Airtel Launches New Digital Ad Platform in Africa
The platform also merges all ad networks with Airtel's first party telecommunications data.
LAGOS, Nigeria - Airtel Africa has launched a new digital advertising platform called Airtel Ads aimed at helping African businesses expand their reach, writes Moses Nyirenda.
The platform is the first integrated Demand-Side Platform (DSP) in Africa.
It allows advertisers and agencies to efficiently manage, purchase and optimize digital ad inventory across multiple ad exchanges in real time, Airtel said in a statement Thursday.
Airtel Ads, which is powered by Intent.ai, is designed to streamline the process of purchasing advertising space for media agencies and businesses.
It combines various tools and functions within one platform to provide a comprehensive solution for digital ad management, the statement said.
The platform will leverage Airtel Africa's extensive customer base of more than 150 million customers, using data from both its telecommunications services and mobile wallets.
This aims to target not only digitally engaged individuals but also Airtel's 2G and feature phone users who are traditionally excluded from digital advertising.
"Airtel Ads has the capability to reach consumers on various devices," the statement said.
The platform also merges all ad networks with Airtel's first party telecommunications data.
It provides a unified ad platform with audience segmentation, a dedicated marketing team, data analytics and post-campaign support.
Since its launch, Airtel Ads has achieved a weekly audience reach of 27 billion impressions and over 200 million daily SMS notifications with end-of-SMS tag messaging potential, Airtel said.
"We're excited to introduce this innovative platform which will support advertisers and businesses in Africa," said Airtel Africa Chief Commercial Officer Anthony Shiner.