New digital ad marketplace by SPH and Mediacorp goes live

Singapore

SINGAPORE Media Exchange (SMX), a digital advertising marketplace that is the result of a tie-up between Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) and Mediacorp, is officially live as of today.

Through the single platform offered by SMX, marketers will be able to tap the two local media giants' inventory of websites, including that of SPH's Business Times, Straits Times, as well as Mediacorp's Channel NewsAsia and Today Online.

SMX uses programmatic technology, which relies on computer programs to automatically serve ads onto multiple websites instantly.

SPH and Mediacorp, which announced the joint venture in August 2017, are among the top five digital properties with the highest traffic in Singapore according to comScore, collectively reaching three in four digital consumers every month.

SMX is helmed by media management veteran Hari Shankar who was previously managing director of Ecselis, the strategic arm of the Havas Media Group.

"SMX is a harbinger of things to come in the programmatic space in Singapore, following similar developments in other parts of the world," the newly appointed chief executive officer said. "I am incredibly excited to lead this initiative to deliver a premium, brand-safe alternative for programmatic buyers in Singapore."

New Zealand also had a similar publisher co-operative, Kiwi Premium Advertising Exchange.

SMX's key technology partners are AppNexus and Lotame.

In a first for Singapore, SMX has a multi-screening capability that allows advertisers to sync their programmatic buys in real-time with event triggers on television, it said. It will continue to invest in other new programmatic features and explore other tie-ups to meet advertiser needs.

It also has plans to extend the platform as well to other "like-minded premium publishers". SMX said it has already seen "keen interest" from other publishers seeking new ways to monetise their traffic.

The commencement of this initiative is just the tip of the iceberg. Through the use of advanced programmatic technology, we are looking to build the premium programmatic marketplace in Singapore, offering advertisers a trusted environment at scale," Julian Tan, executive vice-president for SPH's digital division and director of SMX, said.

"With this alliance, we also hope to seek out 'others like us' to partner so that SMX can widen its reach beyond Mediacorp and SPH, as well as deepen its data depth."