Netflix Agrees to $5 Billion Deal to Stream WWE’s Flagship RAW Show

Netflix has agreed to a $5 billion deal to broadcast WWE’s RAW program in the United States over the next decade. The deal will come into effect from January 2025. Traditionally regarded as World Wrestling Entertainment’s flagship show, RAW will not be available on linear television for the first time in its 31-year history. This deal represents by far Netflix’s largest investment in live sports. It will greatly increase Netflix’s utilization of the equipment needed to stream live sports events.

WWE’s RAW will now stream on Netflix

The streamer is committing a staggering $5 billion to the deal, which is worth $500 million annually for ten years. After the first five years, Netflix can choose to terminate the agreement. It can also decide to keep it in place for an extra ten years. According to sources, WWE and NBCUniversal have a current five-year deal worth between $250 million and $260 million annually for the US rights to “RAW.”

Increasing financial strains

Netflix’s foray into sports live stream

To broadcast a wide variety of content, including stand-up comedy, sports, and live news and award shows, Netflix has been enhancing its live streaming capabilities. Netflix, which has stated time and time again that it is not particularly interested in large-scale sports rights, is investing a significant amount of money in livestreaming under this agreement. After experimenting with live-streaming comedic shows at first, Netflix has now added award shows, reality shows, and live sporting events to its lineup.

Here’s what they said

Mark Shapiro, the chief executive of TKO, formed following the merger of WWE and the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) said, 

This deal is transformative. It marries the can’t-miss WWE product with Netflix’s extraordinary global reach and locks in significant and predictable economics for many years. Our partnership fundamentally alters and strengthens the media landscape, dramatically expands the reach of WWE, and brings weekly live appointment viewing to Netflix.

Bela Bajaria, Netflix’s chief content officer, added, 

We are excited to have WWE Raw, with its huge and passionate multigenerational fanbase, on Netflix. By combining our reach, recommendations, and fandom with WWE, we’ll be able to deliver more joy and value for their audiences and our members. Raw is the best of sports entertainment, blending great characters and storytelling with live action 52 weeks a year and we’re thrilled to be in this long-term partnership with WWE.

Read More: Netflix May Monetize Its Games Platform with In-App Purchases and Ads

Connected TV Explained: The Essential Glossary Of CTV

Connected TV (CTV) is growing rapidly in programmatic advertising and taking it by storm. And it does not come as a surprise! 

CTV ads are most effective, highly targeted, trackable, and brand safe. Compared to traditional TV advertising, they offer broadcast-quality ad experiences. According to the CTV Neilsen guide, 60% of U.S. advertisers plan to shift ad dollars from linear TV to either connected TV (CTV) or over-the-top (OTT) this year.                                                 

Given the growth in consumption and advertising opportunities, CTV usage has increased by 123% since 2018. However, given the breadth of CTV, identifying ad opportunities is not easy. In most cases, Over-the-top (OTT) and Connected TV (CTV) devices are confused for one another when accessing TV/video content. Moreover, adding Linear TV or traditional TV (in today’s parlance) makes the water even murkier.

Thus, this glossary explains the difference between Connected TV (CTV), Over-The-Top (OTT), and Linear TV. In a quickly evolving programmatic advertising landscape, the glossary aggregates many terms and acronyms used by marketers.

Interesting Read: All You Need To Know About Connected TV Advertising!

First Things First

Before we delve into other terminologies, let us understand the baseline definition of certain streaming terms.

Linear TV

Linear TV is a traditional cable or satellite TV with set viewing timings. A viewer can watch a show at a specific time on a specific channel. 

Connected TV

CTV or Connected TV simply means any device like smart TV used to stream TV and video content through the internet. A TV set that can access OTT content and is connected to the internet. According to a recent report, 80% of U.S. TV households have at least one connected TV device. Connected to the digital world, CTV can display programmatic ads to its viewers in real-time.

Interesting Read: Trade Desk Partners With Samsung Ads For Programmatic CTV

Over-The-Top (OTT)

To put it simply, this is the process of streaming content from an app on a CTV or any other internet-connected device. In addition to video-on-demand platforms, OTT applications include audio streaming, messaging, and internet-based phone services. 

A Similar Offering

There is a new set of industry jargon that is often confused with Connected TV advertising. They are remotely close to CTV but not the same.

Programmatic TV

A method of buying and delivering ads on linear TV with a technology-automated and data-driven slant. Some TV ad slots are available for programmatic purchase through DSPs. The most important point to note is that the ads are different from Connected TV (CTV). There is a common misconception that programmatic TV is referred to as “CTV Programmatic” or “OTT Programmatic.” These terms refer to Connected TV, as opposed to traditional TV. Understanding this difference is vital for advertising professionals in this new environment.

Advanced TV

An umbrella term referring to any TV content streamed through the internet -live or on-demand. It includes OTT, connected TV (CTV), and addressable TV but beyond traditional, linear TV models. Advanced TV’s is popular worldwide. A Samsung study suggests 63% of all TV viewing time is held on streaming services.

