MOBILE ADVERTISING, ADVERTISER PLATFORMS
Businesswire | April 11, 2023
Adludio, the global AI-powered platform delivering attention-led and data-driven mobile advertising, has secured a further £2 million investment from Mercia, following an initial investment of £4 million in 2021.
This new funding round will enable Adludio to capitalize on its rapid growth in the US and launch a new fully-automated version of its platform. Powered by AI and data science, this will offer marketers a one-stop-shop for the automated design and delivery of ad campaigns that guarantee engagement.
Having produced advanced mobile creative for major brands including Ford, Land Rover Jaguar, Estée Lauder, Nike, Adidas and Microsoft, the announcement will see Adludio help even more marketers win the battle for brand attention. Currently sharing its expertise and technology with the IAB to develop this field, Adludio is redefining attention as a metric for success.
Paul Coggins, Adludio’s CEO, said: “At a time when privacy regulation is increasingly limiting the use of personal data, our sophisticated and unique combination of creative, media and AI is leading brand performance on mobile. With this additional investment from Mercia, the next stage of our AI-led platform, offering fully-automated capabilities, will provide brands and agencies the chance to translate user attention into profit.”
Founded in 2015, the company now has a presence across five US cities – New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta and Detroit - and also delivers services via resellers in Hong Kong and Singapore.
In 2022, Adludio achieved 50% growth in the US and, across the globe, has continued to increase its revenues. It has also boosted its management team with a number of leading industry figures, including Ian Liddicoat as Chief Technology Officer and Dave Ramsay as Chief Product Officer. The new version of Adludio’s platform, due to be launched in 2024, will fully automate many of its processes and offer customers a software-as-a-service (SaaS) product to manage their own campaigns.
This latest investment comes as the adtech industry contends with continued economic uncertainty, the introduction of stricter privacy rules in many countries as well as the declining use of cookies, and aims to help Adludio consolidate its position at the forefront of the market.
Mercia was investing from its Northern Venture Capital Trust (VCT) Funds. Martijn Kleibergen of Mercia said: “With stricter privacy rules, relying on ‘cookies’ to deliver targeted advertising is no longer a viable option. Adludio combines strong creative campaigns with algorithms that optimize campaigns in real time to engage consumers without using personal data. This investment will enable it to continue its growth in the US and expand its client base with the launch of its new self-service platform.”
About Adludio
Adludio is an AI-driven technology company that delivers premium mobile advertising. As the primary means of consuming content, mobile needs to deliver interactive experiences to engage audiences, but the majority of mobile advertising remains static. Combining data-driven creativity, proprietary technology and automation with pioneering engagement metrics, Adludio delivers privacy-compliant mobile campaigns with engagement at its heart. With offices in London, Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, Detroit and Chicago, Adludio is defining the next generation of mobile brand solutions in North America and EMEA.
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ADVERTISER PLATFORMS
Business Wire | April 18, 2023
Rituals, as routine as running errands and doing chores, are also key audio-consumption moments in people’s lives and create positive environments for advertisers, according to new research conducted by MAGNA’s Media Trials unit and leading multi-platform audio content and entertainment company, Audacy. The study found that advertisers who aligned with listeners’ rituals saw a greater lift in brand excitement (+10%) and brand relevance (+8%).
The study, Aligning with Rituals: The Contextual Foundation of Audio, also noted that consumers experience greater “feelings of connection” with brands that synchronize with their audio rituals, by +12%, compared to +3% for non-aligned ads. MAGNA and Audacy tested both genre-based ads—such as a telecom brand advertising during an entertainment broadcast—and ritual-based ads—such as destination advertising during a “me-time” ritual--to examine the spectrum of contextual-alignment opportunities.
“We’ve studied contextual in video before, but this is our first time to study it in audio, so we wanted to explore how consumers reacted to all types of audio advertising, from contextually aligned to non-aligned, across every daypart and layers of the funnel,” said Kara Manatt, EVP, Managing Director, Intelligence Solutions, MAGNA. “We were especially intrigued to note how daily rituals imply moments of calm and continuity in listeners’ lives and that brands that tap into these touchstones benefit tremendously.”
Contextually aligned ads have the propensity to both excite (+10%) and create relevance (+8%) for brands, especially among those who are in-market. Further, contextual alignment boosts brand metrics that matter most, such as brand favorability (+8%), search intent (+12%), and purchase intent (+9%).
Just what are consumers doing as they stream podcasts and listen to music? A ranking of typical listening rituals featured in a previous Audacy study, Audio Rituals was topped by running general errands (85%) and doing home maintenance (84%). Consumer engagement levels, though, were most heightened during me-time moments (73%), putting my child to bed (70%) and exercising outdoors (68%).
Audacy’s Audio Rituals study also determined that 74% of listeners incorporated audio into their daily rituals and 40% planned their day/activities around audio content.
“Audio advertisers can amplify the effectiveness of their buys through ritual moments,” said Idil Cakim, SVP, Head of Research and Insights, Audacy. “Study participants agreed that the stronger the match between advertisement and content, the better the outcome for KPIs like brand favorability and purchase intent.” Seventy-eight percent of participants agreed that strong content/ad matches mattered in brand favorability and 80% for purchase intent.
