Global Radio ties with Xaxis to take programmatic to digital audio ads
Media and entertainment group Global has partnered with WPP’s Xaxis to launch the UK’s first programmatic product for audio ads.
The product brings together Global’s Digital Audio Exchange (DAX) - the UK’s largest repository of digital audio inventory - and Xaxis’ data-management platform Turbine, giving advertisers a single source solution for buying targeted ads at scale in an increasingly splintered digital audio market.
The first campaign to run on the platform, dubbed Xaxis Audio, will push Three’s “Feel at Home” campaign. Mindshare created the ads, while MediaCom booked it.
Nicolas Bidon, managing director of Xaxis UK, said: ““For the first time in the UK, brands can use the insight and efficiency of our industry leading Turbine DMP to reach audiences at scale and execute highly efficient programmatic media buys across Dax’s inventory.”
Mike Gordon, chief commercial officer at Global, said the tie-up stems from the “big increase” in people listening on digital devices.
“To address this, we created DAX, which provides advertisers with access to the best music streaming platforms, digital radio brands and audio social networks in one single buy,” he continued.
“By partnering with Xaxis to create the first programmatic offering, we’re giving clients the ability to buy Dax through Xaxis’ programmatic platform.”
Publishers are increasingly looking to pool their remnant inventory in a bid to push up its value through shared economies of scale. The Guardian, CNN International, the Financial Times and Reuters joined forces to collectively push more targeted audiences through programmatic trading, while the Association of Online Publishes has struck a similar tie-up, albeit restricted to the UK.