• by Tyler Loechner  @mp_tyler, October 16, 2014

Programmatic video ad platform Virool on Thursday announced its launch in the UK at the IAB UK Digital Upfronts event. The company is opening an office in London.

Brian Danzis, chief revenue officer of Virool, told Real-Time Daily that Virool’s platform had been available to UK-based buyers on a self-serve basis prior to today’s announcement, but the company wanted to have a physical presence in the area because Danzis said “so much of what the company does has a human touch.” The company will have a client service and sales team in the UK, as well as other “back end support” teams.

Danzis said he believes “the market on the whole is moving toward self-serve and wanting more control.” Virool, however, will now also support UK clients on a full-service or hybrid service model, if desired.

Danzis expects the majority of Virool’s UK clients to use the platform in a self-service manner, compared to full-service. “Moreso than the U.S.,” he added.

He said Virool is in “active discussions with the big six and their trading desks,” and while the “big six” were not explicitly specified, it's possible those six include WPP, Omnicom, Publicis, Interpublic, Dentsu and Havas.

“What we’ve done in the U.S. is work on a campaign-to-campaign basis,” explained Danzis. “What we’re increasingly looking to do is work with agency holding companies and trading desks on a global level and support their operations on a local level.”

The an office now in London, Virool’s EMEA focus will be the UK. “It’s highly advanced in the way in which media is planned, produced and monetized,” Danzis asserted, before noting that the company will “naturally” look to expand in the other key EMEA markets, including Germany, France and Spain.

Virool has not yet named a managing director (or similar position) to lead the new office.