AcuityAds Unveils Groundbreaking New Advertising Automation Platform, illumin™

Rhea-AI Summary

AcuityAds Holdings Inc. has launched the new advertising automation platform, illumin, designed to streamline digital advertising for marketers. This platform enhances campaign management through real-time programmatic capabilities, allowing users to visualize and execute customer journeys more efficiently. With over $100 million invested in its development, illumin aims to reduce wasted ad spend and improve attribution accuracy. The platform, which was successfully beta-tested by notable brands, is expected to democratize access to programmatic media buying and enhance return on advertising investments.

Positive

• Launch of illumin platform enhances efficiency for advertisers.
• Over $100 million invested in technology development.
• Successful beta testing with major brands like Home Depot and MassMutual.
• Reduces ad budget waste by addressing organizational silos.
• Improves ad attribution, potentially recovering $82B in annual waste.

Negative

• None.

TORONTO and NEW YORK, Oct. 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - AcuityAds Holdings Inc. (TSX: AT) (OTCQX: ACUIF) ("AcuityAds" or "Company"), the leading technology company that enables advertisers to connect intelligently with audiences across digital advertising campaigns from a single platform, today revealed the new, highly anticipated advertising automation platform, illumin™ ("illumin" or the "Platform").

The illumin platform is now available to advertisers, enabling planning, buying and omnichannel intelligence in a single platform for seamless visualization and management of the consumer journey. illumin allows advertisers to map their consumer journey playbooks across screens and execute in real-time using programmatic technology.

A natural evolution stemming from the notable growth of AcuityAds over the last several years, illumin is the first standalone brand to grow from within the AcuityAds ecosystem following over $100 million invested in the brand's technology offerings. The platform offers a simple, intuitive user experience for marketing teams of all sizes and experience, guiding marketers in their decision making process in a way that can be personalized to their unique goals.

"Anyone can put together a simple advertising campaign one ad set at a time. We are using illumin to get sequencing right," said Rob Towne, Director of Performance Marketing at Purple Innovation, Inc. ("Purple"), a leading provider of branded comfort products. "Acuity is helping us to build complete customer journeys so we can deliver the right message to targeted audiences based on real customer behavior."

illumin was previously in beta with Purple and other highly respected brands such as Home Depot, MassMutual and Lamark Media; the beta offered these advertisers the opportunity to leverage the unique capabilities of illumin to close the gap between planning and execution of advertising.

"illumin has bridged the gap to allow anyone to plan and execute programmatic media buys through their easy drag and drop approach and user journey visualization," added Joseph Choi, Director of Digital Media at Lamark Media.

Key benefits of the illumin platform include:

• Reduced organizational silos: Over a quarter (26%)¹ of marketing budgets for advertising are squandered due to disconnects between the ad placement strategy and creative strategy. illumin enables advertisers to reduce these organizational silos for maximum budget efficiency.
• Decreased setup time and cost: On average, it takes 300 hours to get DSP systems running for one individual² within the organization. With illumin, this time is significantly decreased.
• Better ad attribution: Advertisers waste $82B in spend every year due to poor attribution³ within the marketplace. illumin offers full visibility and control of real-time advertising performance across channels and types of creative.

"Following our successful beta program, we are incredibly excited to launch the illumin brand and make this revolutionary platform accessible for advertisers of all sizes," said Tal Hayek, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of AcuityAds. "illumin is the culmination of years of development and time spent envisioning a better programmatic system that enables advertisers to create highly customizable consumer journeys that increase efficiency and return on advertising investments."

When using the illumin interface, advertisers can visualize consumer journey intelligence by touchpoint, message and channel, and compare against industry benchmarks on Share of Voice, Share of Attention™ and return on advertising spend. The platform's AI capability can execute tasks such as measuring value, delivering ads, matching consumers with the best advertisers and capturing shopping intent all within 50 milliseconds.

"The advertising industry is primed for a democratized solution to the challenges currently facing programmatic advertising," added Hayek. "We are proud to introduce a first-of-its-kind platform with illumin and are excited to open the platform to all advertisers seeking a more efficient, seamless, and intuitive experience for their digital advertising campaigns."

For further information or to request an interview, contact press@acuityads.com. Further information regarding illumin is available on the AcuityAds website, acuityads.com.

1. eMarketer, Marketers Waste About One-Fourth of Their Budgets. 2. Former Head of Platform Partnerships at Omnicom and Director of Programmatic Media for AT&T (Hearts & Science). 3. The Waste in Advertising: Stats and Solutions of Misattribution, Marketing Evolution Study, 2019.

About illumin™:
illumin™, powered by AcuityAds, is the only advertising automation technology today that offers planning, buying and omnichannel intelligence from a single platform. Advertisers can map their consumer journey playbooks across screens and execute in real-time using programmatic technology. The platform enables creation of consumer journeys with custom messages tied to propensity-scored audiences, increasing efficiency and return on advertising investments. illumin™ brings unique capabilities to close the gap between planning and execution of advertising and lights the path to intelligent omnichannel advertising, including visualizing journey intelligence by touchpoint, message, and channel and comparing against industry benchmarks on Share of Voice, Share of Attention™ and return on advertising spend.

About AcuityAds:
AcuityAds is a leading technology company that provides marketers a powerful and holistic solution for digital advertising across all ad formats and screens to amplify reach and Share of Attention® throughout the customer journey. Via its unique, data-driven insights, real-time analytics and industry-leading activation platform based on proprietary Artificial Intelligence technology, AcuityAds leverages an integrated ecosystem of partners for data, inventory, brand safety and fraud prevention, offering unparalleled, trusted solutions that the most demanding marketers require to be successful in the digital era.

AcuityAds is headquartered in Toronto with offices throughout the U.S., Europe and Latin America. For more information, visit AcuityAds.com.

Disclaimer in regards to Forward-looking Statements
Certain statements included herein constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management at this time, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Investors are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, AcuityAds does not intend, and undertakes no obligation, to update any forward-looking statements to reflect, in particular, new information or future events.

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SOURCE AcuityAds Holdings Inc.

FAQ

What is the illumin platform launched by AcuityAds (ACUIF)?

The illumin platform is an advertising automation tool that enables seamless planning, buying, and management of digital campaigns across channels.

How much has AcuityAds invested in its new platform, illumin?

AcuityAds has invested over $100 million in the development of the illumin platform.

Which major brands participated in the beta testing of illumin?

Notable brands that participated in the beta testing include Home Depot, MassMutual, and Lamark Media.

What benefits does the illumin platform provide to advertisers?

The platform reduces wasted advertising budgets, improves ad attribution, and decreases setup time for digital advertising campaigns.

What problem does illumin aim to solve in the advertising industry?

Illumin addresses inefficiencies in programmatic advertising by reducing organizational silos and providing better visibility for ad performance.