Kontera Launches New Ad Family: Freedom Units

Unique formats bring products and brands to life in highly relevant contexts

SAN FRANCISCO, February 18 , 2010 – After several months of in-market use with select customers, Kontera, the leading provider of relevant In-Text Advertising and Information Solutions, formally launched its newest ad unit family: Freedom Ads.

The Freedom Ad family provides the opportunity to deliver deep brand engagement via an elegant user interaction by using an advertiser’s product or brand as the frame and dominant element of the unit.

The ad unit’s unique out-of-the-box capabilities bring products and brand experiences to life, capturing the eye and imagination with an instantly recognizable, and relevant, communication. Kontera’s advanced semantic technology identifies highly pertinent key phrases, placing the units within the ideal context to deliver end-user value and maximize engagement and brand lift.

A familiar brand found the unit very effective: "With the perception of oatmeal being boring, OMD was challenged by Quaker Oats to deliver an impactful and engaging message to connect the dots between Quaker Instant Oatmeal and a rich oatmeal experience,” said Pranav Pandit, OMD’s Group Director of Digital Strategy. “Working closely with OMD to deliver an innovative ad solution, Kontera's custom creative and Freedom Ad unit delivered on the campaign objectives while also returning the highest click-through rates across the campaign."

The Freedom Ads family initially consists of two unit types, the Product Freedom Unit and Brand Freedom Unit:

The Product Freedom Unit delivers an elegant, instantly recognizable visual depiction of the advertiser’s product directly from within a highly relevant key phrase. This unique unit, drives higher consumer engagement rates and overall product awareness.

Product Freedom units employ a clean design, simplicity, and actual product visuals, for maximum effect. Their compelling imagery and limited copy result in instant consumer recognition.. Product Freedom Units are ideal for product focused advertisers like CPG, Automotive, Apparel and Beauty, Consumer Electronics, and Retail.

The Brand Freedom Unit delivers a unique and holistic brand experience through tasteful interaction that engages, educates, and delights the consumer.

When combined with Kontera’s semantic relevance, the Brand Freedom unit delivers brand lift and superior brand engagement results. It does so by engaging qualified consumers directly with the brand, conveying the brand’s essence and value — maintaining elegance and gravitas all the while. The Brand Freedom unit brings to life elements of the brand that are instantly recognizable.

“Freedom Units enable brands to connect with their customers in a visceral way, when they’re most receptive,” said Hal Muchnick, President of Kontera U.S. “Our in-market results demonstrate that consumers engage at very high levels with these visual depictions.”

Advertisers concur. Answering a survey question on how well the new unit met “brand or awareness needs,” on a scale from 1-5, where 1 indicated “Very bad” and 5 meant “Excellent,” the 15 brands and agency teams who tested the unit gave the unit an average rating of 4.2. Asked how well the unit performed from a metrics perspective, the brands and agency teams gave it the identical rating of 4.2.

When they were asked how well the unit performed compared to all other units and networks on on-line ad venues on the campaign, the numbers rose to 4.8 out of 5. With a 5 meaning “Performed Much Better”, and a 1 meaning “Performed Much Worst.”

Would they use the Freedom Unit again? 100% of respondents said “Yes.”

Source: Kontera