Programmatic advertising company Viant has announced a partnership with Wurl to provide what it claims is the first demand-side platform (DSP) delivering scene-level contextual intelligence across connected TV for targeting.
Powered by Viant division IRIS.TV’s IRIS_ID persistent content identifier and enriched by Wurl BrandDiscovery’s unique streaming signals and proprietary scene identification, the resulting CTV scene-level contextual intelligence uses AI to interpret the broader context and meaning of scenes within content.
It enables advertisers to align their messaging with on-screen content in real time, driving stronger engagement and outcomes. Advertisers can target and activate across scene-level emotional and contextual categories.
The capability is further enhanced by Viant’s new Open Real Time Bidding (oRTB) integration with Wurl, which unlocks Wurl’s premium FAST inventory programmatically. Combining this inventory with Viant’s Household ID and identity graph — which provides coverage of 95% of U.S. adults — advertisers can achieve improved connected-TV reach, relevance and efficiency, Viant said.
Advertisers can also discover top-performing scenes through the IRIS-enabled Content Report. And they can measure and optimize performance with Viant’s advanced reporting tools.
“As the first DSP to offer scene-level targeting and measurement capabilities, we are powering a new generation of privacy-safe, contextually relevant advertising that benefits the entire ecosystem,” said Tom Wolfe, senior VP of business development at Viant, in a statement. “The partnership with Wurl helps fulfill our mission to drive meaningful outcomes for our advertisers, and across the CTV landscape by addressing persistent challenges like fragmented targeting, limited measurement and lack of content transparency.”
Added Ria Madrid, Wurl’s VP of advertising partnerships: “With BrandDiscovery and IRIS IDs enabled across the Wurl footprint and fully integrated into Viant’s DSP, a biddable contextual solution is now activated at unbelievable scale. Advertisers can reach streaming audiences while also aligning their creative with relevant content. Contextual relevance has been proven to drive results — better campaign performance and ROAs for advertisers, and incremental revenue for publishers.”
IRIS teams with IPG Mediabrands and Acxiom
Separately, meanwhile, Viant’s IRIS.TV unit – which it acquired last November - announced a partnership with IPG Mediabrands and Acxiom to launch a new contextual CTV solution.
Powered by IRIS_ID, the Acxiom Contextual CTV will deliver IPG Mediabrands clients a scalable, privacy-first solution for content-level targeting. It will enable these advertisers to reach consumers with relevant messages based on the context, genre and tone of the content being viewed.
With a taxonomy of more than 1,200 content categories, investment teams can now plan and execute real-time contextual targeting across the streaming ecosystem with greater precision and scale, IRIS.TV said.
“Acxiom Contextual CTV represents the future of programmatic — privacy by design, data-rich, and publisher-aligned,” said Simon Poplyansky, VP of global partnerships at Acxiom. “With the IRIS_ID, we’re able to enhance our core offerings with precise contextual targeting, driving superior outcomes for our brand partners.”
Added Field Garthwaite, CEO and co-founder of IRIS.TV: “As CTV matures, advertisers need tools that deliver scale, precision, and respect for consumer privacy. By adding real-time, video-level contextual data to its best-in-class data and identity solutions, Acxiom is giving IPG advertisers a powerful new layer of intelligence that consistently drives return on ad spend.”