, if you think that grandma and grandpa were immune to the trend, you may be surprised: user penetration for seniors is expected to significantly outpace total internet growth in the next five years as more and more Baby Boomers grow up.

As consumers of all ages begin to transition toward digital video screens, advertising dollars will undoubtedly follow them. While the tried-and-true reach of television is here to stay for the foreseeable future, digital video has risen alongside television and become an essential part of brands’ marketing toolkits enabling effective campaigns. All things considered, the two will make very good friends for a long time moving forward.

•  Aggregators now serve a majority of digital video ads
•  Continued adoption of real-time bidding (RTB)
•  Expansion of mobile video inventory
•  How the industry will tackle the challenge of audience measurement

But before diving into his predictions for 2012, Tod grades his predictions from a year ago, reflecting on what he got right and what he got wrong in 2011. Social gaming companies may have embraced online video advertising but public companies didn’t really drive consolidation in 2011. It’s without a doubt that mobile video advertising has grown in leaps and bounds, but has it really become the most sought after new ad format? And did any one video-specific company pass the 100 million unique-user mark or is that something we’ll see in 2012?

Read the full Media Post article here and peer into 2012.

Last month, BrightRoll added a new chapter to it’s great international success story.  The world’s leading video ad network announced its office in Germany. Located in the northern part of the country in the port city of Hamburg, the company offers its localized products and services to the German market.

Having launched its European presence with headquarters in London just three months prior, BrightRoll is happy to have entered the first non-English speaking territory right in the heart of Europe.

The new office is situated in the center of Hamburg, headed by online video specialist and managing director, Germany, Patrick Edlefsen. He leads the BrightRoll management and sales initiatives, focusing on gaining share of the 50 million unique users in the market.

International expansion is a top priority at BrightRoll; after the successful launches in the UK and Canada, Germany is a natural next step. While bratwurst and beer may be excellent reasons to head to Germany, there are a few more compelling reasons behind the expansion.

• According to the local governing board, BVDW, the German video market is estimated to be worth €200 Million in 2011 and is projected to double in size in 2012.
• Video is the fastest growing category within the digital mix and has not reached its maximum potential yet
• Attitudes in the German marketplace are actually more similar to those in the US than any other European country, allowing easy cooperation and resource sharing with its U.S. peers.

For more information on BrightRoll Germany operations, visit www.brightroll.de or contact Patrick Edlesfen at patrick (at) brightroll (dot) com.

Today we announced the release of our inaugural BrightRoll Canada Video Advertising Report in partnership with IAB Canada. Much like the surveys and reports conducted by BrightRoll in the US, we recently conducted a survey of over 100 top Canadian agency executives in order to get an understanding of current sentiments and expectations for online video in Canada. The survey was extremely successful and the report is a summary and analysis of those findings.

We conducted this project in partnership with IAB Canada in order to help foster education and discussion around online video in the industry.

Findings from the report include:

• 97% of agency executives believe that research around the efficacy of a campaign provides value to the client and yet only 27% have conducted any such research
• 78% of respondents believe digital video is as effective or more effective than TV
• 18% of respondents included digital video in a majority of their RFPs in 2010, compared to 11% in the US
  and 5% in the UK
• 48% of advertisers expect digital video advertising will see the largest overall growth in spend this year

For more information or to download the full report, please click here.

The study measured a variety of user engagement metrics across a group of high and low VideoRank™ sites. Results showed that viewers from sites with high VideoRank™ scores were:

• 38 percent more likely to complete the video
• 586 percent more likely to click through
• 565 percent more likely to roll over the video

However, the cost differential between sites with high VideoRank™ scores and sites with low VideoRank™ scores was merely 4 percent.

These results indicate that a significant opportunity exists for advertisers to take advantage of marketplace dynamics to optimize the performance of campaigns — without incurring substantial incremental cost.

Given these findings, advertisers should ask themselves two key questions:

• What are the measures of success for my video campaigns?
• Can my video network partner measure and report performance against my goals?

The BrightRoll Network specializes in helping advertisers meet their goals and maximizing campaign performance. Within the company’s BRIQ™ buying platform, VideoRank™ is a proprietary optimization tool utilized to predict the value of video advertising inventory based on advertisers’ goals (interaction, completion, brand effect measures).

BrightRoll CEO Tod Sacerdoti chatted about VideoRank™ during an interview with Beet.TV’s Andy Plesser, recorded at our New York BRX Video Summit earlier this month.

Click here to download the full VideoRank™ case study.

As with our V3 roadshow, we’re very focused on making this event a candid discussion on the ever-changing digital video world, rather than a sales pitch. The summit will be a can’t-miss opportunity for video buyers to gain a better understanding of one of the hottest topics in online advertising right now – ad exchanges.

