Atlas Finds a VOD Partner in SeaChange

aQuantive's Atlas division entered a partnership with SeaChange, a provider of video-on-demand ad insertion and programming services, that it hopes will further its own VOD ad management ambitions.

The relationship marks the first concrete step from Atlas' On Demand unit since it was unveiled last week. The companies did not share details of their agreement, and executives said any jointly developed VOD ad solutions are several months away.

By integrating its digital marketing platform with SeaChange's ad tools, Atlas On Demand hopes to benefit from the partner's extensive relationships with cable providers, including Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Adelphia, Cox and Cablevision. SeaChange offers ad insertion and programming services to hundreds of clients.

"There has never been a means for an advertising agency to seamlessly and simply transcend... multiple cable footprints to address the whole lifecycle of a media plan," said Scott Ferris, senior vice president and general manager of Atlas On Demand.

The deal's value to SeaChange lies in Atlas' front-end digital marketing workflow tools and its popularity with agencies, executives said.

"Atlas is expert in automating the workflow of advertisers and their agencies and brings a significant advantage to the capabilities of our video-on-demand system," said James Kelso, VP of marketing for SeaChange International, in a statement.