Comscore and FreeWheel partner to enhance privacy-focused CTV advertising

Comscore and FreeWheel this week announced a partnership aimed at revolutionizing the connected TV (CTV) advertising landscape. This collaboration focuses on developing privacy-resilient, ID-free audience targeting solutions for CTV platforms, addressing the growing concerns around data privacy and signal loss in digital advertising.

The partnership between Proximic by Comscore, a division of Comscore Inc. (NASDAQ:SCOR), and FreeWheel, a global technology platform for the television advertising industry, seeks to provide publishers with streamlined access to future-proofed audience monetization tools. Simultaneously, it aims to offer buyers the ability to reach targeted audiences at scale across premium CTV content.

At the core of this partnership is the integration of Proximic by Comscore's data directly into FreeWheel's ad management platform. This integration will allow publishers working with FreeWheel to access extensive content-level categorization data, including contextual advertising capabilities. The data will enable inventory packaging against high-demand segments, such as interest and purchase-intent behaviors, in a highly scalable manner due to the ID-free and privacy-resilient nature of these Proximic datasets.

One of the key features of this collaboration is the addition of Proximic by Comscore's full contextual suite to FreeWheel's array of solutions. This suite includes IAB categories, brand safety, and suitability features, enabling content-level inventory insights. Furthermore, more than one thousand Proximic ID-free interest and purchase intent audiences will be made available in Audience Manager, FreeWheel's solution for ingesting, managing, and activating audiences across any screen.

Matt Clark, Vice President of Partnerships at FreeWheel, emphasized the importance of this partnership in the context of CTV's growing role in modern media campaigns. He stated that the industry needs multiple solutions to unlock audience targeting and content-level buying across premium video while respecting consumer privacy. The partnership with Proximic by Comscore allows FreeWheel to facilitate more data optionality in a privacy-first manner by combining purchase data and content-level insights across premium streaming publishers at scale.

Paramount, a major player in the media industry, is the first to adopt this new solution. Leo O'Connor, SVP of Advertising at Paramount, highlighted the company's commitment to providing best-in-class programmatic activation and making television a full-funnel performance vehicle for advertisers of all sizes. He noted that Comscore's ID-free audience data expands their targeting capabilities within the EyeQ solution to include interest and intent signals, offering more flexibility and choice for advertisers looking to activate scalable audience buys across Paramount's extensive domestic and international digital content portfolio.

Rachel Gantz, Managing Director of Proximic by Comscore, expressed enthusiasm about the partnership, stating that it will provide publishers and media buyers with privacy-resilient, ID-free audience targeting solutions when and where they need them most. She emphasized that this collaboration is changing the fundamental nature of programmatic TV into an effective, privacy-forward advertising environment.

The importance of this partnership extends beyond just the involved companies. Sari Applebaum, Senior Director of Digital Investment at Hearts & Science, noted the significance of having access to options for reaching targeted audiences, especially within the pharmaceutical vertical, across premium video content without infringing on consumer data privacy. This capability helps unlock the potential of CTV for their business.

The announcement comes at a crucial time for the advertising industry, which is grappling with ongoing challenges related to signal loss and data privacy concerns. As regulatory scrutiny increases and consumer awareness about data privacy grows, advertisers and publishers are seeking solutions that can deliver targeted advertising without relying on personal identifiers.

The partnership between Comscore and FreeWheel addresses several key aspects of modern digital advertising:

1. Privacy-resilient targeting: By focusing on ID-free audiences, the solution aims to respect user privacy while still delivering targeted advertising.
2. Contextual advertising: The integration of Comscore's contextual suite allows for more sophisticated content-level targeting, which doesn't rely on personal data.
3. Scalability: The solution is designed to work across premium CTV content, offering advertisers the ability to reach large audiences.
4. Future-proofing: As the industry moves away from traditional identifiers, this partnership aims to provide a sustainable solution for audience targeting.
5. Integration with existing systems: The solution will be integrated into FreeWheel's ad management platform, making it easier for publishers to adopt and implement.

While Paramount is the first to adopt this new solution, it will be available for additional publishers later this year. This gradual rollout suggests that the companies are taking a measured approach to implementation, potentially allowing for refinements based on initial performance and feedback.

The partnership between Comscore and FreeWheel represents a significant development in the CTV advertising landscape. By focusing on privacy-resilient, ID-free targeting solutions, the collaboration aims to address some of the most pressing challenges facing the digital advertising industry today. As signal loss continues to persist and privacy regulations become more stringent, such innovations may play a crucial role in shaping the future of targeted advertising in the CTV space.

Key facts from the announcement

• Partnership announced on August 26, 2024
• Collaboration between Proximic by Comscore and FreeWheel
• Focus on privacy-resilient, ID-free audience targeting for CTV
• Integration of Proximic by Comscore's data into FreeWheel's ad management platform
• Over 1,000 Proximic ID-free interest and purchase intent audiences to be made available
• Paramount is the first to adopt the new solution
• Solution will be available to additional publishers later in 2024
• Addresses challenges of signal loss and data privacy in digital advertising
• Combines purchase data and content-level insights across premium streaming publishers
• Aims to provide scalable audience targeting without infringing on consumer privacy