Hearst Magazines expands ad targeting tool Aura to global markets

Hearst Magazines, the global lifestyle publisher, has announced the global expansion of Aura, itsfirst-party ad targeting tool that utilises proprietary AI-enabled technology and multi-dimensional contextual, behavioral and commerce signals to connect advertisers to their most valuable and engaged customers at scale.

The announcement was made by Hearst Magazines President Debi Chirichella and Global Chief Revenue Officer Lisa Ryan Howard.

Aura first launched in the U.S. eight months ago. With this expansion, which is first rolling out in the UK, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain, Auracan analyse and activate Hearst’s broad and deep portfolio of first-party data from Hearst’s 300 million monthly visitors across its portfolio of more than 50 brands around the world for both global and local market activations.

The next-gen tool leverages a new, proprietary content taxonomy and sophisticated AI to provide a more comprehensive picture of a user than ever before and makes predictive and informed decisions about which ads to serve.

Howard: “ Aura takes into consideration billions of signals from our audiences — from their interests, behaviors and shopping intentions — and drives scale, accuracy and improved performance for our partners. We're thrilled to expand this solution to our clients around the world. Advertisers are buying more multi-country deals and now they will be able to target using Auras globally.”

Mike Nuzzo, senior vice president of data and insights, Hearst Magazines: “Using rich first-party data from our trusted fashion and luxury, lifestyle, autos, enthusiast and wellness brands, Auraprovides an unmatched and nuanced understanding of our audience. For example, through contextual and behavioral signals, we can derive that a pet food shopper visiting one of our sites also happens to be a trail runner and family vacation planner. This multi-layered understanding of our readers ensures that an advertiser accurately targets its most valuable customers — and unlocks new ones — at the most opportune moments.”

The new ad-targeting tool has resulted in a double-digit increase in click-through rate at scale compared to third-party cookie-based audience targeting tools.

Jen Dorre, senior vice president of ad product, Hearst Magazines: “At Hearst Magazines, we are focused on premium advertising experiences that drive audience attention and engagement. With Aura targeting, this convergence has consistently demonstrated an increase in attention quality with more privacy-forward outcomes than third-party, cookie-based targeting solutions.”

Aura is part of Hearst’s growing suite of ad and audience targeting products that enhance relevance and scalability. The offering, part of Hearst’s broader investment in digital innovation, delivers an innovative and performant solution that drives results for marketers.

www.hearst.co.uk

Follow Marketing Report on LinkedIn