Iliffe Media Group, an independent multimedia company that is home to a number of well-known publications across the UK, announced a new partnership this week with Smartico to launch “Smart Ads” initially in the New Milton, Newbury, and Stratford areas before being made available to all its 38 titles.
“Smart Ads” enables news publishers to financially capitalise on the long tail of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in the digital space, particularly those that have been steadfast print advertisers but hesitant with relevant digital budgets. “Smart Ads” uses artificial intelligence (AI) and “human touch” to industrialise digital display ad campaigns, including creatives and landing pages, from simply a print ad or social media post as an input, increasing digital sales for smaller businesses. A success-based charging approach serves as the foundation of Smartico’s “Smart Ads”.
Smartico “Smart Ads” gathers each relevant detail from the print advertisement of the advertiser, then enhances it using web-based graphics, data, and texts before rebuilding it as a mobile-first carousel ad that runs across all IAB formats. Additionally, as part of the solution, the “Smart Ads” technology develops a landing page since, as time goes on, marketers’ websites get better in terms of design but aren’t optimised to drive effective call-to-actions to persuade the user to contact them. “Smart Ads” quickly resolves the issue.
Speaking about the new launch of “Smart Ads”, Ricky Allan, Chief Revenue Officer at Iliffe Media Group, told Britain Daily, “We believe that Smart Ads will assist significantly in our digital advertising strategy. We are excited by the opportunities Smart Ads will provide local SMEs and their development and growth plans in a digital world.”
With small and medium sized businesses looking to target readers in a more effective way, the new AI-powered solution could prove to be a game-changing option for Iliffe Media Group titles that want to tap into AI-powered ad formats and the wider publishing industry.
Andrew Harding, Head of Commercial for the Berkshire division of Iliffe Media Group, added, “We anticipate that Smart Ads can bring a positive shift in local sales. The user appeal and the intuitive buying and selling process for our sales teams and local advertisers are the right product at the right time,” he said.
Christian Scherbel, CEO of Smartico, considers the collaboration with Iliffe Media Group as a testament to their offering for regional news publishers. “We are pleased to partner with one of the major news groups in the UK. This collaboration showcases the value and effectiveness of our solution for regional news publishers,” he stated.
As the UK positions itself to be a world leader in AI-driven solutions, Iliffe Media Group is among many businesses adapting and implementing innovative new solutions that tap into this emerging technology.
