Collecting New Data Points in Advertising. An Interview with KERV’s Marika Roque

Marika Roque, EVP Media and Technology, KERV Interactive has spent years on the agency side, working on brands in technical, media, production, operational and senior leadership roles. 

“I have worked in digital from its beginning,” she explained, “My understanding of the inner workings of the digital ecosystem help me understand how to quickly filter through the clutter and get to what is real. The goal is to never build a team that you can automate. Build one that will help you along the path to automation and actually get there.”

I spoke with her regarding the programmatic infrastructure side of adtech. 

Charlene Weisler: Tell me about KERV, where does it sit in the media ecosystem?

Marika Roque: KERV is a video technology company with proprietary, patent-protected technology that represents a new genre of advertising; One in which images and objects within entertainment properties, video advertising assets and other forms of display technologies are optimized and made interactive.  This technology offers consumers a deeper, more personalized experience. Consumers can click on a featured object in midstream to obtain information about that particular object. KERV is the only technology available that recognizes images by their pixel edges to create a real-time, interactive in-video experience in every scene. Every object within an in-stream ad or piece of content can be interactive, clicked on and linked out to a unique page.

In addition to the entertainment value delivered to a consumer’s fingertips and the resulting monetization opportunities, the same platform has the ability to collect substantial data points that others aren’t collecting regarding consumers’ behavior – data that goes far beyond industry standards.

Weisler: What TV services can use your technology? Connected TVs? Linear? Streaming services?

Roque: In Distribution we can currently connect to any content that can accept a VPAID tag from a distribution perspective. In Content we are in the integration stages with several content-heavy companies which will allow custom integrations with their consumption infrastructures, while users are watching any 10 foot device. We plan on taking advantage of the multi-screen consumption behaviors that exist on the consumption side. We are agnostic, as long as the streaming service can accept a VPAID tag. This will be a different story when we get into next year. 

Weisler: Is this technology added in production or post? Can it be added to legacy content?

Roque: No production costs! It can be added to legacy content. We simply need access to the raw file, such as an MP4. It is very turnkey to work with us and we provide unique, creative data points. We are a data-driven video lab, from one angle. 

Weisler: Do you direct viewers to websites?

Roque: Yes, we can direct viewers to websites. Currently, most in-stream and pre-roll ads only allow
one click out. Some technologies allow for customizable buttons, but those only add one link out. Most longer-form content doesn't click out at all! Our technology allows for an infinite amount of link outs per frame of any asset which is KERVd. When a user is consuming content/ads wrapped with our technology, any object (down to the pixel level), can be identified and linked out to a unique landing page/website/app/Google Map (the customer can drive the experience of their choice through the link out story). Visualize an ad for a retailer that has a frame with several models in it. All of the models are wearing different clothes that the retailer sells. Every item on each model can be uniquely clicked out to its unique landing page or we can click out to a pre-populated map which locates stores near you! For instance, a Michael Kors dress can be linked out to that SKUs product page uniquely, as well as the necklace, the earrings, the shoes, etc. This not only allows a layer of shop ability and data collection, but can also allow the brand/advertiser to provide additional information, right in the experience, without having the user leave the page.

Weisler: Do you collect any data and if so what? And if you collect data how do you use it to gain insights?

Roque: We currently collect all of our unique interaction points throughout the experience, down to the object, frame, user and device level. We are able to analyze certain interactions, first, second, third, down to the object level, of any scene, within any KERVd video asset. This allows us to provide unique insight on the creative, from a true interaction perspective, and also allows us to add data points to current attribution or lifetime value models. 

Weisler: How do you manage privacy?

Roque: We currently anatomize groups of unique users, when modeling internally. When passing along PII insights to license/MSAAS customers, we have established very strict “Terms and Conditions” within our MSA and take protecting our users' data very seriously. On the distribution side, we work with technologies and content/sites, which are all GDPR compliant and are on the front of data trends.  

Weisler: What are the challenges in your form of ad tech and how to overcome?

Roque: For one, there are multiple configurations for the many different video players (literally the players that host content on websites) across the programmatic ecosystem. Every publisher has their own custom configuration of 1 of 5 or so, video players (ex: JW Player, Brightcove), if they don't have a proprietary player. We are addressing this by gaining partnerships and integrations with all of the premium content creators and are asking questions, which are not standard practice within the RTB, Video Player, SSP, etc., spaces. Definitely trail blazing.  We are also modeling user behavior based on new/patented interactions, within a time where data is becoming more and more private. We are not currently defining the users from their cookies but instead by their behaviors within our patented technology. 

This article first appeared in www.Mediapost.com