Making video ads interactive gets Fuisz Media a $10-million investment

Fuisz Media, a start-up whose technology makes video ads interactive, has raised $10 million in funding from heavy-hitters in the media industry to hire more people in product development and sales.

The investment, announced Thursday, comes mostly from Evolution Media Partners, a joint venture between the merchant bank Evolution Media Capital, an arm of private-equity firm TPG and production company Participant Media. Notable individual investors included Ross Levinsohn, a former interim chief executive of Yahoo, and Chris Silbermann, co-founder of talent agency ICM Partners.

Ads delivered using Fuisz’s system are clickable, meaning someone who clicks, taps or hovers over them would see additional information about whatever’s being pitched. Gillette, Ford and Victoria’s Secret have given it a try. It’s possible to even make a purchase from within the ad space.

The 2-year-old Santa Monica start-up is working with dozens of advertisers each month, with the ads showing up millions of times a month.

Fuisz contends that the ads it serves are more likely to drive users to visit an advertiser’s website, and at the least, cause people to spend more time paying attention to ads. If the claims hold up as Fuisz expands, its offering threatens to push down prices for other online ads. Advertisers are increasingly seeking to pay top dollar only for ads that clearly were seen by Web surfers, and the interactivity provides a sign that they have.

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