Online Video Ad specialist gears up for growth by hiring ex-Trinity Mirror regional digital chief

4 January 2011

Localstars appoints ex-Trinity Mirror man to help steer its affordable local online video system to greater success

Localstars, the geo-targeted online video advertising specialist, is gearing up for major growth in 2011 with the appointment of new managing director, Chris Bunyan, the former digital director at Trinity Mirror’s regional media division.

According to Localstars’ founder and former MD, George Dann, who now becomes CEO, Bunyan’s appointment comes as Localstars’ unique online video ad creation technology and geo-targeted syndication network is fully proven and ready for expansion:

“It’s a really exciting time for Localstars. Last year, our unique and easy to use video advertising technologies created 10,000 online video ads and generated around £5m of new revenues for our regional media and online directory partners. In 2011, we are expanding our product range, looking to grow our list of partners and further enhance our locally-targeted advertising syndication network.”

Localstars has created an online portal that publishers’ ad sales teams can use to sell and manage video-led ad campaigns for advertisers. It lets them create a 15 second video ad for each customer by customising content from the Localstars library, which is probably the largest of its kind in the world. Ads are personalised with individual business contact information, images and logos.

After uploading the ads, sales people use a specially designed map-based interface to define geographic play-out areas, selecting from a list of recommended media. The entire process can take as little as 3 minutes, to produce a professional, high quality, customised video ad.

Chris Bunyan joins Localstars with a wealth of digital experience have running the online business units at ntl, Virgin Media and Trinity Mirror. He was attracted by the company’s technology and growing list of media partners, coupled with the prospect of expected fast growth in video advertising spend:

“The digital video ad market is set to rocket over the next few years and Localstars’ system offers publishers a quick, low risk way of tapping into this new and expanding revenue stream. Through partnerships with Johnston Press and Thomson Local, amongst others, the Localstars platform expands this opportunity further by making video an accessible, affordable and an efficient promotional tool for all sizes of business.”

Advertisers on Localstars’ platform range from small to medium sized businesses (SMEs) who want to run local campaigns with the added impact of online video, to major brands interested in targeted regional advertising.

Localstars’ proven solution also includes self-serve products, a rich media display ad-builder, automated website building services and the company also shoots bespoke video ads utilising its network of over 100 film-makers, which can be uploaded to its network.

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