FierceOnlineVideo Leaders - Diaz Nesamoney, CEO Jivox

FierceOnlineVideo got a chance to catch up with Jivox CEO Diaz Nesamoney to discuss his company's local online video advertising business and the general online video industry.

FierceOV: Diaz, what do you think of Jivox's progress so far this year? 

Diaz Nesamoney: There has been some slight economic pressure so far this year, but we are still finding lots of small businesses who want to reach local audiences with online video. These companies are worrying about ROI, and it's moving people to try online video, after people take a hard look at costs. We offer a way for them to try it out (online video advertising), an opportunity to see how powerful the solution is, while still costing less than other forms of advertising. 

FierceOV: Have you seen strength or weakness from any specific business verticals so far in 2009? Are there some industries that are more or less inclined to take the plunge into online video advertising than others?

Nesamoney: We've seen a lot of interest from consumer-oriented businesses, and also verticals that do well in slow economic times. For instance, health and wellness has been a strong category for us, and we've worked with doctors' offices, medical centers, spas and health care product companies.

Also, we've done work with local media companies, newspapers and TV stations and radio stations. We have several partnerships with them where their sales forces can sell the Jivox solution directly and help their existing companies test an online video offering. 

FierceOV: What are some areas where you see potential for growth in online video advertising? 

Nesamoney: In our particular market, we're seeing some customers wanting a subscription type model, so they don't have to pay a big amount up front, but can instead put it in the marketing budget over time. Letting customers sign up for a specific amount each month gives us a better lifetime value per customer, and the customer can manage its budget better.

We've also seen growth in our white-label efforts, such as with the Examiner Group and Clear Channel, and there will be more of these deals to come. 

FierceOV: Where would you like to see Jivox in one year? 

Nesamoney: Our goal is to broaden our customer base both in size and in the number of industries we serve. We want to increase revenue from our channel partners and have that become a much bigger part of our business as well. 

FierceOV: What are some obstacles you see that could prevent you from reaching those goals? 

Nesamoney: People are spending less right now, and if the economy doesn't make a recovery, it could continue that trend, which would hurt us. But, I look at that as a potential upside too, it's arguably easier for us if our product is more cost effective in the present environment. We offer advertising that is more measurable than traditional forms of advertising.

Competition is not much of an issue yet, as there is still a very large untapped market for local online video advertising, and customer acquisition is still strong. We added 400 customers in the first quarter that believe they can use video as a product to market themselves. There is really tremendous potential for growth.