Addressable TV

Addressable TV or ATV is a technical ability to provide each household watching a different ad experience for the same program. It enables advertisers to target specific audiences with individual advertisements and optimize their marketing campaigns. Ads for addressable TV are served programmatically just as they are for addressable digital advertising. 

For instance, Mr.A might experience real estate advertisements because they are looking to buy a house, while you see an ad for a motorbike based on your previous interest. 

The below image explains how the addressable TV works.

Interesting Read: Here, There, Everywhere, It Is Cross-Screen Advertising!

Inventory and Formats

Video on Demand (VOD)

Video-On-Demand (VOD) is also known as  Addressable VOD.  Users can watch the content they enjoy at any time that’s convenient for them. Television viewers don’t plan their schedules around the TV, instead, they fit it into their own busy schedules.VOD content can be streamed or downloaded after it is aired live. As a result, viewers can access it anytime and anywhere even if they miss an episode. It can be found on set-top boxes, OTT content services, mobile web, mobile apps, and video streaming services. Unlike traditional TV, viewers can pause, fast-forward, and play as per their choice, and ads are placed within the content.

SVOD

Subscription video on demand (SVOD) is a streaming service based on a subscription model. Consumers subscribe for a fee, to access a catalog of on-demand content and watch are ad-free content. SVOD examples include Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, HBO MAX, and AppleTV+. 

Some SVOD providers, on the other hand, offer a hybrid model that offers ad-supported content at a lower subscription price. Hybrids are categorized under SVOD since users still need to login and pay a subscription fee.  Hulu, Peacock, ESPN+, and Quibi are a few examples.

AVOD

Advertising-based video on demand (AVOD) is ad-supported content and free to consumers. YouTube and Hulu are the best examples.

TVOD

Transactional video on demand is the opposite of SVOD. Customers buy content on a per-view basis. A customer would pay for a movie or TV show that they desire to watch. Examples of TVOD are Google Play, Apple iTunes, or YouTube movies.

Multi-channel Video Programming Distributor (MVPD)

In layman’s terms, it is a service that provides multiple television channels. The service providers deliver video programming services for a subscription fee through cable or satellite television. Examples include Comcast, DirecTV, DISH, Cox, Verizon, and more.

vMVPD

vMVPD stands for Virtual multichannel video programming distributor (yes, quite a mouthful). These are also called skinny bundles and offer economical digital cable or satellite packages. A streaming service or service provider provides video programming over the Internet without creating their own content. Sling TV, Playstation Vue, Pluto TV (Viacom), Xumo are a few examples.

Wrapping Up

Connected TV (CTV) is becoming a part of every marketer’s brand mix.  Brace yourself for the future of advertising. This guide is an effort to well-versed you in the exciting world of Connected TV (CTV) terms. 

Quick Recap 

A quick recap of the full-on dictionary of Connected TV (CTV)terms with an illustrated guide.  

Interesting Read: The Ultimate A-Z Glossary Of Digital Advertising!

All You Need To Know About Connected TV Advertising!

With traditional TV seeing an increasing plummet, our advertising behavior has seen a paradigm shift. This shift is accelerated by the growth of CTV or Connected TV advertising.

The entire landscape of digital advertising is being taken over by CTV now – and that is largely because of the option of getting your commercials on the big screen without the large price tag, reaching cord-cutters and highly engaged viewers in no time! 

Expanding on what we essentially mean by CTV –  it is a kind of television that is connected to the internet and may be viewed via regular cable television. The Connected TV can stream OTT streaming services, internet browsing data, and internet apps. 

These OTT or Over-The-Top platforms give marketers an edge in advertising and publishing their content. Moreover, there are more than 164 million U.S. consumers viewing video content via connected TV devices, and a forecast of up to 204.1 million viewers in 2022. 

With CTV gaining mass appeal across the world, we can expect to see a complete digital renaissance in the coming years. 

Keep reading below as we explore Connected TV advertising, various ad formats, benefits, its presence in the MENA market, the OTT platforms that enable CTV advertising, and most importantly – its future! 

What Is Connected TV Advertising? 

Delving into connected TV meaning, viz-a-viz advertising would simply mean exploring a  form of advertising that is programmatically generated. 

Advertisements for connected TV can be put on any TV or device that can be linked to the internet and access video streaming material beyond what is accessible through a cable provider’s standard offering. Additionally, ads purchased programmatically and displayed on consoles, computer/mobile streaming, gaming devices, over-the-top (OTT), or Smart TVs are referred to as CTV. 

Any device that is intended to handle multimedia and connect streaming from the Internet can support connected tv advertising.

If you still have your reservations about what is connected tv advertising, really…then we got some answers for you. 

CTV advertising is a private marketplace (PMP) business. Multiple layers of auctions are used in the programmatic media purchasing network, with each level having its own set of pricing and access restrictions. This gives advertisers access to precise placements while in an auction with fewer bids, resulting in considerably better winning rates.

In comparison with traditional TV advertising, CTV allows for more precise targeting and inventory selection, resulting in a more efficient route for reaching a larger market.

