GumGum Powers into Europe as New Research Shows Consumers Reject Behavioural Ads

Survey reveals over three quarters of UK consumers indicated they are more comfortable seeing online ads that align with a digital environment over ads based on browsing history.  

GumGum, a contextual-first advertising technology company, today signals the next phase in its mission to shape the future of the digital advertising industry with the launch of its newly combined operation with JustPremium, heralding the official launch of the GumGum brand in 6 new European markets. GumGum is also launching new research revealing UK consumers’ interest in leaving behavioural targeting behind.

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The study by GumGum and conducted by the Harris Poll found that UK consumers are more than ready for advertisers to ditch tracking their behaviour and place more of an emphasis on placing ads that align with the digital environment and content they are looking at. Top findings from the survey include: 

• A majority of UK consumers (65%) would be more tempted to buy a product from an online ad that is relevant to the web page they are looking at in that moment, compared to only 35% who say they’d be tempted to purchase from an online ad based on content they have viewed in the last 30 days.
• Four in five UK consumers (80%) would be more open to seeing online ads on a website if the ads don’t require the use of their personal data.
• A majority of UK adults (66%) say they are uncomfortable with brands tracking their browsing history in order to show them personalised ads online.

“This shift away from audience tracking isn’t just because of Google or regulations like GDPR, it’s actually what people want. We found that over a third of UK adults (38%) feel creeped out when brands use technology to track their internet browsing habits in order to deliver relevant advertising, while 31% say they feel violated. That is not how we want people to feel about our industry,” said GumGum’s, CEO, Phil Schraeder. 

Schraeder goes on to say, “As human beings we naturally move in micro-moments, floating from one topic to another. Digital advertising should move with us. Our framework, The Mindset Matrix is what we believe will give advertisers what they need to deliver relevant, engaging, and effective ads to people without the use of personal data. Not to mention improve how people feel and see the world of digital advertising.”

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As one of the leading contextual providers, GumGum had a groundbreaking year in 2021 adding more than 400 new clients and posted a year-on-year pro-forma revenue growth rate in excess of 40%. In April, it received a $75 million investment from Goldman Sachs Growth to power the growth of its VerityTM proprietary contextual intelligence engine and other products, to add to backing from Morgan Stanley, New View and Upfront Ventures.

With the addition of the technology and teams of JustPremium, GumGum now brings to the European market a game-changing mix of next-generation contextual intelligence and industry-leading creative capabilities. Through GumGum advertisers will now be able to deliver bespoke advertising campaigns that capture consumer attention across digital environments at scale, without the use of personal data or cookies. 

Eric Visser, President of EMEA, GumGum adds: “It’s been five years since GDPR went into effect and the industry has had to start facing a future without personal data. We are delighted to be in a stronger position now more than ever to support our partners across the EMEA market with a privacy-forward solution through contextual and creative that allows them to still deliver attention-grabbing campaigns that deliver results.” 

As it looks to build a more equitable and safer future for consumers, publishers, and advertisers alike, GumGum’s proprietary technology represents a major departure for contextual technology. Whereas other providers focus only on keywords, Verity™ applies computer vision and natural language processing to understand the interplay of image, video and text giving the ability to fully understand all the signals within an environment and true contextual reading. Verity and its advanced capabilities is  the only independent ad tech vendor with a unique certification by the Media Rating Council (MRC) for content analysis for brand safety, suitability and contextual analysis – an accreditation that only YouTube has outside of GumGum. 

GumGum is not a stranger to the EMEA market having a presence in the UK over five years ago.  Over that time the company has become the leading contextual provider in the UK. Having worked with over 150 advertisers in 2021 and grown by over 280% YOY, the company is firmly established to continue this growth through acquisition of JustPremium.

GumGum has more than 400 employees working from 19 regions around the world. It works with leading brands such as Jeep, Verizon, Mini Cooper, L’Oréal; is trusted by all of the major agency holding companies; supports more than ten languages; and works with over 30,000 publisher partner websites.

The new operation retires the JustPremium name, bringing the company fully under the GumGum brand and installing JustPremium founder Eric Visser as President of EMEA.

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