Undertone’s Social Activation Provides Engagement and Scale with Brand Protection

Ad Network Enables Companies to Leverage Social Media Without Compromising Brand Integrity

NEW YORK – With the rise in social media use, user-generated content, and mass-messaging through Twitter and smart phones, the way many advertisers are looking to reach and engage with consumers has shifted. Social activation – the convergence of social and rich or interactive ads powered by the efficiency and scale of advertising networks – has proved highly effective for companies across various verticals. Undertone™ Networks, an online advertising network that provides advertisers with quality placements on the Web’s best sites, today announced its social activation solutions, which allow marketers to control where their ads are seen, while facilitating how messages and assets are distributed across social media sites.

Social activation enables brands to incorporate social media functionality directly into creative content to maximize the popularity of these media without risk. These solutions are unique in providing the basis for a great social media strategy without compromising a company’s brand or the quality of sites on which it advertises. Because marketers are only utilizing the functions of social sites and not running ads on them, brand integrity is protected. Leveraging social activation across Undertone’s network of quality publishers allows companies to:

– Drive the word-of-mouth that social sites are known for, while facilitating lead capture or leveraging high-definition video
– Repurpose previous Web content, catalog content, pictures, long and short-form video and other assets
– Incorporate viral functionality within the banner to capture valuable engagement and syndication metrics without disrupting the consumer browsing experience
– Distribute, measure, monitor and revise content anywhere and anytime
– Spread their message across social sites with customized, built-in sharing capabilities
– Connect ad messages directly to mobile devices in the form of text reminders or coupons
In the past, media value has always been determined by a simple evaluation of total campaign cost divided by the number of people reached. But with earned and social media making their way into that equation, the formula becomes more complex. Reach, action, sentiment and engagement are now areas of consideration when determining media value. Companies are now expected to have a social media strategy, particularly one that maintains messaging from paid media.

“We want to show marketers that they don’t need to compromise brand integrity just to benefit from the level of engagement and exposure that social media offers,” said Alan Schanzer, chief strategy officer, Undertone Networks. “Undertone specifically avoids sites with user-generated content to eliminate the risk that ads might appear next to questionable or objectionable content or images. But that doesn’t mean brands have to miss out. By building social functionality right into creative content, we’re able to help companies get their messages out across the social scene without giving up control of where ads are placed and while activating investment made in social content like corporate Facebook pages.”

“Social media is booming and a sound marketing strategy for these initiatives is a must-have component of any integrated plan,” said Jeff Semones, president of M80, a social media marketing agency. “Undertone’s social activation solutions provide valuable tools that drive measurable results for brands that want to capitalize on this surge and leverage media spend as a catalyst for social engagement.”

Undertone has helped a number of companies, including Long John Silver’s and Ben & Jerry’s, to leverage social media components in creative ads to drive sales and gather valuable audience information. The results of these campaigns also rival some of the best traditional online campaigns. In 2009, Long John Silver’s won the OMMA Member’s Choice Award for Best Integrated Online Campaign, for a campaign it ran on Undertone’s network for a new product introduction that allowed users to receive mobile coupons and find a store location near them – all generated from within the banner.

About Undertone Networks

Undertone Networks, an online advertising network, provides advertisers with quality placements on the Web’s best sites. The company carefully selects its media partners and hand-purchases all its inventory, delivering above-the-fold visibility and brand protection for marketers who care where and when their ads run online. The Undertone approach ensures that media buyers and the advertisers they serve can drive successful brand awareness and direct response initiatives with a comprehensive blend of high-impact ad formats, rich media, targeting capabilities and personalized service. The company is based in New York, with fully staffed offices in major U.S. markets. For more information, visit www.undertone.com.