NEW YORK, March 09, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Blab, a pioneer in Predictive Social Intelligence™, today announced the global public release of the BLAB:Predicts platform and an industry-first technology, Conversation-Based Data Segments. This feature enables agencies, brands and publishers to use predictive data to drive campaign engagement and significantly reduce inefficient spending on programmatic digital media and paid social ad buys. Horizon Media is the first agency partner to utilize the new data segments as part of its HX programmatic solution.
With Conversation-Based Data Segments, brand messaging is targeted directly into content topics people are engaging with most at any given moment- effectively delivering live audience segmentation in real-time. As opposed to standalone traditional cookie-based targeting that depends on historical data that is largely out of date by the time a consumer is identified or targeted.
“Ad technology decisioning is almost exclusively focused on behavioral targeting and retargeting, which has its limitations, when over 40% of the digital spend is brand driven,” said Blab CEO Randy Browning. “The next phase of marketing maturity is the ability to target ‘activated’ audiences in the moment. Blab predicts (up to 72 hours in advance), what an audience will be watching and reading, we know where to target them and using Predictive Social Intelligence, we deliver brands their LIVE audience.”
BLAB:Predicts’ real-time streams of information are converted into actionable audience insights, allowing brands to create messaging that resonates with trending consumer conversations before they happen. BLAB:Predicts also curates Conversation-Based Data Segments for targeting audiences across Search, Display, Video, Mobile, Native, and Social; and these segments are dynamically refreshed in real-time, enabling Brands to stay engaged with consumers throughout the campaign to deliver maximum results.
“We're delighted that Grapeshot segments may now be built from Keywords taken instantly, from Blab's Internet conversations and chatter,” said Grapeshot CEO, John Snyder. “Marketers have told us that brands want to be part of consumers lives. Now Grapeshot and Blab put brands right in the center of the hottest trending online conversations - while they are actually happening. This means that Horizon can place ads, via the Trade Desk, in environments where their chosen live audiences are most intensely engaged. Grapeshot already enables programmatic buyers to buy live audiences reading specific page content. By adding Blab's social media insight, we identify the keywords of the moment, to educate, equip and control the real-time buy.”
Chief Creative Officer Guy Dobson from Southern Cross Austereo, one of the largest media holding companies in the APAC region, says "BLAB:Predicts is a fantastic tool for us. The magic is in understanding the chatter that’s going on within the social environment. Knowing what is being said allows us to be ahead of the game as content creators. It helps us drive the conversation and engagement with our audience across all platforms at the right time and with the right angle. BLAB:Predicts is part of how we plan our day, every day across our content department"
BLAB:Predicts provides insights that enable brands to determine when to increase programmatic bids and when publishers should raise floors, based on what is trending throughout the campaign lifecycle. During its recently private beta, Fortune 1000 companies using the BLAB:Predicts saw engagement rates that exceeded what many of the best media teams in the world had provided while reducing campaign costs by as much as 50% and improving overall campaign performance by as much as 35%.
According to Horizon Media Chief Digital Officer Donnie Williams, “If you’re not capitalizing on Blab’s Conversation-Based Data Segments, you’re leaving performance on the table.”
BLAB:Predicts is integrated with key technology partners to make data accessible and easy to use with demand side platforms including Horizon Media’s HX, The Trade Desk, and RUN as well as data management platforms Grapeshot, Peer39, and Lotame.
“The power of social data, driven by BLAB:Predicts data segments will allow for advertisers to contextually target user groups with more precision based on current trends,” said The Trade Desk Senior Partnership Manager Peter Gent. “This is a unique approach that Blab is taking, and I can’t wait to see the additional volume and performance that it will be able to drive. We have integrations with 70+ data providers, and no one is doing what Blab is doing.”
Armed with these insights brands can more effectively optimize media buys, and engage consumers in the right moment and in the best channel with the most engaging ads, promotions or content that will deliver the desired, measurable results.
BLAB:Predicts is used by Fortune 1000 companies and also licensed by agencies including Mindshare, one of the four largest global media planning/buying agencies, Horizon Media, the largest independent media planning and buying agency in the U.S, and RUN, one of the fastest growing mobile first programmatic buying platforms.
About Horizon Media
Horizon Media, Inc. is the largest and fastest growing privately held media services agency in the world. The company was founded in 1989, is headquartered in New York and has offices in Los Angeles, San Diego, and Chicago. Horizon Media was chosen as 2011 Independent Media Agency of the Year by Mediapost, 2010 U.S. Media Agency of the Year by Adweek, Brandweek, and Mediaweek as well as by Ad Age and as one of the world’s ten most innovative marketing and advertising companies by Fast Company in 2011. In 2012, Bill Koenigsberg, President, CEO and Founder, was honored by Advertising Age as Industry Executive of the Year. Most recently, in 2014, Bill Koenigsberg was named 4As Chair of the Board and is the first person from a media agency to hold this prestigious position in the 100 year history of the 4As, the marketing industry’s leading trade association.
The company’s mission is “To create the most meaningful brand connections within the lives of people everywhere.” By delivering on this mission through a holistic approach to brand marketing, Horizon Media has become one of the largest and fastest-growing media agencies in the industry, with estimated billings of over $6.3 billion and over 1,200 employees.
The company is also a founding member of Columbus Media International, a multi-national partnership of independent media agencies.
For more information, please visit horizonmedia.com.
About Blab
BLAB:Predicts mines billions of data points from 100M+ real-time conversations taking place on over 50K online sources everyday to determine trends relevant to a brand’s target audiences. The platform then identifies, monitors and predicts audience conversation trends and engagement within specific content categories and topics up to 72 hours in advance.
Blab’s Predictive Social Intelligence™ effectively and affordably turns insights into action. The result is increased ROI through laser-focused programmatic campaigns, engaging earned media programs, and optimized owned media.
The BLAB:Predicts platform consists of two key modules:
| Automated Predictive Content Discovery: For Advertisers and Publishers looking to drive engagement by better understanding the trends across News, Blogs and Social. | Predictive Conversation-Based Data Segments: For Advertisers and Publishers looking to drive campaign engagement on Search, Programmatic and Paid Social. |
For more information please visit www.blabpredicts.com.