Montreal-based Mediative, a digital advertising and marketing subsidiary of Yellow Pages Group, has grown its online sales network with the addition of two premium men’s lifestyle properties: AskMen.com and IGN.com.
The two sites boast a combined audience of 3.7 million monthly unique visitors in Canada, with Mediactive claiming that their audiences are comprised of “active, upwardly mobile” men.
AskMen.com’s Canadian inventory was previously represented by Transcontinental Media, while the Mediative deal marks the first time IGN.com – a site devoted primarily to gaming – has been represented in Canada.
Oscar Sachs, senior vice-president of publisher relations for Mediative in Montreal, said that by combining inventory on IGN.com with that of a separate retail network comprised of companies like Walmart, Future Shop and Toys R Us – which he said account for roughly 80% of all video games sold in Canada – Mediative is able to make a compelling offer to prospective advertisers in that segment.
Mediative has also added Sears.ca to its network of e-commerce retail sites, providing advertisers with access to what it describes as “shopping decision-makers.” In addition to Sears, Mediative currently represents the online inventory for other major retailers including Walmart, Future Shop and Toys R Us.
Sachs said that users of retail web sites are an “established audience” for North American advertisers. “The majority of the buying decision is actually made at point-of-purchase in front of products,” he said. “You may know you want to buy a TV, but it’s not until you’re in front of the product selection that you’re making the final decision.”
In addition to allowing advertisers to targets Sears.ca users by geographic location and product category, Sears.ca will also offer integrated content and sponsorship opportunities.
“Not only are these people buying, but you can tell when someone’s in appliances or cosmetics or gaming,” said Sachs. “You can tell what kind of audience and profile that is and they happen to have intent to buy.”
According to Sachs, Sears.ca represents an “excellent” opportunity for advertisers in categories such as CPG to reach a predominantly female audience, as well as companies whose brands are carried in the store.
Sachs claimed that Mediative’s model has enabled its partners to grow their e-commerce operating profit by as much as 25-30%. “It hasn’t been a nice-to-have, it’s actually transforming what the e-commerce model is,” he said. “It’s given them a competitive advantage.”
