Bitmama, part of international group Reply, will deploy a MirriAd Hub in Italy to digitally embed brands into broadcast and web content
LONDON – MirriAd, the market leader in digital product placement, announces that it has signed a partnership agreement with Bitmama, the digital agency born from Reply’s technological excellence and the creative talent of the Armando Testa Group, to digitally place brand imagery into Italian broadcast and web content.
Under the contract with MirriAd, Bitmama will have the right to provide digital product placement services to broadcasters for their TV shows and web content within Italy. Bitmama is currently working with major broadcasters in securing the first digital placements into Italy’s top broadcast content. The television advertising industry in Italy is valued at approximately 4.5Bn Euros with product placement likely to take a 5% share of spend within the next five years due to the increased liquidity and scale possible with digital product placement technology.
As part of MirriAd’s appointment, Bitmama will be deploying a MirriAd Hub in Milan. The Hub enables all content media logistics, inventory creation and management, creative services and analytics to be delivered locally over digital networks with minimal demands on bandwidth and very fast turnaround times. The Hub also acts as a centrepiece for the analysis of content, creation and management of sales inventory online for broadcasters.
MirriAd’s core technology ‘ZoneSenseTM’ allows broadcasters to insert their clients’ brands seamlessly and naturally into any content. The MirriAd platform provides broadcaster/producers with an end-to-end solution that supports all the key stakeholders with unique tools and services making it extremely fast and efficient to integrate brands across any or all content as required. The integrated analytics reduce the risk for brands as exposures can be managed to deliver campaign goals in advance. With physical placement brands results are uncertain.
Unlike traditional methods of product placement, broadcaster/producers can now create and sell inventory to advertisers who are able to view relevant content placement opportunities from an online sales portal, select appropriate media based on audience demographics, preview placements and metrics, and view and approve online, anyplace, anytime.
Mark Popkiewicz, MirriAd CEO commented: “We are excited to be the first provider of digital product placement in Italy. An agreement with such an important player as Reply is a great endorsement of the capabilities of our technology within what is a proven and rapidly expanding market worldwide.”
Maurizio Sala, Bitmama partner and creative director, added: “Product placement in television is already legal in most of the world and is now regulated right across the European television market with 18.2% annual growth forecast over the next three years.
“At Bitmama we have high-level specialist expertise in brand communication solutions and excellence in technology, creativity and communication. The agreement with MirriAd introduces into the Italian market a specialised centre for product placement and represents an important asset for Bitmama and Reply’s offer in digital media for television.”
About MirriAd Limited
Chaired by Sir Peter Bazalgette and launched in September 2007 by CEO, Mark Popkiewicz, previously a director of BBC Ventures, MirriAd aims to revolutionize product placement for the digital era. MirriAd has developed an end to end solution able to digitally place brand imagery into any video on demand and at scale. MirriAd’s digital placements have been extensively researched and proven to achieve excellent results for brands whilst positively impacting production values and the viewer experience on line and on TV. Headquartered in London with offices in New York and Mumbai, MirriAd is privately owned with institutional investors including Oxford Technology Management, Oxford Capital Partners, STV Group PLC, Seraphim Capital and South East Growth Fund and notable angel investors Bruce Smith and Stephen Bullock. www.mirriad.com
About Bitmama Srl
Bitmama, a Reply Group company specialising in consulting and project design for digital branding, is one of Italy’s most significant digital creative agencies. Born from the creative talent of the Armando Testa Group and Reply’s technological excellence, Bitmama targets the Branding market with a wealth of expertise – in the areas of brand marketing, creativity and technology – ranking among the highest international standards and adopting a multiplatform approach. Bitmama includes a team of professionals with skills in classical advertising, digital advertising, relational strategy and web applied technology, mobile telephony and digital P.O.S. Its customer portfolio ranges from prestigious international fashion and luxury brands like Valentino, Ermenegildo Zegna and Panerai to corporate clients of the calibre of Vodafone, Lancia Chrysler, Ferrero and Banca Intesa. www.bitmama.it
Reply
Reply [MTA, STAR: REY] specialises in the design and implementation of solutions based on new communication channels and digital media. Comprising a network of highly specialist companies, Reply provides Europe’s leading industrial groups in the Telco and Media, Manufacturing and Retail, Banking and Insurance, Government and Defence, with an effective support in terms of the definition and development of business models enabled by new paradigms such as Big Data, Cloud Computing, CRM, Mobile, Social Media and Internet of Things. The services offered by Reply include: Consultancy, System Integration, Application Management and Business Process Outsourcing. For more information: www.reply.eu