Other key findings include:
Mood Boosters: Participants who felt “energized or excited” by their audio content also were 24% more likely to state the test ads “caught my attention” (+24% lift) and were more likely to be open to the ads at the time of listening (+16% lift). These engaged and excited listeners also were more likely to search for the brand (+10%).
Contextual Enhancement: Contextually aligning ads amplifies the information shared in audio ads – this is especially true among in-market audiences, who agree that these contextually-aligned ads “taught them something new” (73%).
Dialed-In Dispatches: Regardless of the type of contextual alignment (ritual or genre-based), each approach has the propensity to drive search intent (+15% and +16%, respectively).
Aligning with Rituals: The Contextual Foundation of Audio ran controlled testing among 1,920 weekly audio listeners who listened to 30-minute content blocks, ranging from podcasts to news, sports and music, interspersed with ads from three brands, covering the retail, telecom and travel industries. The participants answered a range of questions to determine advertising effectiveness and establish their mood and receptivity.
The full study can be found here.
About MAGNA
MAGNA is the leading global media investment and intelligence company. Our trusted insights, proprietary trial offerings, industry-leading negotiation and unparalleled consultative solutions deliver an actionable marketplace advantage for our clients and subscribers.
We are a team of experts driven by results, integrity and inquisitiveness. We operate across five key competencies, supporting clients and cross-functional teams through partnership, education, accountability, connectivity and enablement. For more information, please visit our website: https://magnaglobal.com/ and follow us on LinkedIn.
About Audacy
Audacy, Inc. (NYSE: AUD) is a leading multi-platform audio content and entertainment company with the country’s best collection of local music, news and sports brands, a premium podcast creator, major event producer, and digital innovator. Audacy engages 200 million consumers each month, bringing people together around content that matters to them. Learn more at www.audacyinc.com, Facebook (Audacy Corp), Twitter (@AudacyCorp) and LinkedIn (@Audacy-Inc).
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ADVERTISER PLATFORMS
Business Wire | April 24, 2023
LG Ad Solutions, a global leader in connected TV (CTV) and cross-screen advertising, today released the findings of a new study that found that gamers are more likely to watch free, ad-supported streaming (FAST) than all CTV owners, with nearly two-thirds of gamers spending at least two hours a week streaming via FASTs.
Additionally, gamers subscribe to the most subscription streaming services, at a higher rate than CTV owners, over-indexing on Discovery+, Apple TV+, Peacock and Paramount+. In terms of how they consume the content, only about 23% stream through their gaming console while the majority (55%) stream through their smart TV apps.
LG Ad Solutions surveyed more than 700 consumers who owned a connected TV and played console games in March 2023 to explore trends and behaviors related to CTV consumption among U.S. gamers. The study, titled “The Connected Gamer,” also found:
The LG Gamer can be easily reached via the TV screen: 78% of LG TV users play video games once a week with 1 in 5 playing every day. 93% of LG Gamers use FAST apps, with 67% actually preferring them. 49% of LG gamers learn about new games via TV/streaming.
Women in gaming: Of women who play video games on any connected TV or device, 1 in 5 play every day, with 67% spending 4+ hours gaming per week. In terms of streaming habits, 61% of female gamers prefer streaming free video content with ads, and 45% pay more attention to ads while streaming compared to ads on cable/satellite TV. When it comes to discovering new games, 39% of female gamers find them through TV/streaming.
New game discovery: Almost half (42%) of gamers cite streaming ads as a way they discover new games.
The majority of CTV owners play video games: 68% of connected TV owners play video games, with 71% playing on mobile devices and 64% using consoles. 25% play on a daily basis, with the average gaming session lasting between 30 minutes and two hours. On average, 30% of gamers play 4-7 hours per week.
The second screen opportunity: Gamers are more likely to multitask while watching TV than the average CTV owner, with 53% playing games and 50% shopping while streaming.
Gaming is a social activity: 40% of gamers with children play with their kids 1 to 3 times a week and 2 in 5 of all gamers frequently or always play via local co-op on the same console in the same room.
Gamers require personalization and relevancy: 80% of gamers prefer seeing ads relevant to their interests, compared to 73% of all CTV users. Similarly, they are more likely to prefer seeing ads that are relevant to the streaming content they are watching (76%) than the average CTV user (63%).
Gaming goes beyond young adulthood: The generations with the largest percentage of console gamers are 30-44 (79%), followed by 18-29 (74%) and 45-60 (63%). Older generations also enjoy gaming as 32% of those 60+ play console games.
“Gaming is now a cultural mainstay of consumers, and our latest data shows that CTV is a must-have channel for advertisers looking to reach this large, diverse, and highly engaged audience,” said Tony Marlow, CMO of LG Ad Solutions. "Consumers of all ages spend a significant amount of time with video games on a daily basis, and over index on ad-supported streaming. Gamers have a high propensity to buy, and are keenly aware of relevant streaming ads, so brands have an opportunity to create meaningful connections with precise targeting and creative strategies when connecting with this audience.”
For more information on LG Ad Solutions and to download the full study, visit: https://lgads.tv/resource/connected-gamer
About LG Ad Solutions
LG Ad Solutions is a global leader in connected TV and cross-screen advertising, helping brands find hard-to-get unduplicated reach at optimal frequency across the fragmented streaming TV landscape. We bring together LG’s years of experience in delivering world-class smart TVs to consumers worldwide with big TV audience data and Video AI designed to connect brands with audiences across all screens.
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