Three of the most influential media entities in the Caribbean announced today that they are piloting a Caribbean Publisher Alliance.
The partnership involves Trend Media (developers of Loop News), The Gleaner Company (Media) Limited (The Gleaner) and The Trinidad Express Newspapers.
The objective of the Caribbean Publisher Alliance is to promote and protect the indigenous Caribbean digital news industry for consumers and to promote best-in-class standards for its advertising partners.
Regardless of changes in the advertising landscape, brands and agencies still deserve a high level of quality when investing their marketing budgets, and publisher alliances are able to deliver that.
Mark Corrigan, Managing Director of Trend Media, said: “The global increase in digital content consumption, coupled with an increase in digital advertising spending, is a major reason for the creation of many publisher alliances. “
“With certain companies dominating the global digital media landscape, publisher alliances create an alternative option for advertisers in local markets. It is also vital that there is greater transparency for publishers regarding the return generated from ad sales, which is not always the case,” Corrigan added.
Eileen Ruddy, Director of Business Development at Trend Media, added: “As we partner with the gleaner and The Trinidad Express Newspapers, we will be able to provide advertisers with access to a wide range of premium digital solutions and premium standards. All of this, powered by first-party data, will ensure best-in-class results for our advertising partners. »
Having a centralized ad space provides a greater level of control, making it easier for agencies and brands to purchase ads across a wide range of platforms specifically targeted to their target audience.
Not only is it good business, but it’s also good for everyone involved.
“the gleaner is excited to embark on another aspect of its digital transformation journey that offers further revenue stream diversification potential for its market-leading online offerings. This partnership with other publishers and technology partners, once successful, would supplement the traditional sources of direct placements and affiliate advertising available through big tech. the gleaner looks forward to the benefits that will flow from this new partnership,” said Christopher Barnes, COO of RJRGLEANER Communications Group, whose the gleaner is a subsidiary.
Douglas Wilson, Managing Director of the Trinidad Express newspaper, said, “We are delighted to partner with the Caribbean Publisher Alliance. Over the past 10 years, publisher alliances have slowly formed in Asia, Europe and North America to maximize publishers’ revenue and booking volumes – rather than relying on major international players by default. such as Google and Facebook – by scaling up. As an added benefit, it will keep money in the local currency system instead of foreign currency leaving the country and region. We are committed to providing the work and energy necessary to ensure that this initiative brings value to customers and, of course, to all partners. »
Publisher alliances can also provide a level of brand safety that may otherwise be difficult to guarantee.
With the proliferation of “fake news” and the variety of content on popular social media platforms, it can be difficult to ensure brands are represented alongside the right kind of content.
Having a safe or clean digital environment for advertisers, across multiple reputable media platforms, gives publishers a premium advantage.
The Caribbean Publisher Alliance is powered by SMART and Mediarithmics, two powerful technology partners that offer advertisers a safe and innovative way to reach specific premium audiences with relevant messaging.
Ingrid Couasnon, EVP Europe at Smart, said: “We are delighted to support Trend Media, the gleaner, and The Trinidad Express Newspapers in this new venture and to provide the Caribbean Publisher Alliance with our integrated advertising service and SSP offering. In a media landscape dominated by tech giants, we believe it’s more important than ever for open web publishers to come together and leverage independent technology alternatives. By creating a collaborative and transparent-by-design ecosystem, the Caribbean Publisher Alliance will be able to facilitate access to its premium inventory and first-party data, to develop innovative and brand-safe offerings with reach. scalable and high user engagement that respects consumer privacy. ”
“We are delighted to provide our market-leading, next-generation CDP (Customer Data Platform) to help Trend Media build this alliance in the Caribbean, alongside leading players such as the gleaner and Trinidad Express newspapers. We believe that building safe and secure alliances between leading publishers is the direction the market is taking, generating maximum value from owned data assets and providing an innovative, alternative advertising solution to brands – to overcome the dominance of walled gardens. With this technology, advertisers can be confident that their budget is being spent efficiently on premium placements and that their digital ad campaigns, tailored to specific audiences, will achieve their business goals,” said Phil Raby, Global Managing Director of Mediarithmics.
In the coming months, the Caribbean Publisher Alliance will be launching a series of webinars, which will provide more information to potential advertisers and media partners.
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