As it gears up for its commercial launch later this month, online programming and advertising service Brightcove will announce this week that it has appointed Adam Gerber VP of advertising products and strategy.

Mr. Gerber was formerly the high-profile senior VP and group director of strategy and innovation at MediaVest. He left that post in late September.

Further positioning itself to be a big player in Internet advertising, the company-which describes itself as an open Internet TV services firm that lets producers and programmers distribute content online, will also announce its strategic alliance with Publicis Groupe Media and will preview new online ad formats for its service.

Mr. Gerber, who was widely regarded as a mover and shaker in digital media at MediaVest and who devised strategies for Procter & Gamble to take advantage of broadband and new TV platforms, will shepherd Brightcove’s emerging advertising strategy. He’ll work across major brands, agencies and content owners and will represent Brightcove in the advertising industry, said Jeremy Allaire, CEO of Brightcove.

Brightcove this week will showcase its new ad products for its upcoming launch, including ad impressions integrated into video, such as bottom-third overlays that linger on the screen for a few seconds, for example, a tune-in message on an on-air network. Consumers can click on the ad or the brand message, causing the programming to pause instantly to let the viewer interact with the brand.

Brightcove’s programming partners can either sell the spots themselves or opt into a sales relationship with the company. Brightcove has not announced programming partners for the commercial rollout, but it tested the service this fall with about 25 big media and niche companies, including Viacom, A&E Networks, Oxygen Network, Lime Network and VOD network Wheels TV.

Brightcove has also formed a strategic partnership with Publicis Groupe Media. The new relationship will help ensure Brightcove’s ad products are fashioned with advertiser input from the start, Mr. Allaire said. Publicis’ Tim Hanlon, senior VP and director for new ventures, has joined Brightcove’s advisory board.

Other new hires at Brightcove include Dina Roman as VP of national advertising sales. She recently worked for Discovery Networks.