AdAsia Holdings launches service to bridge the gap between influencer and programmatic marketing
Digital ad platform AdAsia Holdings has launched CastingAsia, a data-driven influencer marketing service.
AdAsia launches influencer marketing platform
The business is expanding its platform into the realm of the influencer marketing space because it believes there is a disparity between influencer marketing and data-driven approaches such as programmatic.
Kosuke Sogo, CEO and co-founder, AdAsia Holdings, said; “Influencer marketing has always been about which influencer has the larger following or post engagements, without any insight into who their followers are. Checking up on each follower can sometimes take hours or days - particularly if the influencer has a gargantuan following. Monitoring influencer-content performance across multiple social media platforms can also be a tedious process.”
Using better data in a faster platform to make decisions around influencer marketing is the primary use of CastingAsia. The tool is integrated into the wider AdAsia Digital Platform, however, allowing marketers to run it alongside programmatic activity.
“Traditionally, influencer marketers took a 'blind-stabbing’ approach, with influencer data not readily available. Essentially, CastingAsia looks to provide an avenue for data-driven influencer campaign recruitment, management and reporting - where among other things, marketers will have insight into an influencer following's demographics. Marketers will also be able to track influencer-generated content performance within the platform. At the same time, CastingAsia also matches suitable influencers to the right brands,” said Sogo.
He said the platform still was ultimately about getting influencers to create content about brands but it put the process into one place with better data. He added that the next stage is using that to create ads across display and video, using programmatic.
“This also brings us to the next point, which is that through this data, marketers will be able to include well-performing influencers to their display/social ads or video advertising efforts. With the right approvals (with the approval process facilitated through CastingAsia - direct messaging and receiving content rights functions), high-performing influencer-generated content can be used across a brand’s advertising efforts as well. Programmatic also helps reach lookalike audiences,” he said.
The service will be live in its key markets in in Singapore and Bangkok, where it has offices and plans to hire influencer marketing specialists. The AdAsia Holdings business plans to further expand into Indonesia, Vietnam, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Japan by 2016, India, Malaysia and Philippines in 2017, and China in 2018.