InfluAds Launches And Gets Funded
Ads on the web can be quite annoying. They pop up when you don't want them, they make webpages crowded and messy and they can distract you from the content you are looking for. At the same time, ads are an intrinsic part of the web: they make all the free content online possible and sometimes they even bring value to the user. How do you reconcile these two conflicts? InfluAds, a Copenhagen-based startup, has launched their solution to this problem: a crowdsourced ad network. The start-up also received undisclosed seed investment from Kima Ventures.
Under InfluAds model publishers use only one simple yet relevant ad per page. To put it simply, publishers create and join networks around the topics they write about. These networks attract advertisers who aim to access publishers around those topics and pay premium prices to have an exlusive ad on their pages. Publishers' revenue is proportionate to the performance of their network, which gives them an extra incentive to work on its development.
InfluAds puts a lot of emphasis on quality. Therefore, even though the platform is free to join, publishers go through a screening process before they are admitted. The main criteria for being chosen is driving quality content to the audience in your particular niche, regardless of your size.
As Anibal Damiao, co-founder and CEO, explains: 'We are looking for the cream of the crop layer of quality on the web and typically we'll select the top 10-20% of publishers within that logic'. This logic seems to yield results: after 16 months of existance, InfluAds attracted over 200 publishers including Venturehacks and StartupQuote.
Advertisers either find InfluAds themselves or are invited to join the platform by the team. InfluAds' main offer is based on selling ad space for a specific topic. The costs vary depending on the network's size. Currently prices vary from $380 to $1,180 per spot, ads occupy spots for up to a month.
This is more than what many other services charge for ad space but the price is justifiable if the advert does get delivered to the highest quality content publishers in the most relevant contexts. About 100 advertisers that have already used the service testify to this fact.
Anibal claims one neat ad in a quality context provides more meaningful results and makes for a better user experience. But monetizing quality for small or medium-sized publishers is difficult due to high costs and the lack of scale. Therefore, InfluAds' main advantage lies in uniting multiple publishers who build ad networks together and benefit from the resulting scale.
Image by Blurred Crusade
Just for the "record", pun intended. The Adverts' first record "Crossing the Red Sea with the Adverts" is considerably better than the one pictured here.
Thanks for the coverage guys and couldn't love more the mention to The Adverts.
Now, back to business to prove that crowds can actually drive contexts where high value ads can provide a better,clutter-free web ;)
Ping me to exchange some ideas if you think that we can work together (anibal at influads)