Key Points
- Blockgraph and FreeWheel have expanded their partnership to allow advertisers to target television households based on their proximity to specific business locations.
- The targeting capabilities are available through FreeWheel Buyer Cloud and Streaming Hub, including FreeWheel Marketplace.
- Advertisers can reach households near their own stores or competing businesses through FreeWheel’s premium television and streaming advertising inventory.
Advertising technology companies Blockgraph and FreeWheel have expanded their partnership to offer geographic targeting capabilities that allow advertisers to reach television households based on their proximity to physical businesses and other locations.
On Monday, the companies said the offering is now available through FreeWheel Buyer Cloud and Streaming Hub, including FreeWheel Marketplace, giving advertisers access to location-based audiences across premium television and streaming inventory. The technology allows advertisers to identify households within a specified distance of a business, such as a restaurant, grocery store, automobile dealership or retail location.
Blockgraph uses household identity data to identify eligible audiences within those geographic boundaries, which can then be targeted through FreeWheel’s advertising platforms. The companies said Blockgraph has developed more than 90 pre-built proximity-based audience segments for FreeWheel customers, while custom audiences can be created around specific businesses or other points of interest within minutes.
The offering also supports competitive targeting, sometimes called “conquesting,” allowing advertisers to reach households located near competing businesses rather than their own locations. For example, a furniture retailer could target households near a competitor’s showroom, while a restaurant chain could advertise to viewers living within a designated distance of a newly opened location.
“Advertisers have always wanted location targeting that reflects how consumers actually move through the physical world, not arbitrary geographic boundaries,” said Jason Manningham, the CEO of Blockgraph.
The expanded partnership is intended to provide advertisers with alternatives to broader geographic targeting methods, such as designated market areas or ZIP codes, which may include households far outside a business’s immediate service area.
Larry Allen, FreeWheel’s Vice President of Global Strategy, said the integration allows advertisers to use more precise geographic information when planning and purchasing television campaigns.
“Advertisers and publishers have always known that premium video drives business outcomes,” Allen said in a statement. “As the first platform to bring both pre-built and custom Blockgraph proximity targeting audiences to customers, FreeWheel is helping advertisers and publishers move from broad location proxies to more precise, location-informed activation so they can reach consumers within the communities of their physical stores.”
The companies identified several potential applications, including local retail promotions, franchise advertising, store openings, automotive marketing, entertainment releases and political advertising.
Blockgraph said its identity infrastructure processes more than one trillion transactions annually, allowing advertisers to develop household audiences using first-party information and geographic data. The technology also supports post-campaign measurement intended to help advertisers evaluate the effectiveness of advertising delivered to targeted households.