Simply put, CTV is the present and future medium for powerful digital advertising. Now, before we get too technical, let us shed light on the benefits of Connected TV for advertisers. 

How Will Connected TV Advertising Give You An Edge? 

In the space below, we have curated a list of ways how connected tv benefits your company! 

1. Helps Create Brand Resonance

Commercials are broadcast at a considerably reduced frequency on OTT and linked TV, and usually only one ad at a time. In support of this, recent research revealed that when compared to completion rates on other platforms, OTT consumers complete 98 percent of video commercials. 

Because viewers aren’t inundated with commercial after commercial vying for their attention, they’re more likely to give undivided attention to an ad and remember the brand. When compared to desktop and mobile viewers, OTT viewers demonstrated greater levels of brand recognition and favorability, according to the same survey. 

Even if they don’t take action right away, showing an ad to a more responsive viewer increases the likelihood that they will become a customer in the future.

2. Helps Reach The Right Audience 

…at the right time. 

Connected TV is expected to continue increasing at a rapid rate, eventually surpassing linear television, by providing viewers with a controlled watching experience with access to high-quality content that allows them to pick what they want to watch when they want to watch it.

Because OTT platforms are mostly being consumed by millennials, the controlled advertisement ( that is also audience specific) will give the generation a feeling of command over their media consumption. Most millennials have a tendency to jump ahead with an ad or skip it because it does not resonate with them. 

But with connected tv advertising, advertisers can assess their target audience and reach them at the right time – generating more traffic and gathering more potential clients. 

3. It Is Light On The Pocket

CTV advertising is an opportunity for advertisers to save chunks of impression costs. Only one person sees an ad when they watch it on their personal Internet-connected device, whereas advertising on television might be seen by multiple individuals. 

The same ad is viewed by several individuals at the same time, lowering the cost per impression for the advertiser. This renders it a budget-friendly option for the advertiser. 

4. Enhances User Experience

Connected TV allows for full-screen delivery of targeted, highly customized, HD-quality advertisements with stereo sound. As a consequence, better ad quality enhances brand loyalty and increases brand visibility. 

Furthermore, advertisements on connected TV provide a natural large-screen experience with excellent ad viewability. It mimics the look and feel of regular cable television. Consumers not only pay greater attention to CTV advertisements, but they also watch them for longer periods of time.

These were some ways that a connected tv benefits you and your quest to disseminate your content across the right people. 

What Are The Different Formats Of CTV Ads?

 The online ecosystem has long been a great place to deliver and consume a variety of ad formats, and now CTV advertising is actively changing the way people watch television.

Advertising on connected TV is a great experience. It enables advertisers to test animated, static, call-to-action, and interactive video advertising in order to enhance consumer engagement and video content performance.

Here are some amazing Connected TV advertising formats that you could incorporate: 

1. In-Stream Ads

In-stream video advertising allows you to provide viewers brief, memorable commercial messages at various points of viewing. 

2. Pre-Roll Video Ads

 

These connected tv advertising pieces are presented before the main content and are catchy enough to be memorable. Pre-roll video ads significantly aid in increasing sales and brand exposure. 

3. Mid-Roll Video Ads 

This ad format enables a TV-like user experience and is shown during the main content. Viewers are usually not hesitant to watch mid-rolls. 

4. Post-Roll Videos Ads 

Because they are shown after the primary material, they are the least distracting and have no effect on the user’s viewing experience. After seeing a post-roll ad, viewers are more likely to perform the intended action. 

5. Pause Video Ads

It is presented while the viewers’ eyes are on the screen, paying close attention to the message in it, and it does not compete for attention with other devices or forms of information, resulting in a high view rate. 

 

Marketers may greatly increase the success of their digital campaigns by having various video formats at their fingertips. Brands may fine-tune audience reactions, personalize engagements, and send tailored messages to diverse audiences throughout the world by picking customized connected tv advertising formats for each individual campaign.

In the section below, we have given a closer look into the premium OTT platforms/apps that allow CTV advertisements! 

4 Top OTT Platforms That Allow Connected TV Ads

Here are four amazing OTT platforms/apps that allow seamlessly connected tv advertising. 

1. Apple TV 

With the introduction of its ad-free streaming service, Apple has launched a worldwide effort into the original TV. You may quickly subscribe to the channels you want without having to download any additional third-party apps. 

Using the Apple TV app, you may watch the material that comes with your membership privileges. Additionally, the Apple TV stick flawlessly streamlines CTV ads along with entertainment content. 

2. Amazon Fire 

One of the best connected tv advertising platforms, Amazon Fire offers voice search capability, an improved keyboard, and rapid access to apps, as well as playback controls and navigation. It also downloaded the app controlling your traditional TV from the Amazon Fire tablet. 

These applications are compatible with both Android and iOS smartphones. Gaming consoles, cable boxes, and other connected TV devices all broadcast OTT video advertisements.

OTT video inventory allows programmatic targeting to be applied to streaming media, bridging the gap between current digital media and conventional television advertising.

