Skynet produces most optimal plan for media planners: Rajendra Khare

Backed by private investors including Accel Partners, India Innovation Fund and JP Morgan, ad-tech firm SureWaves MediaTech recently introduced a marketplace platform Skynet that will help broadcasters and advertising firms in the media buying / selling process. Rajendra Khare, founder and CMD, SureWaves MediaTech Pvt Ltd, in conversation with Ashish K Tiwari, speaks about the company's new offering, business model, future plans etc. Edited excerpts...

What does Skynet offer?

It’s a programmatic television advertising marketplace. Traditionally, television advertising planning has been a time-consuming process and is difficult for planners to get instant data on their campaigns, thus prolonging the time for course correction. Skynet, with its robust technology, uses sophisticated planning algorithms that assure absolute and measurable implementation of a brands’ television campaign. It uses a good amount of data science to put out the results. And to ensure constant and accurate updates on viewership figures and trends, we have partnered with the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India for data.

Could you tell us how does this platform really work?

Once the media owners (broadcasters) place their inventory into the platform, the system then auto considers them into the media buying plans without any bias. The platform looks at the buyer’s and the campaign’s objective (variables like how much prime time to do, which genres and creatives, their impact, time slots 40/20 seconds or a combination) and makes the best decisions.

It is automatically able to take up spots available, does all the number crunching, offer various permutations and combinations and produce the most optimal plan.

Are all the broadcasters and ad agencies logged onto Skynet?

The platform has just been introduced in Tamil Nadu. It is a strong regional market it is very distinct while still being islolated in nature. The response from broadcasters has been very encouraging as revenue generation is very central to channels that are struggling with either maximising their yield or even monetising it.

Currently, we are in dialogue with all the tier I media-buying agencies and four of them (Madison, Starcom, ZenithOptimedia and Havas Media) have signed up so far to start using the platform on a testing basis. As for broadcasters, we have Raj TV and Polimer Group onboard the platform at present. Between the two, we already have inventory from six channels going live; another dozen channels will get added soon.

How do you intend to make money?

The buying side (media buyers/advertising agencies) don’t pay anything as a platform charge. The broadcasters are levied with a platform charge on the success of their inventory getting sold. Otherwise they don’t pay anything.

What are your expansion plans for Skynet?

This year, we should have a very comprehensive penetration in the southern market. Thereafter we’ll expand to the other markets. The power of this platform is that it will make broadcasters’ life very easy in India and international markets. In fact, we see good potential for this platform globally and will explore a collaborative approach to expand worldwide.