AD NETWORKS
GumGum, JustPremium | August 11, 2021
GumGum, the leader in contextual intelligence technology, announced the acquisition of JustPremium, one of the largest rich media and video ad marketplaces in Europe. Their combined offering makes them one of the only global providers with a unified solution delivering attention-grabbing ad creatives in contextually relevant digital environments across global campaigns.
Contextual targeting is set to be a $412 billion business by 2025 and both GumGum and JustPremium have seen significant growth as the industry has rapidly accelerated its shift to contextual technology and attention first digital advertising solutions. GumGum’s 2021 revenue alone is on track to grow over 40% compared to last year, with the addition of JustPremium, GumGum expedites that growth and furthers its position as a global strategic partner. Together they will lead the industry in offering a comprehensive solution that leverages both contextual and creative to deliver campaigns that are dynamically placed and drive consumer attention across digital environments for video, display, and CTV. Their first combined offering will include a new high impact in-content (outstream) video ad unit, which will be the first to be powered by Verity, GumGum’s accredited contextual data solution.
“Brands are looking for a strategic partner with value tested and accredited technology that drives campaign results, with no reliance on cookies, on a global scale. We believe this acquisition makes us that partner,” said Phil Schraeder, Chief Executive Officer, GumGum. “It’s all about creative, context, and global scale. With those three elements, powered by sophisticated technology, we deliver what consumers want across all digital environments and, as a result, drive strong campaign ROAS for our brand partners.”
This acquisition is an integral part of GumGum’s global growth strategy. JustPremium helps some of the world’s most powerful brands connect with more than 900 million people in premium environments. By joining forces with JustPremium, GumGum doubles its brand and publishers presence in the U.K. and will expand into eight new markets including Germany, France, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark, and Mexico.
“Over the past seven years we've seen three significant trends emerge in LATAM including a huge shift to digital and the efficiency of programmatic, while advertisers continue to demand attention-grabbing creatives. A major need for a privacy-first contextual solution that will set the standard for what a cookieless future should look like. Last but not least, Mexico City is becoming a more centralized hub for executions across the LATAM markets,” said Harmen Tjaarda, co-founder of JustPremium. “GumGum’s acquisition of JustPremium will be a game changer for the region. The combination of GumGum’s industry-leading accredited contextual data technology with JustPremium’s rich-media marketplace will offer advertisers a cookie-free, attention-grabbing solutions that will deliver incredible benefits for advertisers and publishers in Mexico and abroad.”
JustPremium is a European-based company, headquartered in Amsterdam, with approximately 150 employees globally. JustPremium’s CEO, Eric Visser will stay on as the President of EMEA for GumGum and report to Phil Schraeder, GumGum’s CEO. JustPremium’s organization and name will be integrated under the GumGum brand.
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Johnson & Sekin, | January 12, 2022
We are extremely proud to put a strong C-suite team in place to support the growth and impact of our business. Our vision of the future begins with purpose and all four of these individuals bring a high level of expertise that is unmatched across the industry to the brands we are privileged to work alongside."
Kent Johnson, co-founder and art director for Johnson & Sekin.
The formation of the C-suite comes on the heels of the agency's recently announced expansion to Denver and the launch of Camp Purpose, an immersive workshop experience where brands, organizations, and people can uncover and articulate their purpose in work and life.
Shannon Phillips, Chief Design Officer
Shannon has been with Johnson & Sekin for more than 11 years, and as the design conscience of the agency, leads a talented team that designs everything from logos, labels, packaging, print ads, and websites to full brand identities. Her creative work has been recognized by The One Show, Lürzer's Archive, AAF ADDYs, and more.
Kat Kornegay, Chief Purpose Officer
Throughout her nearly decade-long career at Johnson & Sekin, Kat's creative strategy and calculated execution has been instrumental in growing the agency's client services and its digital experience arm. She has become a voice for purpose both internally and externally, helping team members and clients find and articulate their purpose, leading to more fulfillment and brand success. In 2020, Kat was named a Top 20 Women in Advertising by AAF Dallas.
Emily Florio, Chief Strategy Officer
Since joining the team in 2020, Emily brought more than two decades of experience working on both the agency and client-side in a number of strategy and marketing positions. She loves understanding the "why" and shaping the "how" for brands big and small.
Jessica Wescott, Chief Financial Officer
Jessica previously served as the chief operating officer and chief financial officer at Fuzzy's Taco Shop, where she was instrumental in bringing on Johnson & Sekin as the current Agency of Record. She brings more than a decade of operations, financial and client-facing experience with a focus on data-driven insights to analyze businesses and make growth decisions.
About Johnson & Sekin
Johnson & Sekin is a purpose-driven branding and advertising agency focused on helping brands articulate and amplify their purpose, both internally and externally. Led by distinguished creatives, Kent Johnson and Chris Sekin, the agency channels a passion for people, purpose, and unexpected ideas to fulfill its mission of growing good. Founded in 2008, Johnson & Sekin has become a trusted name in the advertising industry, earning countless awards for their work driving impact across a variety of industries including consumer packaged goods, restaurants, automotive, arts & entertainment, higher education, and nonprofits.
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Dentsu | June 09, 2022
Dentsu is launching a new Contextual Intelligence tool across its U.S. media agencies. Contextual targeting has gained relevance as Apple and Google take moves to limit web monitoring.
Contextual Intelligence uses unique algorithms to link brand targets with content across Carat, Dentsu X, and iProspect.
Five clients have already utilized the tool. Dentsu reports that the return on investment for one company, the luxury jewelry store Pandora, was 24 times larger than any other Valentine's Day test advertising technique. Katie Nevin, Pandora's paid social and programmatic coordinator, referred to Contextual Intelligence as "a competitive advantage as we strive to earn increasingly limited attention in the market."
Akash Jairath, chief product officer of Dentsu Media, U.S., said, "The tool starts by assigning content labels to URLs based on users inputting keywords, phrases and other URLs they've identified as relevant to their customers. The Competitive Intelligence tool fine-tunes those targets and pushes a list target URLs to demand-side platforms for programmatic buys."
Akash Jairath, chief product officer of Dentsu Media, U.S., said, "The tool starts by assigning content labels to URLs based on users inputting keywords, phrases and other URLs they've identified as relevant to their customers. The Competitive Intelligence tool fine-tunes those targets and pushes a list target URLs to demand-side platforms for programmatic buys."
Jairath further stated, "Given the impending loss of cookies in Chrome and restrictions on targeting in the Apple ecosystem, contextual targeting is definitely getting more interest from clients."
Much of this sophistication and data science is contextual, so it has become a more precise instrument than a crude one. Yet another advantage of contextual targeting is when it misses the mark, maybe not reaching a known client or past website visitor, but instead reaching those with similar interests who may become new customers for a company.
Akash Jairath, chief product officer of Dentsu Media, U.S., said, "It started out with people thinking of it as waste, but it's really a halo effect. That's thought to work well for branding, but even from a performance standpoint, it certainly has a halo effect."
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