3. Google TV 

Google’s Smart TV makers have a distinct advantage, providing them with a view into both the traditional and OTT worlds. Smart TVs come with a variety of built-in internet-connected apps, and you may pick from a variety of Smart TV packages. 

Google TVs provide businesses and advertising with an almost limitless number of features.

4. Roku 

Connected TV marketers get the greatest capabilities from Roku, and the OneViewTM ad has numerous sophisticated options. Identity, Instant OTT prediction, In-flight attribution, and proprietary audience are all devised by Cross, and it produces the best results.

One of the top connected tv advertising platforms, Roku has released an upgraded advertising platform that expands the OTT market’s versatility. It just launched a new consumer data initiative to help CPG marketers make their CTV advertising more quantifiable and accurate.

These were some of the premium CTV advertising platforms – and now, let us move on to have a look at CTV’s performance in the MENA market. 

CTV Advertising In MENA 

According to eMarketer, the number of subscription OTT video watchers in the Middle East and Africa increased by approximately 31.2 percent in 2020, making MENA one of the fastest-growing regions among Asia-Pacific, Central, and Eastern Europe, Latin America, North America, and Western Europe.

Advertisers have the potential to put their creative messaging amid TV programming as CTV and OTT advertising environments develop in MENA markets, maximizing reach and ROI with advertisements that are more relevant and targeted than those on linear TV.

Connected TV Advertising: What Does The Future Hold? 

Connected TV ads are clearly the future of advertising. With advertisements being customized for the target audience, higher engagement rates, higher dependency on internet-driven smartphones, and simply the rise of general interest in consuming video content – connected tv advertising is flourishing and how! 

Connected tv advertising statistics around the world show that there is a mass acceptance of the shift that is happening digitally. There are more than 164 million U.S. consumers viewing video content via connected TV devices and a forecast of up to 204.1 million viewers in 2022. Furthermore, according to the research on the connected TV industry, the number of households with CTV is expected to grow by 82 percent by 2023.

The CTV market has exploded in popularity in recent years, with research indicating that 53% of all UK homes use at least one streaming or subscription service.

Moreover, the pandemic has increased the amount of time we spend viewing digital television, according to Ofcom. And what began as a fad pushed largely by 16- to 34-year-olds has now spread to the over-55 demographic, who are beginning to embrace a new way of viewing television. 

Shedding more light on the connected tv advertising statistics, the CTV programmatic advertising reached 78 percent of US households in the past few years and saw approximately a 122 percent rise in worldwide programmatic ad expenditure in 2020.

Moreover, Roku has been dominating the CTV market lately, accounting for 46% of programmatic ad expenditure in CTV. Samsung, Apple, and Amazon followed in second and third, respectively, with around 10% market share. From Q120 to Q420, Apple grew its ad market share by 379 percent.

In-Closing 

As we saw, connected tv advertising provides companies with a significant chance to develop truly effective advertising campaigns by providing more customizable packages, possibilities to personalize commercials and more engagement.

Marketers will need to cooperate with other data owners to continue to improve the efficacy and measurability of their advertisements in order for the TV to succeed in the digital age. 

Giving companies the capacity to accurately define audiences, move expenditure from one channel to another, and measure more successfully will all be required for the industry to demonstrate that a CTV investment is justified not just in the immediate term, but also in the years ahead.

Connected tv advertising is evolving and taking shape globally, and is expected to continue its world domination in the coming years. 

 

Top 10 Emerging Indian Ad Tech Startups You Should Know About

The market for advertising technology is expected to record exponential growth between now and 2023.

-CMO Adobe

Just as advertising is the business of making advertisements, ad tech is the business of using technology to make advertisements faster, quicker, and efficient. The business is driven by powerful algorithms and data points.

The Adtech ecosystem consists of two major entities – the advertiser (Demand-side) and the publisher(Supply-side). Adtech helps advertisers and publishers achieve their goals in harmony by providing solutions that meet the demands of both parties. 

Learn more: A One-stop Guide On All You Ever Need To Know About AdTech In 2020

The Growing Ad Tech Trends

The year 2020 is full of technological advancements – Artificial Intelligence, data-driven marketing, and much more. Digital commerce is going strong and growing, leading to new paths such as mobile, programmatic, analytics, data management, and more. With new tools and technologies emerging every year, marketers can choose from a plethora of options across digital marketing to connect to a new audience and promote their products.

According to Emarketer’s survey, by 2020, digital ad spending will be 50% of total advertising. The statistics prove that there is a shift from the traditional medium of marketing to digital platforms.

Here are six significant ad tech trends in 2020 that will change the advertising world

1. Programmatic Advertising: 

Programmatic advertising is becoming a star strategy, and businesses spend almost $60 billion every year. It is projected that programmatic transactions two-thirds of digital display ad spend around the globe in 2020.

Programmatic needs to resolve many challenges before realizing its true potential, such as in the absence of the cookie, the industry needs to search new ways for retargeting and personalization, keeping customers’ privacy in mind. Meanwhile, first-party data is essential in the success of programmatic advertising. Lack of transparency, ad fraud, and efficiency are vital concerns that need to be addressed adequately.

