ATG Adds Click-to-Call to Video Ads

Back in 2006, Cambridge, MA-based Art Technology Group (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ARTG]]) spent north of $48 million in cash and stock to acquire eStara, a maker of software that allows Web surfers to open voice-over-Internet connections with sales agents by clicking on Internet ads. Yesterday the company announced that it’s extending eStara’s capabilities to Flash-based video ads. “While consumers are more comfortable watching video clips online now than ever before, direct-response advertisers—many of whom are small, local businesses—have struggled to find a video advertising model that is cost-effective and measurable,” said Ruth Habbe, vice president of ATG’s eStara Business Group, said in a statement. “eStara Video Connect solves this problem by making video ads actionable, and by giving media companies a rich tool for tracking consumer actions and leads generated from each and every video ad.”

Author: Wade Roush

Between 2007 and 2014, I was a staff editor for Xconomy in Boston and San Francisco. Since 2008 I've been writing a weekly opinion/review column called VOX: The Voice of Xperience. (From 2008 to 2013 the column was known as World Wide Wade.) I've been writing about science and technology professionally since 1994. Before joining Xconomy in 2007, I was a staff member at MIT’s Technology Review from 2001 to 2006, serving as senior editor, San Francisco bureau chief, and executive editor of TechnologyReview.com. Before that, I was the Boston bureau reporter for Science, managing editor of supercomputing publications at NASA Ames Research Center, and Web editor at e-book pioneer NuvoMedia. I have a B.A. in the history of science from Harvard College and a PhD in the history and social study of science and technology from MIT. I've published articles in Science, Technology Review, IEEE Spectrum, Encyclopaedia Brittanica, Technology and Culture, Alaska Airlines Magazine, and World Business, and I've been a guest of NPR, CNN, CNBC, NECN, WGBH and the PBS NewsHour. I'm a frequent conference participant and enjoy opportunities to moderate panel discussions and on-stage chats. My personal site: waderoush.com My social media coordinates: Twitter: @wroush Facebook: facebook.com/wade.roush LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/waderoush Google+ : google.com/+WadeRoush YouTube: youtube.com/wroush1967 Flickr: flickr.com/photos/wroush/ Pinterest: pinterest.com/waderoush/