Adobe announced this week it has purchased online video ad company Auditude. The move is seen as way to provide Adobe (NASDAQ: ADBE) customers who are creating video content with a clear path to monetizing that content.

PaidContent.org, reporting on the purchase, noted that online video is the fastest growing online advertising area. In that light, the purchase should not come as a surprise to anyone as Adobe continues to look for ways to move its business model from desktop software-focused to online-focused.

David Wadhwani, senior vice president and general manager for the Digital Media Business Unit at Adobe, sees this as an opportunity to give Adobe video production customers a soup-to-nuts video experience and of course provide a way to get a return on that video content production investment. "Premium video publishers want to capitalize on the foundational shift to digital by providing viewers with great media experiences and maximizing the value of their content."

Maximizing that value, of course, means making money and by serving ads with the video content, Adobe customers will have a shot at doing that. Adobe, by owning the ad serving company will also get a piece of the advertising action, giving both parties potentially a nice revenue source.

In a statement Adobe said that the Auditude Ad Server technology should mesh nicely with Adobe server technology such as the Adobe Flash Media Server and Adobe Pass.

Adobe indicated that it will also include Auditude in the company's Adobe Digital Marketing Suite, its analytics package. 

For more:
- see the Adobe press release

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