Yahoo and Starcom, the media agency, are tackling digital video ad personalization by using content discovery and viewership data as well as brands’ audience data to create and target video content based on hot “trending topics” across categories like comedy, entertainment, finance, sports, health and wellness. It’s working with Starcom to bring brands on board for the launch.

The agreement between the two combines Yahoo’s original video content, custom data and advanced advertising technology to match up video content with the right consumers both on Yahoo properties and through off-channel audience targeting. Using search data associated with profiles for Yahoo's approximately 100+ million video users, Yahoo will recommend relevant content and from there build advertising profiles for users based on a number of key psychographics and viewing behaviors. Clients on the Starcom roster, such as Allstate, Kraft, Kellogg’s, Hallmark and Jim Beam, can then participate and gain access to premium video ad opportunities that specifically target those most likely to be engaged with their brands based on the metrics.

“Hundreds of millions of people come to Yahoo every day for the content and experiences that matter most to them, and through that usage data, we are able to create experiences that are more personalized and more targeted with every use,” Yahoo said in a blog announcing the deal. “Starcom’s client roster includes some of the most well-known brands in the world – brands that are looking for great premium, personalized content that their customers love.”

The online, digital, unicast aspect of online video is a critical part of the equation. “Starcom and Yahoo share the belief that digital video is much more than an extension of TV,” the company said. “From programming to advertising, online video has the power to be more personalized, more relevant, and more meaningful.”