Mirriad has made a series of high-profile hires, as the agency continues to expand its digital product placement that lets brands retroactively place their adverts into old TV reruns.
Former EMI head of music Roger Faxon has been appointed as non-executive chairman of the UK-based firm, and will assist Mirriad CEO and founder Mark Popkiewicz in his mission to ‘revolutionise advertising for the skip generation’.
Mirriad is aiming to create a new market that will allow companies to integrate brands into the type of content that is being consumed these days.
For example, cans of Coke could be inserted into re-runs of older shows by signing a deal with the content owner and using a web dashboard to make the changes.
The company has already sourced some $7m (£4.2m) in funding over the years and it’s thought the move to appoint Faxon is to increase its visibility in the media world and open doors to further business.
The company, which launched in 2008, uses patented computer vision technology to create a new way to reach audiences by digitally embedding brands into content (TV, VOD or music video) using Predictive Analytics which forecasts the overall quality and quantity of brand exposure.
Major brands like Unilever, Cadillac and Diet Coke have been working with Mirriad in the UK. Notably, back in 2012 – PG tips partnered with popular Channel 4’s daytime game show Deal or No Deal.
This was the first use of digital integration technology for the television production and distribution company Endemol in Europe, a UK first for Unilever and the first to feature in a programme aired by a UK terrestrial broadcaster.
With the increased trend of skipping TV ads and the move away from live TV – digital product placement allows advertisers to reach their target audiences, and for content owners to generate additional revenue.
Now with its newly appointed Head of Global Content, Peter Van Den Bussche (previously led Unilever’s International Content Strategy within Unilever’s Global Media Agencies as part of the Global Strategy Unit), a global roll-out and Mirriad’s 2013 win for advancement in technology at the Oscars – along with a tongue-in-cheek mention on the Colbert Report about the potential of their retroactive product placement, expect to hear more about it.
(NOTE: video above not viewable in all territories)
Current advertiser partners include Sunsilk, Ponds, Reebok and Pepsi. Past clients have included PG Tips, Dove, VISA, and Intel.
Watch this video explaining how Mirriad’s digital product placement tool works below:
Mirriad Reel13 2min NU from mirriad on Vimeo.