The largest programmatic markets are the U.S, China, and the U.K with a double-digit Y-o-Y growth rate. Indonesia, Brazil, and India will be the fastest-growing programmatic digital ad market in 2020.

There are top three auction type segments for the global programmatic advertising display market which has gained momentum are :

• Global programmatic advertising display market by open auction: Buyers are allowed by publishers to participate in the public sale. It is likely to be the leading segment in the programmatic market with more number of buyers entering the digital market that allows publishers to get the best price for their inventory.
• Global programmatic advertising display market by automation guaranteed: Publishers are allowed to reserve inventory while keeping the price fixed. The inventory in this segment is premium advertisement such as the Super Bowl, or pre-launch page of a website and the growth prospects for automated guaranteed are big. It is forecasted by 2021, 88% of all digital display ad spending will flow via automation.
• Global programmatic advertising display market by invitation only: It is a private marketplace limited to buyers with an invitation only. The growth driver for this segment is more control over ads that are being run, and the relativity of ads is high due to which advertisers are ready to bid high to get the ads placed.

2. Mobile Advertising: 

Mobile advertising continues to take share with substantial gains over the last five years. A report by a research firm Berg Insight forecasted that the global mobile advertising market is expected to grow at the compound annual growth rate of 43%. Another eMarketer report projects that mobile ad spending will reach $400bn by the year 2023, up from $286bn this year. The numbers say it all! It is evident that the industry is growing and projects to represent  80% of global digital ad spend. 

A lot of in-app is driven by gaming. A spike in gaming is witnessed during COVID with 1.2 billion weekly mobile game downloads. Buyers are eyeing a vast opportunity to reach a diversified audience within the data-rich environment. There is an exponential growth of in-app advertising. Comscore research says that 75% of digital users consume all their social media, lifestyle, travel, news, and utility content using mobile apps. 5G will also be a considerable contributor to boost mobile-in app advertising, opening doors of opportunity and creativity for advertisers. With technologies such as OM SDK and app-ads.txt rolling out, the industry is moving towards a cleaner and more measurable environment.

Consumer time spent on media is shifting towards mobile, and eMarketer reports India and Thailand will witness the fastest mobile advertising growth in 2020.

3. Video Advertising:

The video will remain the key driver and cannot underscore its role in 2020. With large-scale events postponed and ad budgets cut down, marketers rely on video advertising as effective means across platforms. It is projected to account for 31% of the overall display ad spending next year.

Verizon research shows, almost all (96%) advertisers will be investing in at least one video ad format this year, and more than three-quarters say they plan to invest more in premium video content in 2020. The reason is ROI.

Advertisers and marketers plan to invest in shoppable and interactive emerging video ads formats. With shelter in place and people continue to work from home, there is a rise in digital and mobile usage with  CTV and OTT becoming increasingly dominant. Verizon research states.36 percent plan to invest more in Connected TV ads, while 30 percent intend to increase their spend on mobile video. USD 70 billion ad spend from linear is shifting towards OTT channels. Major companies are keen to take advantage of the changing scenario with the right technology.

4. Digital 360 services:

Marketers are focusing on areas like the personalization of media and content marketing. Voice and visual searches are playing a huge role in the ecosystem, and marketers are developing new techniques to enhance it. Many companies are offering 360 digital services that include social media marketing, SEO, content marketing, analytics, automation and transparency, and many more.

TheDrum indicates that by 2022, the global digital software industry will grow by $74.96 billion. CMO predicts that around 87% of marketing budgets will be spent on digital marketing by 2022. 

Another fastest growing digital marketing trend is interactive content – click on, swipe, or interact with online. Outgrow states 93% of marketers rate interactive content as highly effective at educating the buyer. The cutting edge technology like augmented reality and 360-degree videos offer a dynamic, engaging, and immersive experience.

5. Influencer Marketing:

The influencer marketing industry is set to hit USD 15 billion by 2022. With a high ROI, the industry will witness tremendous growth in the coming years.

Influencer marketing is in the early stage, but its usage growth is impressive. Less than one third (27.9%) marketers have been using influencer marketing for over three years, 20.9 %have been using for less than a year, and 7% have never used it. Reach and engagement is critical factors in an influencer mix and there is a negative correlation between engagement rate and followers. Most marketers prefer micro-influencers, typically followers between 10,000 and 100,000.

 

In the series of Global View For AdTech Start-Ups, we bring you ‘Top 10 India-Based Ad Tech Start-Ups’ -a curated list of promising start-ups from industry-main anchors to up-and-comers leading the advertisement industry in India.

Company: ADZ Junction

Founder:  Ashok Nain

Category: Digital Services, Ad- Affiliate Network, Mobile Advertising

Geo-Markets: India, Dubai, U.S.A

What they do: ADZ is the brainchild of Ashok Nain started with Mobile advertising and expanded the business to video and web gradually. Their services also include Digital Strategy, Content, Development and Marketing, and Search Marketing. Since its inception, the company is focused on delivering high-quality traffic to clients who have scalability issues and help them to identify their targeting audience, especially in Mobile advertising. 

