Contextual-based modeled audiences
Contextual-based models are amped-up versions of behavioral targeting and audience expansion techniques. They work by targeting ads to environments that are indirectly related to the interests of the audience, (people reading articles about healthy eating are still grouped into a “health-conscious” segment, but reading different content). These models predict which contexts are similar to the interests of the target audience, so ads are shown in places where potential customers are likely to be.
Illuma Technology
The U.K.-based contextual firm launched in 2017 and, across advertisers, agencies, platforms and publishers, it’s had over 100 meetings over the last few weeks with prospective clients.
Grapeshot founder John Snyder joined Illuma Technology in March 2022, with former Oracle exec Ryan McBride joining the following year to lead strategy and business development. Clients include Disney, Reckitt Benckiser and TUI. It secured a $2.46 million investment from Blackfinch and Praetura Ventures.
It recently signed a commercial license with the Guardian to categorize article pages and match advertising with its content, the first commercial agreement from the Guardian to use data from its site for contextual targeting purposes. Publishers have complained that ad verification firms have scraped their pages for profit-driving products without consent.
Dstillery
Custom audience firm Dstillery, founded in 2008, sent out an email blast on July 1 offering a simple three-step transition to any Oracle Advertising customers looking to make the switch, part of a broader and opportunistic marketing campaign that has been received “extremely positively,” said CEO Michael Beebe.
Since then, it’s had around five conversations with major platforms looking for it to help plug the holes left by Oracle’s exit across audience and contextual targeting.
“A lot of companies view Grapeshot as a backstop in the post-cookie era, and they realize that they need future-proof solutions beyond alt-IDs and contextual,” said Beebe.
Dstillery has raised around $16 million to build its AI audience solutions business since 2018 from five institutional investors, the firm said. It has around 90 staffers.
Proximic by Comscore
Comscore acquired contextual ad targeting firm Proximic, which launched in 2007, in 2015. Digiday reported that it has heard from dozens of advertisers looking for a replacement for Oracle.
Proximic by Comscore has raised $10.4 million over four rounds, according to Crunchbase. Current customers include Blavity and agencies Omnicom Media Group and Epsilon.
Attention / advanced viewability
Over time, viewability has become considered a basic, essential metric rather than a unique selling point. But, over-indexing ad buys to viewability has contributed to the rise of MFA sites. In the last couple of years, vendors have looked to eye-tracking tech to estimate how much attention an ad placement will get, rather than whether or not it was viewable.
Adelaide
Attention vendor Adelaide, founded in 2019, has worked with Audi, Mars, Microsoft and AB InBev and has partnered with firms like TV measurement firm TVision, TripleLift and Yahoo to offer ways to buy inventory that guarantees audience.
“10 different publishers, agencies and advertisers have reached out looking for a way to replace viewability with a more advanced metric,” said CEO Marc Guldimann.
