MUMBAI: Mobile advertising company, Vdopia Inc, has launched .VDO, a new file format that enables advertisers and publishers to seamlessly run video-enabled ads on the mobile web without Flash or plug-ins.

Currently, .VDO mobile video ads run on iPhone, iPad, Android and Balckberry devices. Before the .VDO format, brand marketing was cost-prohibitive to enable and advertisers had to choose between a richer experience on a single platform or banner ads for broadest reach.

The .VDO format allows brands to auto-play video on mobile web pages next to the content on virtually any smartphone. Publishers just have to install Vdopia‘s HTML tags.

Without any additional investment, this enables marketers to widen their reach and create an integrated campaign along with their existing TV and digital video assets.

Vdopia founder Srikanth Kakani said, �Our new .VDO technology makes mobile video ads scalable for the first time ever, using nothing but HTML5 and Javascript. With mobile usage and smartphone ownership rapidly climbing worldwide, Vdopia continues to push the boundaries in mobile video advertising to help advertisers; their agencies and publishers accomplish their business objectives."

 
Vdopia‘s .VDO allowed partners such as Sony Pictures, Universal Studios, Microsoft, Samsung, Bausch & Lomb, Lufthansa, Nokia, Vodafone and Disney to advertise in global markets. Currently, in Asia, NDTV, Converse and Newshunt are using the format to power their ads. 

 
"In 2002, Flash created a new paradigm, delivering video over the Internet and making possible the likes of YouTube, Hulu and any site with video content and ads. Yet, today, millions of smartphone users and the brands seeking to reach them are left out of this video experience. They are frustrated by missing content and unsupported plug-ins when they surf. The .VDO format provides a universal platform for delivering video content, beginning with advertising, across the mobile web,�said Kakani.