How it’s changing adtech: 

• With its innovative advertising solutions and strategies, the company has built a robust affiliate marketing platform that can assist clients in real-time tracking and analytics.
• The 360-degree digital provider has 100+ clients from various sectors with a business of over USD 15 million and is developing technology – a real-time traffic buying SMS platform.

“We introduced real-time bidding, Mobile in-app advertising, rich media, and many other innovations to overcome clients’ problems of quality traffic generation. We have now a separate mobile division by name of AJ Mobile, where we encourage clients to work exclusively on mobile campaigns.”

The company successfully launched a digital campaign for  Dr. Lalpathlabs, an established company in the healthcare sector. Here is a short case study:

Challenge: 

• Expand its online market reach and user base
• Identify digital channels to generate revenue.
• Being completely behind in digital marketing and competing with emerging players in the healthcare sector.

Solution:

• Provided brand awareness strategies for different online channels.
• Established a full-fledged and cost-effective affiliate marketing channel.
• Established a brand development strategy and marketing campaign to rise above the competition.
• Successful digital campaigns resulted in 3X monthly transaction growth.

Founded: 2015

Headquarters: Gurugram (With offices in Mumbai, Bangalore, and Dubai)

 

Company: Aristoma

Founder:  Kumar Nishanth

Category: Online Digital Services

What they do: Aristoma, a 360-degree marketing incubator, offers services to increase customer reach using online mediums with some brilliantly creative and engaging ideas. Its portfolio includes top clients such as Diesel, Sportmate, CII, CREDAI Chattisgarh, Goldbricks, to name a few. All its endeavors have resulted in 100 percent growth.

How it’s changing adtech: 

• Aristoma is all about helping brands grow with a mantra “Commits, Creates & Connects” with expert result-oriented ideas and making advertising a better experience for advertisers and consumers. 
• The company advises in Brand Management, Email Direct Marketing, SEO, and  Social Media Planning to help businesses to get the most out of their marketing campaigns.

Founded: 2015

Headquarters: Raipur 

 

 

Company: DigiVigyan Marketing

Founder:   Amit Verma

Category: Digital Services, Digital Display Advertising

What they do: A dynamic full-service digital marketing agency that provides clients with multiple solutions through different marketing verticals- Website Management, Search Engine Optimization, Search and Display Advertising (Pay Per Click – PPC), Native Advertising, Online Reputation Management, Amazon Marketing Services, and Social Media Marketing.

How it’s changing adtech: 

• DigiVigyan offers world-class digital advertising solutions to businesses to achieve their digital marketing goals.
•  The company offers services such as creating landing pages with attractive ad copies, banners, and other optimizations to meet the marketing needs of businesses on various social media platforms. It has worked with renowned ad agencies like Dentsu, M&C Saatchi, to name a few. 
• The bootstrapped adtech company is now working towards being the go-to digital marketing agency worldwide after capturing the market across the country.

Founded: 2018

Headquarters: Delhi

 

Company: Do Your Thng

Founder: Ankit Agarwal

Category: Social/ Influencer, Influencer marketing platform

What they do:  DYT is a leading Influencer Marketing Agency and a shared economy for digital assets. It acts as a platform to create space for brands to connect with the largest team of nano, micro, and mega influencers.

How it’s changing adtech: 

• DYT is an online community that offers content creators an entry in the market and connects brands to the influencers depending on the campaigns. The active users through the app can promote the brand and earn for each post made, whereas the brand can find a safe and secure marketplace to discover the right influencers for their product.
• DYT operates on a broker based model where a percentage of the total spending is charged to maintain the platform. In a short period.
• The phenomenal fundraising and affable work culture have made DYT one of the fastest-growing startups.

Funding: 

The tech platform raised $150K from angel investors and plans to use it for further expansion and growth. Previously, the company has also raised an undisclosed amount from angel investors and intends to raise more funds in the future.

“DYT within months of its operation has successfully worked wonders for brands such as Mastercard India, Havells, etc., thus bringing engagement for the brands. With increased investor interest, we plan to expand the team, improve the technology, and go further with the associations.”

-Ankit Agarwal

An exciting campaign with Havells:

For the new digital-only campaign #BeardKyunHoWeird with Havells, the company selected 60 creators from the male grooming niche by using the technology to find people uploading their selfies with the beard and spelling about male grooming.

Challenge:

• To increase user engagement for the launch of the new range of BT 9000 beard trimmers with digital platform-only campaign #BeardKyunHoWeird.

Solution:

• Selected 60 creators. Each Instagram creator had a follower range of 1,000 to 85,000.
• Creators created unique and compelling content on how the new Havells trimmer helps in male grooming.
• The 20 days campaign got more than 100,000 engagements, reaching 500,000 users.
• The campaign attracted traction and engagement rate of 10% with authentic creators.

Founded: 2019

Headquarters: Gurugram

Company: EMIAC Technologies

Founder: Divya Gandotra

Category: Digital Services, Social Media Marketing

Geo Markets: United States, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Israel, South Korea, Russia, Ukraine, Vietnam, Singapore, and UAE, among others.

