How Digital Advertising and Influencer Marketing are Shaping the Future of Business

FN Media Group Presents Microsmallcap.com Market Commentary

NEW YORK, Jan. 19, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Ten years ago, digital advertising was nothing more than basic banner ads, and the title of influencer was reserved for celebrities and athletes. Now, advertising has completely transformed due to widespread internet access, smartphone adoption, and rising consumption across digital platforms, sending US digital advertising revenues to record highs. At the same time, the role of digital influencers is evolving dramatically and advertisers are increasingly recognizing their impact, as they generate huge engagement and trust levels among audiences. It is forecast that the global spending power of millennials shall reach approximately $15 trillion by 2022. In 2020, digital media accounted for an estimated 58.8% of global ad spend, creating a lucrative opportunity for companies like AcuityAds Holdings Inc. (TSX: AT) (OTCQX: ACUIF), The Trade Desk (NASDAQ: TTD), ViacomCBS Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAC), IZEA Worldwide (NASDAQ: IZEA), and BBTV Corp. (TSX: BBTV) (OTCPK: BBVTF).

Media tech company BBTV Corp. is capitalizing on both of these growing trends by helping influencers of all sizes grow their audiences while helping brands and advertisers drive monetization by providing them premium end to end offerings in digital video.

Influencers Become Increasingly Important to Brands

Using celebrities and athletes to promote products is definitely not a new thing, but those A-listers are now side-by-side with digital influencers as advertisers clamour to reach targeted audiences at scale. Not only do these influencers have extensive viewership and reach with appealing audiences to advertisers, but they also have high engagement, which is key to effective campaigns.

BBTV Corp. (TSX:BBTV) (OTC:BBVTF) has become the second largest video property in the world behind Google, with over 600 million monthly unique viewers who watch more than 50 billion minutes of content per month. BBTV's reach, scale, and engagement have made it a powerhouse partner for advertisers seeking to tap into digital video and influencer marketing.

What makes BBTV so appealing to advertisers? BBTV offers scalable premium content, access to a broad range of verticals, and transparent targeting, including contextual targeting, brand safety, third party measurement, reporting, and customizable campaigns.

In December 2020, BBTV announced that it had secured a number of paid direct advertising branded entertainment campaigns across consumer verticals, including gaming, entertainment, fashion, and food, for brands that included: Veritone, Garena, Barnes and Noble, The RealReal, AMC Shudder, ThriveMarket, Hybe, and Complex.com.

On January 11, BBTV announced the launch of new service offerings at scale to influencers on Instagram and TikTok. The extension of the company's services to Instagram and TikTok influencers will further expand its high-margin Plus Solutions, including content management and direct advertising. BBTV is also expanding influencers' revenues through its direct sales solution across key social media and video platforms, including branded entertainment sales and SaaS/content management.

A few days prior, BBTV launched its new Video Comparison analytics solution for content creators of all sizes. The new solution analyzes metrics like engagement, views, viewer retention, and revenue for video content, and provides comparative performance data between different videos.

In Q3 2020, BBTV reported record revenue of $120.7 million, a 31% increase, which was driven by improved ad sell-through rates and growth in views.

Direct Sales remain a key component to BBTV's Plus Solutions success, with revenues increasing 46% for the last twelve months ended October 2020, compared to the same period in 2019. November 2020 was BBTV's record month for direct advertising with 50%+ revenue growth in comparison to November 2019.

Influencer marketing provider IZEA Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:IZEA) is another company that has experienced significant growth in recent months due to the influx of influencers. Although IZEA experienced a dip in Q2, the company bounced back in the third quarter and has reported positive preliminary results for Q4. On December 23, the company announced that its managed services bookings grew 40% YoY in the fourth quarter despite the impact of COVID-19 on its historical customer base.

Digital Ad Spend Expected to Continue Rising

Due to the ongoing pandemic and the resulting economic recession, global ad spend declined in 2020. Conversely, digital ad spend increased by 8% last year to $336 billion. In 2021, digital media is forecasted to account for 60.9% of total ad spend, creating a lucrative opportunity for digital advertising agencies and platforms.

Global technology company The Trade Desk (NASDAQ:TTD) has continued to fare well during the health crisis, apart from a slight drop in the second quarter, which was felt across the entire industry. In Q3 2020, the company reported revenue of $216.1 million, a 32% increase year over year. The Trade Desk also reported continued omnichannel spend growth in the third quarter, with connected TV growing over 100% and mobile video and audio spend both increasing by 70%.

Digital advertising solutions provider AcuityAds Holdings Inc.'s (TSX:AT) (OTCQX:ACUIF) newly launched proprietary AI technology could change that. On January 11, AcuityAds announced the launch of Illumin, its new advertising automation technology that allows advertisers to plan, buy, and see results on a single platform in real time. The company reported that Illumin exceeded $1.5 million in revenue in less than 90 days since the launch.

Mass media conglomerate ViacomCBS Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAC) is also looking to capitalize on the growth of digital advertising. In August, the company announced the planned launch of ViacomCBS EyeQ, a connected video advertising platform that will serve as a single transactional point of entry for its digital video content. ViacomCBS EyeQ will bring together all of its connected video assets, allowing advertisers to access a viewing audience of 50 million monthly unique viewers in the US and 150 million across the globe. In November, the company reportedly reached 17.9 million streaming subscribers and its ad-supported Pluto TV service has reached 28.4 monthly active users.

BBTV Corp. has also continued to grow its viewership. In Q3, the company experienced an 18% increase in views to 121.2 billion across various platforms further solidifying its global leadership among media-tech companies. Brands and Marketers are able to target millennials through BBTV's global scale and engaged audience. BBTV's network generates 471 billion advertising views, Sept'20, LTM across all genres.

For more information on BBTV Corp., please visit this link.

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