YuMe and Gracenote to Advance Synchronized Second-Screen Advertising

Gracenote Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) technology to enhance YuMe’s Audience Amplifier video ad targeting solution

REDWOOD CITY, CA(06 Jan 2014)

YuMe, Inc. (NYSE:YUME), a leading provider of digital video brand advertising solutions and Gracenote, a global leader in music and video content recognition technology, are collaborating to synchronize TV and mobile advertising in order to optimize brand advertising spend in a multi-screen world. The collaboration marks a major step in leading innovation in cross-device, TV audience targeting.

Why is this technology integration important?

For brand advertisers, ACR technology provides an accurate way to target viewers by synchronizing mobile video ads with TV ads – improving key brand performance metrics such as reach, frequency, message recall and brand favorability. For publishers, this innovation will improve revenue-generating capabilities and advertising CPMs for mobile app and mobile web content.

“This collaboration will kick-off a new phase of industry innovation related to second-screen advertising, further enhancing YuMe's ability to target in the household,” said Bob Hall, Vice President of Platform & Partnerships at YuMe. “We’re pleased to work alongside Gracenote on this effort and look forward to the mobile and TV targeting opportunities that unfold with existing and new advertising clients.”

How does the integration work?

Gracenote’s ACR technology uses advanced audio fingerprinting technology to let smartphones and tablets identify TV programs and ads by simply “listening” to a few seconds of the dialogue and soundtrack. Gracenote ACR technology combines this gathered information with YuMe’s SDK to deliver relevant mobile video ads on YuMe publisher’s mobile sites and apps. 

“The technology integration with YuMe is an exciting step forward in the next phase of targeted second screen advertising,” said Julie Davenport, Vice President of Business Development at Gracenote.  “We believe ACR technology adds a new layer of intelligence to mobile advertising that hasn’t been available.  With this new offering, advertisers will be able to make smarter media buying decisions, based on the consumers’ real-time viewing habits. 

Why is the integration innovative?

Traditional data targeting solutions, designed to reach TV audiences on mobile devices, use panels and modeled data sets to find and target viewers. Newer, ACR-driven second-screen apps use live TV content recognition to personalize mobile app content or target mobile display ads to what viewers are watching in real-time. YuMe will be the first to use Gracenote’s ACR technology to complement TV advertising with relevant video ads to nearby mobile devices, without the use of cookies.

Smartphone and tablet usage continues to rise dramatically and users increasingly use their mobile devices while engaged in other activities. This trend plays itself out every day in the living room, where TV’s dominant role is challenged by viewer attention to multiple devices.  A recent study from IPG Media Lab and YuMe found that 30% of TV viewers report that their smartphone is their primary focus while watching TV[1]. Publishers and brand advertisers alike are eager to take advantage of innovations in advertising technology that address this growing behavior. 

”Increased usage of mobile devices in the living room is just another indicator of the growing consumer attention crisis,” said Kara Manatt, Vice President of Consumer Research Strategy at IPG Media Lab. “This creates a real challenge for advertisers, making effective ways to recapture attention in the living room extremely valuable.”

During the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this week in Las Vegas, YuMe and Gracenote will be showcasing live demonstrations of the technology integration for select agency clients at the YuMe Connected Living Room in Suite 2907 at the Las Vegas Hotel as well as at the Gracenote Lounge in the Nolita Room 1 at the Cosmopolitan Hotel.

To learn more about this technology integration, contact partnerships@yume.com. For more information on YuMe at CES, visit:www.yumeces.com  

About Gracenote

Gracenote, Inc. provides music and video content and technologies to the world’s hottest entertainment products and brands. Gracenote is the industry standard for music and video recognition and is supported by the largest source of music and video metadata, featuring descriptions of more than 180 million tracks and TV listings for 30+ countries. A wholly owned, independent subsidiary of the Sony Corporation of America (SCA), Gracenote has offices in Tokyo, Munich, Berlin, Seoul, Taipei and San Francisco with worldwide headquarters in Emeryville, Calif. For more information, visit our website www.gracenote.com or follow us at @GracenoteTweets and www.facebook.com/PoweredbyGracenote.

About YuMe

YuMe, Inc. is a leading provider of digital video brand advertising solutions. Its proprietary data-science driven technologies and large audience footprint drive inventory monetization and enable advertisers to reach targeted, brand receptive audiences across a wide range of Internet-connected devices. Designed to serve the specific needs of brand advertising, YuMe’s technology platform simplifies the complexities associated with delivering effective digital video advertising campaigns in today’s highly-fragmented market. YuMe (NYSE: YUME) is headquartered in Redwood City, CA with European headquarters in London and nine additional offices worldwide. YuMe supports consumer choice and is a member of the Network Advertising Initiative. See YuMe's privacy policy for details. For more information, visit YuMe.com/pr, follow @YuMeVideo and like YuMe on Facebook.Current YuMe logos can be found at www.yume.com/news/logos.