TechCrunch50 demopit company Image Space Media (formerly Picad Media), has developed and launched an in-image ad network that helps publishers monetize images on their websites with ad overlays. Since launching in 2008, ISM has built a publisher network of 2,500 sites and recently upgraded its platform to include a detailed analytics platform.
Called the PubStop platform, the tool allows publishers to value which of their images are yielding higher earnings so they can place content in the places that earn the highest click-through-rates (CTRs). The dashboard features total ad impressions, total clicks, CTRs, eCPMs, number of images and more statistics that can help publishers manage their ads on the network.
Image Space Media’s ads are text only for now but founder and COO Kevin Tung says that rich media ad formats will be implemented in the network soon. While Tung declined to reveal exact CTRs that Image Space’s ads are seeing, he says that CTRs are higher than average rates for normal display ads, which he says range from .2 % to .3%. He adds that CTRs depend on size and dimensions of the ad itself.
The startup also just raised $2.9 million in funding from New Atlantic Ventures, Ridgeline Capital, and Michael Gordon and brought on a new CEO last year, Jesse Chenard, who Tung actually met at TechCrunch50 in 2008. Image Space Media faces competition from GumGum and others.