What they do:  EMIAC is a perfect blend of innovation and technology determined to serve businesses in front of their target markets. Their principal services include Content Development, Paid Marketing,  and Web Design and Development. The leading digital firm has 1200+ clients, 2900 projects across 30+ countries.

How it’s changing adtech: 

• EMIAC offers an array of services from content development and full-service digital agency to paid social media marketing and blog outreach. It is a top-rated digital marketing and content development agency on the world’s popular freelancing site Upwork that adds to their credibility and goodwill.
• What differentiates them from the crowd is an excellent record of delivering projects on time, offering personalized products and services, premium quality services, and providing it at competent prices.

“We are the game-changers, trendsetters, pioneers, and revolutionaries with a passion for creating an ideal digital future where everyone is connected.”

Founded: 2017

Headquarters: Jaipur  (With offices in U.K and U.S)

 

 

Company: Globale Media

Founder: Bhavesh Talreja

Category: Mobile Advertising, brand safety/ verification, programmatic advertising

What they do: Globale media offers an integrated marketing platform that maximizes revenues by bringing in direct advertisers and showing relevant ads that best fit the user audience using banners, interstitial, videos, social, and native ads. The company specializes in digital marketing for all major kinds of app verticals including gaming, e-commerce, lifestyle, utilities, social, education, entertainment, and others on CPM, CPI, and CPA cost models. Publishers can access to the full feed of available campaigns as well as real real-time tracking and automation to multiple devices with programmatic GLOBALE API. It excels with a reach of over 500+ direct publishers, 1000+ live campaigns over 120 countries.

How it’s changing adtech: 

• Globale media has developed a marketing program primarily for the mobile age. 
• Globale media has been sincerely providing “ transparency on inflation level and not just on the click level.” The company is aggressively pitching for its recently launched product keyword search traffic where revenues have increased 3x from quarter-on-quarter and are expecting to multiply the revenues by 10x in 2020. 
• In the next five years, it aims to be among the top ad tech marketing companies in India, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia.

“We provide app marketers with 100 direct in-app traffic sources with transparency so they get device ids on each and every click and have a clear knowledge about where the app is running. In terms of impact, the advertisers can use these device ids to run their re-engagement campaigns and make sure the users are coming back to the app and ultimately spending more within the app.”

-Bhavesh Talreja

Founded: 2017

Headquarters: Singapore (With offices in India and UAE)

 

 

Company: mCanvas

Founder:  Vishal Rupani

Category: Mobile Advertising, Video Interactive ads, Programmatic Advertising

What they do: mCanvas is a subsidiary of Affinity and is the brainchild of Vishal Rupani, from vision and inception to revenue generation and scalability. mCanvas is a storytelling mobile ad platform that uses phone sensors to create compelling and interactive brand narratives.

How it’s changing adtech: mCanvas is the first and leading Indian company that has addressed critical issues of mobile marketing: Banner Blindness, Poor Viewability, Accidental Clicks, and Lack of Storytelling. The mobile advertising platform uses four kinds of advertisement formats: Scrollers, Stickers, Spotlight, and Streambox. 

• The company recently integrated with Adobe advertising cloud that will enable advertisers to buy experiential rich media content and interactive video ads. 

“In light of the steady increase in the demand to make ads programmatically available, we are happy to integrate with Adobe Advertising Cloud DSP. We have spearheaded programmatic advertising in the rich-media mobile ad industry, and we will continue leveraging its power to offer our innovative solutions.”

-Vishal Rupani

• The company has a reach to at least 60million Indian smartphone users and follows the cost per video (CPV) model for videos and cost per engagement(CPE) for rich media. Sensory Rich media content is produced for VR and AR as well.

“Augmented reality (AR) has become a buzzword in the online tech space. It has shown great promise even in the mobile ad space, and brands have been quick to incorporate AR into mobile-led ad campaigns that have proven to enhance user engagement.”

One of the best examples is  of Frooti – #TheFrootiLife

Challenge: To build a brand recall with its primary target audience -Millennials around the drink during summertime.

Solution: Using face detection technology, the rich media campaign encouraged users to start the front camera and catch the falling mangoes in the augmented environment. This campaign created a massive impact on the users with this ‘WoW’ ad experience.

• Another segment that has been strongly transformed by brand experiences in the mobile ad industry is voice-enabled interactive mobile ads that have created a lasting impression.

“Personalization of marketing & advertising messages is not a luxury but a necessity.,”

-Vishal Rupani

Here is another case study of Mercedes-Benz GLC that has used speech and sound recognition technology in mobile ads. To promote their latest feature, Mercedes -Benz User Experience (MBUX) used a smart multimedia system and in-car voice-activated assistant.

The mCanvas interactive mobile ad uses real-time speech recognition technology, and the voice bot in the ad would respond to the questions, recreating the actual experience a user would have in the car.

