Australian advertising attention measurement platform Playground xyz has been acquired by US-based global adtech GumGum.
Commercial details haven't been revealed but the deal was done using a mix of cash and shares.
Playground xyz's Attention Intelligence Platform, using AI technology, measures how long, in seconds, an ad is actually looked at.
Founded six years ago in Australia, Playground xyz has expanded operations across APAC, EMEA, and the US. Demand for the platform has continued to accelerate, with Playground xyz seeing greater than 60% year-over-year revenue growth.
Rob Hall, CEO of Playground xyz: “There are two seismic changes taking place in the ad industry. The first is the death of the cookie which will widely impact how we reach and target consumers.
"Contextual targeting will be the winner here and GumGum has an unmatched pedigree via the only MRC accredited content level solution.
“The second is the emerging ‘attention economy’ which recognizes that brands are increasingly fighting for their precious share of consumer attention. Playground xyz has the world's most awarded attention measurement and optimisation platform."
Phil Schraeder, CEO, GumGum: "In a future without the cookie or personal data, we believe that digital advertising will come down to capturing the consumer’s mindset through a combination of creative, context, and consumer attention.
"Each is independently important, but together make up The Mindset Matrix, which will be key to understanding and optimizing campaigns of the future.
“Our accredited contextual technology combined with Playground xyz’s proven attention measurement and optimization solution will allow advertisers to future proof their attribution strategies by moving past basic viewability metrics to better understand the true effectiveness of their digital campaigns."
Both GumGum and Playground xyz have experienced accelerated rapid growth as the industry shifts to a cookie-free world and contends with the attention economy.
Rob Hall, Playground xyz’s CEO, will lead GumGum attention products as Global President, Attention Intelligence Platform.
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