IMMedia Holdings’ artificial-intelligence-powered platform, Contrend, is now available to businesses across the continent through an exclusive distribution partnership deal signed with Media Brokerage Africa
Johannesburg-based Media Brokerage Africa will connect African corporations and marketing agencies with IMMedia’s ground-breaking platform, Contrend. This deal sees IMMedia’s official entry into the continent’s booming online marketing industry market.
Developed by Singapore-based IMMedia Holdings – which recently closed its Series A funding round – Contrend analyses large data sets to maximise return on investment for content marketing. Digging deeper than simple SEO and social-listening tools, Contrend uses a holistic algorithm to measure engagement across text, video and image media. The artificial intelligence then provides a complete picture of the types of content audiences are consuming, and the topics and formats that will be popular in the coming months. It works in any vertical, in any market, in any language.
Detailed, real-time dashboards and analytics allow marketing professionals to monitor their performance and compare their engagement levels against competitors and the larger content landscape. With these insights, companies can build more effective marketing strategies that better serve their potential customers. The platform also functions as a production suite, streamlining the creation, approval and distribution of content in any format.
“The days of traditional content marketing are over. Now, it’s essential for corporations to understand what, exactly, audiences desire,” says Peter Bakker, Managing Director, Contrend & IMMedia Content. “Contrend provides that visibility, making the platform a powerful tool for content creation during any phase of the marketing funnel. It’s the perfect tool for forward-thinking African companies that want to get a head start on the competition.”
Contrend (formerly branded as ‘Immediate Platform’) is used by large tech, finance and consultancy companies in Asia, Europe and the United States. Clients include Standard Chartered Bank, United Overseas Bank (UOB), KPMG, Trax and Hilton, amongst others. By utilising the platform, clients have seen 10% increases in sales and up to 100% increases in organic traffic after three months.
Through Media Brokerage Africa, marketers in Africa are now able to invest in this next-generation technology. According to Nielsen, a data-led approach to marketing can result in up to 7x return on investment. But only if marketers use the correct data. Contrend aggregates metrics from Google Analytics, SEO platforms, social-listening metrics and elsewhere to provide a complete picture of how audiences interact with content.
Colman Murray, Managing Director, Media Brokerage Africa, says: “We are extremely excited to offer our new and existing partners the advanced, machine-learning technology that underlies the IMMediate Platform, Contrend. African companies have the opportunity to take their media to the next level by combining Media Brokerage Africa’s extensive knowledge of the continent’s mediascape and IMMedia’s experience with global technology, finance and consumer brands.”
Launched in July 2020, Media Brokerage Africa specialises in Channel Distribution, Affiliate Sales and Management across Africa, Content Sales and Brokerage connecting pan-African audiences with international content, and Advertising, Sponsorships and Promotion. The company operates across all broadcasting platforms including, free-to-air (FTA), pay-TV, Digital Switch Over (DSO), mobile and over-the-top (OTT). Media Brokerage Africa consults on behalf of new and existing platforms within the African broadcast ecosystem bringing great international content and platforms to African audiences aligning and cultivating deeper meaningful connections.