Vevo, the music video network has been integrated into FreeWheel’s Strata platform, giving local spot buyers access to Vevo inventory in individual markets.

Vevo can help buyers reach hard-to-reach young audiences, with two-thirds of Vevo viewers in the 18- to 49-year-old age group. More than half of Vevo viewers also identify themselves as light TV viewers.

Also Read: Vevo Taps iSpot for CTV Audience Measurement

“With at least 150 million Americans already watching Vevo each month, our presence in local markets is unmatched. Our viewership is set to grow even more as we expand our distribution network in OTT and CTV,” said Nicholas Simonetti, director, U.S. local ad sales, Vevo. “Furthermore, this integration gives local teams a new opportunity to align themselves with premium, brand-safe content featuring the world’s biggest celebrities. Harder-to-reach audiences, such as younger or multicultural audiences, find our content highly engaging, which helps boost brand recall.”

Also Read: Vevo’s Moods Targets Ads With Emotions Using AI

FreeWheel is Comcast’s ad tech company. Strata is a campaign planning and activation tool used by more than 1,100 agencies and marketers that lets buyers research, manage and execute local TV and video campaigns using audience data.

Also Read: Havas to Use FreeWheel’s Strata in U.K. and France

“As younger viewers incorporate music videos into their overall viewing experience, brands are looking for premium publishers who can deliver these audiences across local footprints,” said Jamie Donnenfeld, VP partnership solutions, FreeWheel. “By working with Vevo, FreeWheel is streamlining the local spot workflow for Strata agencies, while offering the ability to capture these younger audiences within unique, engaging music video content

FreeWheel, Comcast’s ad tech company, said it launched the Strata Data Warehouse, which gives users of the ad management platform insights into cross-media campaigns.

The Strata Data Warehouse is compatible and interoperable with agency business intelligence systems and lets advertisers and buyers pull multiple data sets and analysis.

“In today’s cross-screen advertising world, multi-platform data insights are a must,” said Mark McKee, chief revenue officer at FreeWheel. “But often, the process for obtaining these insights can be time-consuming and complicated. With the Strata Data Warehouse, our clients are seeing measurable time savings. This is valuable time that can be used to put these new insights to work to power the planning, execution, and optimization of their media campaigns.”

The Data Warehouse will be available to all Strata users in April. The beta version is being tested by five agencies, including Harmelin.

"With the availability of near real-time data becoming a necessity in the media space, the addition of the FreeWheel Data Warehouse has given our agency the tools we need to produce timely, accurate reports and make quicker, more poignant optimizations to our campaigns,” said Joe Fedorowicz, director, systems integrations at Harmelin. “The complexity of the data, coupled with familiar interoperability, allowed the Strata datasets to seamless enter our workflows."

Cooper-Smith is another agency that’s using the beta version of the Strata Data Warehouse.

“Introduction of the Strata Data Warehouse has allowed Cooper-Smith to spend less resources preparing and validating data,” said Jessica Bayer, senior director of analytics at Cooper-Smith. “In return, it is allowing more time to focus on integrating a wider range of data, driving real-time optimizations and predictive modeling for our clients. What used to take hours is done in a matter of minutes.”

Later this quarter, FreeWheel will be launching the next phase of Data Warehouse that will include deeper analytic tools. These capabilities will provide extensive functionality to all agency users – from buying and planning to finance teams. The tool will provide visual reporting options, drag and drop functionality and customization based on users’ needs. 

Havas Media Group said it will be using FreeWheel’s Strata platform for its media buying and management business in the U.K. and France.

The multi-year agreement with Comcast's FreeWheel follows a competitive review of media-buying platforms.

Using Strata will give Havas enterprise wide consistency. The platform provides media planning, activation, optimization and reconciliation capabilities. It also allows seamless API connections with data, financial and internal agency systems.

“Today’s media landscape is incredibly fast-changing and dynamic, so we sought a technology partner with a strong track record for innovation and a proven ability to deliver client results while staying ahead of the marketplace,” said Darren Todhunter, chief financial officer, Havas Media Group. “FreeWheel impressed us with its ability to expertly adapt its portfolio of media buying and management solutions to address our range of client needs in different markets across the globe. We are very excited about working together, and we look forward to this partnership.”

The two companies have been working on a phased deployment of the software that went live in France late last year and that launched in the UK in Q1 2020.

“From the start, we found great synergy in what Havas was looking for in a technology partner and what we could provide,” said Andrew Perry, head of commercial, FreeWheel. “Havas’s business is global and complex and so, they needed a technology company that had expertise creating innovative solutions for clients on both a regional and worldwide level, while taking into account local market and large-scale industry trends and factors. This connection between what Havas was looking for and our expertise in this space is a powerful one and we are very excited to be working together.”