HOOQ launches programmatic offering with telcos and gaming partners in SEA

Video-on-demand platform, HOOQ has launched the HOOQ Media Exchange (HMX) in partnership with telco and in-app gaming operators in Southeast Asia to offer programmatic advertising direct from source. It has forged a "digital alliance" with companies such as Singtel, POKKT and Bharti Airtel, said a press release.HMX, which pools together partners' inventories, aims to provide highly-targeted, premium advertising solutions to marketers across Southeast Asia and India for their campaigns. It employs advanced advertising capabilities to target audience segments with contextual messaging. This helps to ensure advertisements are placed next to appropriate and quality content, and deliver high ROI.“With HMX, brands have access to data driven insights and targeted opportunities that will allow them to make meaningful and lasting customer connections with every advertisement,” said Melvin Yong, director of advertising sales, home, Singtel.Meanwhile, Vaibhav Odhekar, co-founder of mobile video ad platform POKKT, said the HMX is a "great intersection" of entertainment and gaming that would allow advertisers to tap into the entire ecosystem in a holistic manner. According to him, gaming remains to be the biggest category of apps, with more than 2.4 billion mobile gamers worldwide. POKKT currently tap into over 300 million users in the Southeast Asian market.Meanwhile, Adarsh Nair, chief product officer of India-based telco Bharti Airtel said HMX helps international marketers to connect with Indian consumers through the company's OTT video platform, Xstream. "The smartphone has become the most important screen in our lives and we believe initiatives such as HMX are a big leap towards building sustainable growth models for the OTT industry in a massive consumer market such as India," he explained.HOOQ CCO Vishal Dembla added that HMX can help marketers and advertisers reach quality audiences at scale, while keeping within brand-safe environments. As part of a long-term plan, HOOQ is also currently exploring strategic collaborations and investments in new programmatic features for HMX to meet evolving advertiser needs.[Asia eCommerce Awards welcomes you to submit your entries by 23 August. Designed to recognise excellence in eCommerce across Asia, there are 30 enterable categories offered to showcase the best industry players from brands and eRetailers to agencies and enablers. Register now!]Last month, HOOQ also partnered global video monetisation platform SpotX to power its advertising business across Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines. Through the collaboration, SpotX looks to provide HOOQ with a full stack ad tech solution including ad server and SSP capabilities.Read more: Singtel looks to ‘unlock value’ from digital marketing units Viu’s secret to thriving in the competitive streaming industry in SEA Grab launches video streaming in Indo, 3 more SEA markets to follow HOOQ expands Indonesian reach with Xiaomi partnership