Founded: 2014

Headquarters: Mumbai

 

 

Company: Streamlyn

Founder:  Naveen Kumar & Raja Chakraborty

Category: Programmatic Advertising, Brand Safety/ Verification

Geo-markets: Asia, Europe, MiddleEast, North America, MENA, APAC, and other 25+ countries.

What they do: Streamlyn works for both publishers and ad buyers to sell and buy ad space respectively. It works as an agency as well as a supply-side platform.

How it’s changing adtech:  The one-stop advertising solution provider, a publisher focused media agency connects advertisers with the target audience via the right publisher.

“The aim was to help online publishers, particularly small and medium-sized ones, grow their revenue and the audience.”

-Naveen Kumar

• Streamlyn has an in-house ad server and algorithm to help analyze and optimize the monetization depending on the solution provided by the team to assist the client with high ROI and eCPM and uses cutting edge technology –POE (Programmatic Optimization Engine) and Anti-Fraud algorithms. 

• Streamlyn offers its proprietary product ‘ BidsXchange,’ a smart advertising portal deploying machine learning for small and medium-sized advertisers that allows them to upload ads and select their desired publishers based on the target audience interest.
• Another additional revenue source for publishers is In-image advertising, a novel concept that helps achieve an edge over competitors with Streamlyn’s Header bidding wrapper tags.
• It generates content in regional languages and is known as the best optimization partner for vernacular publishers.  It has partnered with Google to support vernacular publishers and increase their revenue.

Founded: 2015

Headquarters: Singapore (With offices in India and U.S)

 

Company: Tarsan

Founder:  Tarun Nayyar

Category: Mobile Advertising, Affiliate Marketing

What they do: Tarsan is a leading performance-based Mobile media agency that caters to top-level clientele globally like Airtel, Paytm, M&C Saatchi, CyberAgent, to name a few and delivers performance & branding campaigns and SMS/email/voice/solutions. It is known for the execution of marketing plans on mobile.

How it’s changing adtech: 

• Tarsan has an in-house platform, AdMenu, that gives clear and quantifiable value to each advertising avenue, enhancing the ROI on ad spends as well as boost transactional value. It provides transparent information regarding the placement of ads on various platforms via GAID or IDFA.
• Many transactional campaigns are carried out on E-commerce platforms, but the company charges only for lined traffic by experienced customers, whereas the payment depends on CPR, CPT, and CPI.
• Transparency and accountability are their top priority, and with the unique capability to gather information about mobile devices, it has been successful in creating a database of publishers and marketers.
• It maintains a five-layered security policy for data protection. The company aims to become a 360-degree performance-based mobile marketing agency and enhance the AdMenu platform and convert it into a revenue generation opportunity.

“We never store data; we just identify people according to their device id. The information given to us is all in concurrence from the publisher and advertisers.”

Founded: 2012

Headquarters: Delhi

 

Company: UrPopular

Founder:  Siddharth Sinha & Kumaresh Bhatt

Category: Micro-Influencer Marketing, Measurement and analytics

Geo-markets:  India, Southeast Asian countries, MENA countries, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore.

What they do: UrPopular is India’s largest network of micro-influencers who are paid to post on Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, and Twitter with 240 million+ organic reach across these platforms. They have a pan India reach of 240 million+ and creators in 11 languages.

How it’s changing adtech: 

• The tech firm is democratizing organic marketing in India and helping brands to create ROI based campaigns.
• It adds new ways to drive ROI for brands with its cost per view and cost per reach micro-influencer campaigns. The tech company has developed algorithms to understand the outcome of the campaigns and brands can acquire efficiency and measurability in their campaigns. 
• Their mantra is  “Create, Amplify, and Measure.” This case study of McDonald’s ‘A ful-filling campaign’ is a perfect example to understand it.

Challenge: McDonald’s wanted to destress students from exam fever, and their McSaver Meal + Free French fries exactly intend to do.

Solution: UrPopular got their 11 young and enthusiastic influencers to cheer up and whip off the post-exam chronicles within the outlet by creating Insta stories, videos, fun boomerangs, and before/after stills. 

These custom creatives pushed organically delivered,

• 1 million + reach with a 17% engagement rate.
• Rs.1.9 cost per engagement.
• 1.4 million impressions.

“UrPopular brings measurability and scale to the campaigns by working with India’s largest pool of microinfluencers and nano influencers.”

Founded: 2017

Headquarters: Mumbai

Closing Words

“In this industry, tomorrow is never the same as today. To gain long-term success in AdTech, you have to play fair, don’t be afraid of experiments, and never stop trying”

-Anton Ruin, Epom

Ad Tech is no rocket science, but it is of significant advantage to brands as it allows integrating various tools in a single system. It is an amalgamation of advertising, creativity, technology, and innovation. The automated process and joint workflows enable more precise target marketing resulting in relevant and compelling ads. The new norms,  tried and tested solutions along with reliable platforms helps to keep information safe and avoid any ad fraud. With significant changes and improvements over what advertisers and publishers used to have earlier, adtech is growing as an industry. However, it still requires more work and expertise to handle the challenges and resolve for good.

Read more: Evolution of Digital Advertising: Happy 25th Digital Advertising And Many More To Come