The event will feature panels and discussions on the following topics:

• Industry execs discuss how exchanges are changing the way video advertising is bought and sold
• DSPs and ad networks share real-world exchange buying experiences
• Agency trading desks discuss their video buying volume and share what kinds of inventory and audiences they buy
• Data providers illuminate capabilities and best practices to reach audiences with video advertising
• The growth of video consumption and the differences between online video, mobile and connected TV

To be a part of the action at this inaugural event, request an invite here.

Engineering at BrightRoll was everything I hoped for in a summer internship — and more. All my colleagues were super bright, friendly and more than a pleasure to work with. I was given tasks that made me feel like a real part of the team and even helped in debugging real company problems that arose outside of my official working hours — yes, I even enjoyed taking work home with me on the ferry rides and idling in ‘work’ chat at home.

TJ Koblentz as sous chef at the BrightRoll engineering "CrabFest"

Aside from all the coding fun (don’t laugh), I had way too much not-coding fun with everyone on the team. We’d often go to lunch together, where I trained my chopstick skills and discovered that pho was, by and large, the most difficult food to eat. I struggled through a test of endurance as I was convinced to take part in a “Suicide Burrito Eating Competition,” which I placed third in (total number of competitors is irrelevant).

I really couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity and feeling of accomplishment than BrightRoll provided me this summer. I’m excited for my senior year of college, but it goes without saying that I’ll miss my friends and the time I spent with the entire team immensely.

I just felt like I was part of a tight-knit team working on something really important. I felt very included and liked that I had the freedom to contribute in many ways. I asked — and was granted — the opportunity to sit in on what we call “tribals” where engineering candidates are evaluated for hire and had one-on-ones with Adolfo to discuss recruiting. I learned so much that wasn’t necessarily in the job description because I was around great people who were forgiving of my over-curiosity and minor annoyingness. I owe it all to the team.

– By TJ Koblentz, summer engineering intern

As most San Franciscans are aware, the Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival is a three-day “Coachella-esque” music festival and one of the biggest events in the city – if not the country. This year’s festival did not disappoint. Major headliners including The Roots, Foster the People, Phish, Arcade Fire and Muse dominated the main stage. In addition to the big names, bands like Group Love, Ellie Goulding, Major Lazer, Girl Talk and more created a festival not to be missed by music lovers – and anyone just looking to enjoy a good time outdoors in the sunshine. (Check out the full lineup on the Outside Lands website.) While the music is the main attraction to most, BrightRoll’s first-ever VIP Cabana earned its spot as a very close second.

We invited a few of our concert-going clients to partake in the music, food and festivity from the comfort and closeness of a VIP Cabana. Our guests were wined, dined and entertained from the best seat in the house. Right next to the main stage, our cabana guests had nothing short of an unforgettable experience. Nestled in between Citibank’s and Adobe’s cabanas, the BrightRoll crew outdid itself, sporting BrightRoll goodies and swag including blankets, chap sticks, USB sticks and koozies. Best of all, guests got to take home a seriously impressive, art-quality, custom-made BrightRoll Outside Lands VIP poster.

Even with all these perks, it was the company of our fantastic guests that made the BrightRoll VIP Cabana experience truly complete. There were die-hard music fans along with people just happy to be at the festival enjoying good music, weather and food. After the three-day event was over, everyone agreed BrightRoll’s VIP Cabana was a major success. We look forward to seeing you all at Outside Lands 2012!

Check out the full album of photos on our Facebook page!

In-game advertisers will continue to play a huge role in the mobile ecosystem and revenue growth for years to come, driven primarily by mobile’s rapid growth and consumers’ willingness to pay for mobile games. According to a recent Nielsen study, 64 percent of smartphone users downloaded and used a gaming app in Q2 2011. Additionally, 93 percent of app downloaders (those who have downloaded an app within the past 30 days) are willing to pay for the games they play. In contrast, only 76 percent of downloaders are willing to pay for news apps. This is a huge opportunity for marketers to get their message in front of a captivated audience.

The counter argument I’ve heard from marketers is that in-game ads have the potential to cause a bad user experience because video ads before or during a game are “intrusive” and no brand manager wants public backlash or negative reaction. Correct me if I’m wrong but, by the same standards, aren’t TV commercials “intrusive”? The biggest brands in the world spend a majority of their advertising budgets creating and airing TV commercials. Until 2000, when TiVo hit the market, there was no way to skip commercials, yet there was little lasting public backlash or negative sentiment toward these brands.

Marketers should embrace mobile and view the medium for what it is: another platform to promote their products and services to more than 75M users, who may not be TV viewers. Smartphones, with their multi-functional capabilities, are no longer just phones, they have become an indispensible part of life and are used to connect, communicate and entertain. According to the CTIA, an international nonprofit organization that represents the wireless communications industry, 26 percent of US households are mobile-only. In-game mobile video is a valuable channel for brand marketers to reach desired audiences. A simple first step for video advertisers who want to advertise with in-game ads is to repurpose TV assets, ideally edited down to 15-second slots. Leveraging existing TV video assets across multiple platforms yields greater efficiencies and will increase overall brand metrics & awareness.