Buzzfeed forms video ad alliance as publishers look to fend off tech giants
Buzzfeed has teamed up with two other digital media companies to pool their video advertising space, as the firms look to counter the dominance of tech giants.
Buzzfeed, Group Nine Media and Insider will create an alliance enabling them to sell advertising space across all three companies’ websites, apps and Youtube channels.
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The alliance, as yet unnamed, will sell ads as an independent body and the publishers will share revenue based on how many ads they deliver.
The companies have also held talks with Discovery, a key backer of Group Nine, about joining the group, according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the move.
The agreement comes as the publishers look to fend off competition from Youtube, which currently dominates the digital video advertising market. Tech giants Facebook, Amazon and Snap have also increased their share of video ad revenue in recent years.
But the alliance will be hoping to offer a more trustworthy environment for advertisers following recent concerns that brands appeared alongside harmful or inappropriate material.
“We continue to hear from clients that they’re looking for a more brand-safe environment, but still needed the scale they get on the platforms,” said Christa Carone, president of Group Nine.
Ken Blom, senior vice president of ad strategy and partnerships for Buzzfeed, said the tie-up will also allow the companies to punch above their weight.
“For all of us to get together in a room like this, we’re not going to do a deal that we could have normally gotten on our own,” he said.
Group Nine owns digital publishers such as The Dodo and Thrillist, while Insider is best known for its financial news website Business Insider. The agreement will initially only apply to the companies’ US operations.
The arrangement marks the latest effort by media organisations to pool their resources as tech rivals continue to snap up the lion’s share of advertising dollars.
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The alliance mirrors the Ozone Project, a partnership set up last year between News UK, the Telegraph and the Guardian allowing brands to buy online advertising space across the rival publishers from a single site.
Similar moves have been made by broadcasters, with Channel 4 last week signing a multi-year deal granting it access to Sky’s advertising technology.
Main image credit: Getty