Extends TV Commercials by Synchronizing Ads to Mobile Screens
Las Vegas, NV January 7, 2013 – DG (NASDAQ: DGIT), the world’s leading ad management and distribution platform, and Audible Magic, the leading provider of automated content recognition (ACR) technologies, today announced an interactive advertising service that ties together TV commercials and smart mobile devices. Using Audible Magic’s SmartID ACR system, an advertiser’s commercial is recognized on a TV, which triggers complementary interactive experiences on a second screen mobile device, using DG’s MediaMind digital advertising platform.
Conceived by DG, the service was designed from the ground up to be integrated into the company’s existing TV and online platforms, eliminating the need for advertisers and agencies to enlist numerous third parties and manually manage and execute synchronized campaigns that work across apps, and across both live and time-shifted viewing environments. With today’s announcement, publishers and mobile developers now have a single solution that bundles DG’s MediaMind ad serving platform with Audible Magic’s SmartID ACR technology to offer an entirely new set of premium inventory to any of the thousands of brands currently working with DG.
According to Nielsen, 85% of smartphone and tablet users use their devices while watching TV. And Gartner estimates more than 1 billion new smartphone and tablets will be purchased in 2013. On the heels of such momentum, consumers can now engage with television advertising in a very new way. The benefits of synchronized ads go far beyond additional brand visibility. Advertisers can tailor the second screen message to drive a call to action, improve brand awareness through sharing or increase brand engagement by crafting rich, mobile ad experiences tied directly to specific spots of the TV ad campaign.
“Simultaneous mobile/tablet usage while watching TV is a double-edged sword for marketers,” said Jeremy Lockhorn – VP, Emerging Media at Razorfish. “People may be hyper-engaged with the content and advertising or they may be distracted. In either case, the kind of sync’ed ad delivery that DG is enabling can be a benefit – reinforcing a brand’s message and driving interaction for those people co-viewing, and potentially re-capturing some of those people distracted by unrelated multitasking. Early experiments we’ve conducted demonstrate great promise and we’re eager to continue the exploration.”
“Content recognition technology is a critical link in turning the promise of interactive advertising into a valuable reality for advertisers, broadcasters and other partners in the mobile ecosystem,” said Ricky Liversidge, Chief Marketing Officer, DG. “Digital fingerprinting is at the forefront of second screen technologies, which Audible Magic has pioneered. The Smart ID system has been adopted by so many of the leading companies in the entertainment, mobile and technology sectors that it was an easy decision for us to form a partnership with them and bring such a service to market.”
“DG is enabling something remarkable here,” said Jay Friedman, VP of Marketing for Audible Magic. “It is synching TV ads with corresponding mobile experiences in a fully integrated manner within its comprehensive MediaMind platform. DG is already a dominant player in both TV and online advertising solutions. Now, with the ability to take advantage of the TV-mobile advertising connection more fully, it is poised to deliver its advertising and agency clients a great deal more.”
CES attendees are welcome to experience the reality of second screen advertising with a demo at the Audible Magic booth #75314 in Eureka Park, located in the Venetian in Las Vegas, January 8-11, 2013.
About DG
DG connects over 11,000 global advertisers and agencies with their targeted audiences through an expansive network of over 6,000 television broadcast stations and over 11,500 web publishers in 75 countries. The company’s television division utilizes best-in-class network and content management technologies, creative and production resources, and digital asset management and syndication services that enable advertisers and agencies to work faster, smarter, and more competitively. The company’s online division, MediaMind, allows marketers to benefit from optimized management of online advertising campaigns while maximizing data driven advertising. For more information, visit http://www.DGit.com.
About Audible Magic
Audible Magic is the trusted leader in digital fingerprinting for recognizing content in all forms across radio and television broadcasts, Internet streams, cable and satellite transmissions, stored digital files, and on consumer devices such as smart TVs, set-top boxes, smart phones, tablets, and other appliances. Since its founding in 1999, the company has been awarded more than 20 patents in the U.S. and in Europe. Currently, Audible Magic works with more than 200 customers and partners, including A+E, CBS, CBC, Dailymotion, Discovery, Disney, Facebook, Fox, Metacafe, MySpace, NBC, Sony, Soundcloud, TVplus, Univision, Universal Music, Verizon, Viacom, and Warner Music.