In this weekly segment, ExchangeWire sums up key industry updates on ad tech from around the Asia-Pacific region – and in this edition: Mindshare unveils Unilever programmatic platform in Asean; Singapore broadcaster goes SpotX for programmatic TV; Tuned Global to offer premium targeted audio ads; Vietnam firms using search and social for marketing; comScore takes Mobile Metrix to Philippines; and TubeMogul posts whitepaper on AU programmatic TV ads.

Mindshare unveils Unilever programmatic platform in Asean

The WPP media agency has launched the programmatic buying unit it helped build for Unilever in Asean.

Dubbed 'Unilever Trading Desk', or 'Ultra', the platform runs out of Singapore and will facilitate programmatic planning and buying for the FMCG giant in the region. Both companies had worked together over the past few months to test and assess technology tools available in the market, identifying the right partners to support Ultra, Mindshare said in a statement.

The agency added that it would be managing the platform, which was designed to integrate with new technologies when necessary. "Ultra is powered by unique and custom-built audience profiling algorithms, capable of delivering multi-format communication assets across all screens", Mindshare said, noting that the platform would support digital media quality metrics to improve viewability, as well as enhance brand safety, in-target delivery, and fraud avoidance.

Unilever's vice president of media, Rahul Welde, said: "The world of advertising is seeing continuous disruption, and it is important we embrace and integrate technology into how we operate. I am excited about the potential of Ultra and keen to see this as integral to our digital marketing efforts in the region."

Mindshare COO Gowthaman Ragothaman further noted: "[Ultra] is a built-for-purpose programmatic unit with agile planning at its core [and] capabilities to manage real-time triggers."

Singapore broadcaster goes SpotX for programmatic TV

Mediacorp has selected SpotX's platform to drive the sale of video advertising programmatically across the former's media network, which spans seven TV stations, 13 radio stations, as well as print, and other digital assets.

The partnership was a milestone in Asia's ad industry, which had been slower to adopt programmatic buying for video, said SpotX in a statement. With its move to adopt automated video buying, Mediacorp would be opening its inventory to global ad partners for cross-country targeting, as well as enabling cross-screen video sale campaigns that bridge video and linear TV.

Daniel Rowlands, Asia-Pacific Japan director of supply for SpotX, said: "When operated in unison, programmatic and direct sales feed off each other to incrementally raise demand and fill rate for a publisher's inventory.

"We've noticed significant increases in CPMs as a result of applying the full gamut of programmatic sales tactics – private, open, and curated marketplaces – alongside direct sales effort", Rowlands said.

Mediacorp's vice president for digital sales solutions and operations, Rodney Tay, added: "We want to make sure we're innovating with the ad market and making our inventory accessible to all ad buyers, regardless of the buying method."

Tuned Global to offer premium targeted audio ads

The Australian white-label digital music services provider has inked a deal to integrate Triton's audio advertising technology, enabling the delivery of premium targeted audio ads in its mobile apps.

With the deployment, Tuned Global would be targeting to sell its clients' ad inventory directly to brands, which would include audio and video ads and sponsored stations. It also was planning to tap Triton's programmatic audio ad platform, enabling its clients to push ad content based on rules they set up to ensure content relevance.

Triton's platform provided up to 50 demographical and geographical targeting parameters and would allow Tuned Global to enhance campaign performance, filtering based on audience preferences, interests, devices, footprint, and location.

The digital music services provider also could identify the interests, activities, shopping patterns, and mobile behavioural patterns of its target audiences. This would enable Tuned Global to anticipate the right content to share, at the most relevant time, within its mobile music apps.

Its managing director, Con Raso, said: "A highly engaged audience means more ad impressions to serve; and a highly segmented audience is an opportunity to drive higher ROI with premium targeted advertising for the brands with whom we work.

"Our solution offers higher user engagement, by grabbing the consumer's attention with relevant content using contextual data, rather than overwhelming them with invasive audio advertising", Raso added.

Triton Digital's senior vice president and general manager of advertising, Benjamin Masse, added that it would be including Tuned Global's audio inventory in its exchange. The ad tech firm said it also would be keen to make its foray into the Australian and Southeast Asian markets through its new partner, especially since Tuned Global recently moved into the Indonesian market, setting up its Asian headquarters in Jakarta.

Vietnam firms using search and social for marketing

Businesses in Vietnam say they are using search engines, as well social media platforms, to support their marketing initiatives – although, search is proving to be more effective.

Some 47% of respondents, in a November 2015 study by Vietnam Ecommerce Association (Vecom), revealed that they turned to search to drive their marketing efforts; and the same proportion pointed to social media. With ecommerce increasingly important for overall sales, more local businesses have been interested in the online space and turning to digital marketing.

But, while both tools were tied in terms of usage, 32% of respondents in the Vecom study felt search engines delivered a high level of effectiveness; while a lower 25% said likewise for social networks.

comScore takes Mobile Metrix to Philippines

The media analytics firm has extended the availability of its mobile audience metrics to the Philippines, offering performance reports of mobile browsers and audience for tagged publishers.

Called 'Mobile Metrix', it would enable publishers to demonstrate the size and value of their mobile audiences, and help media planners and advertisers assess advertising opportunities on mobile devices, comScore said. The metrics service is already available in other Southeast markets such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The tool runs on comScore's census-based methodology that provides in-market mobile measurement, without the need for a traditional mobile panel, so only tagged entities would be featured in the company's rankings. Because it delivered 'person-centric measurement' for tagged entities, the analytics firm further noted that publishers looking to understand and monetise their mobile audiences could improve their measurement by ensuring complete implementation of tagging for all pages and apps.

comScore's Kerry J. Brown

comScore's Southeast Asia vice president Kerry J. Brown said: "With increasing digital media activity occurring on smartphones and tablets in the Philippines, it is crucial to measure and understand the consumption and behaviour of mobile audiences.

"Mobile Metrix [...] provides critical information for publishers who want to more effectively serve digital content, across their different channels, and make better informed decisions on the evolution of their mobile offerings," Brown added. "It [also] offers intelligence for media agencies and advertisers that want to develop robust digital strategies and better understand the competitive landscape."

TubeMogul posts whitepaper on AU programmatic TV ads

The video ad services provider has a whitepaper detailing the growth potential and key issues likely to come out of Australia's programmatic TV ad market.

Noting that a number of local broadcasters were expected to launch programmatic offerings this year, TubeMogul said programmatic TV would play an important role in cross-screen audience targeting and facilitate more integrated planning options for advertisers.

TubeMogul's Australia and New Zealand managing director, Sam Smith, said the whitepaper was developed to help readers learn more about programmatic TV, how it could develop in the local market, and how it could benefit brands.

"The next five years for television advertising in Australia will be hugely dynamic and we expect to see brands, TV networks, and platform providers all pursue programmatic TV very aggressively", Smith said.

According to TubeMogul, traditional TV networks were faced with competition from online video streaming services; and programmatic TV was anticipated to help these networks resolve key challenges. These include limited audience targeting, undervalued niche TV shows, limited cross-screen planning, and the lack of software that could support planning and buying of TV ads.