Integration Between Holding Group's
Colossus SSP and FreeWheel to Provide Enhanced Connections to
Demand to Increase Ability for Advertisers to Reach Audiences at
Scale on CTV
HOUSTON and NEW
YORK, Feb. 28, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Direct
Digital Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: DRCT) ("Direct Digital Holdings" or
the "Company"), a leading advertising and marketing technology
platform operating through its companies Colossus Media, LLC
("Colossus SSP"), Huddled Masses LLC ("Huddled Masses") and Orange
142, LLC ("Orange 142"), announced a new partnership with
FreeWheel, a global technology platform for the television
advertising industry.
The agreement builds on Direct Digital Holdings' buy- and
sell-side relationship with Beeswax, FreeWheel's programmatic
buying platform.
This new deal will allow the holding group's Colossus SSP to
directly connect to FreeWheel's premium CTV inventory and server
technology. Colossus SSP provides brands with access to a truly
inclusive audience, tapping into a range of multicultural/diverse
publishers and general market media – and this partnership will
open pathways to top-tier CTV inventory for both. The partnership
will bring together expertise, resources, cutting-edge technology,
and robust content to drive demand from top advertisers.
"This agreement will significantly grow the high-quality CTV
inventory available through Colossus SSP," said Mark D. Walker, Co-Founder, CEO, and Chairman at
Direct Digital Holdings. "FreeWheel is able to unify all demand
channels into one optimal ad decision to maximize the end-viewer
experience. Their capabilities complement the performance,
efficiencies and transparency that brands and media buyers have
come to value at Colossus SSP."
"Today's TV ad marketplace is very fragmented and complex, and
so, one of our key focus areas is to continually find new ways to
simplify and streamline the ad buying process," said Katy Loria, Chief Revenue Officer, FreeWheel.
"We recognize today's consumers increasingly gravitate towards CTV
and our audiences are becoming more diverse. It is our hope that,
by teaming up with Colossus SSP, we can help connect publishers to
multicultural audiences – at scale – on premium content."
"We have worked collaboratively with both Colossus SSP and
FreeWheel, and we're excited to tap into their new partnership as
they continue to diversify and scale their collective offerings,"
said Michael Piner, EVP, Advanced
Advertising, Mediahub. "High-quality CTV inventory is a top
priority for our clients, and this partnership will deliver that
while expanding our ability to reach robust, diverse audiences
through a diverse-owned partner."
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may
contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal
securities laws, including the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended,
and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended,
and which are subject to certain risks, trends and
uncertainties.
As used below, "we," "us," and "our" refer to Direct Digital
Holdings. We use words such as "could," "would," "may," "might,"
"will," "expect," "likely," "believe," "continue," "anticipate,"
"estimate," "intend," "plan," "project" and other similar
expressions to identify forward-looking statements, but not all
forward-looking statements include these words. All statements
contained in this release that do not relate to matters of
historical fact should be considered forward-looking
statements.
All of our forward-looking statements involve estimates and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially
from those expressed in or implied by the forward-looking
statements. Our forward-looking statements are based on assumptions
that we have made in light of our industry experience and our
perceptions of historical trends, current conditions, expected
future developments and other factors we believe are appropriate
under the circumstances. Although we believe that these
forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions,
many factors could affect our actual operating and financial
performance and cause our performance to differ materially from the
performance expressed in or implied by the forward-looking
statements, including, but not limited to: our dependence on the
overall demand for advertising, which could be influenced by
economic downturns; any slow-down or unanticipated development in
the market for programmatic advertising campaigns; the effects of
health epidemics, such as the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic;
operational and performance issues with our platform, whether real
or perceived, including a failure to respond to technological
changes or to upgrade our technology systems; any significant
inadvertent disclosure or breach of confidential and/or personal
information we hold, or of the security of our or our customers',
suppliers' or other partners' computer systems; any unavailability
or non-performance of the non-proprietary technology, software,
products and services that we use; unfavorable publicity and
negative public perception about our industry, particularly
concerns regarding data privacy and security relating to our
industry's technology and practices, and any perceived failure to
comply with laws and industry self-regulation; restrictions on the
use of third-party "cookies," mobile device IDs or other tracking
technologies, which could diminish our platform's effectiveness;
any inability to compete in our intensely competitive market; any
significant fluctuations caused by our high customer concentration;
any violation of legal and regulatory requirements or any
misconduct by our employees, subcontractors, agents or business
partners; any strain on our resources, diversion of our
management's attention or impact on our ability to attract and
retain qualified board members as a result of being a public
company; our dependence, as a holding company, of receiving
distributions from Direct Digital Holdings, LLC to pay our taxes,
expenses and dividends; and other factors and assumptions discussed
in the "Risk Factors," "Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Conditions and Results of Operations" and other sections
of our filings with the SEC that we make from time to time. Should
one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize or should
any of these assumptions prove to be incorrect, our actual
operating and financial performance may vary in material respects
from the performance projected in these forward-looking statements.
Further, any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date
on which it is made, and except as required by law, we undertake no
obligation to update any forward-looking statement contained in
this release to reflect events or circumstances after the date on
which it is made or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or
unanticipated events or circumstances, and we claim the protection
of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
About FreeWheel
FreeWheel empowers all segments of The
New TV Ecosystem. We are structured to provide the full breadth of
solutions the advertising industry needs to achieve their goals. We
provide the technology, data enablement and convergent marketplaces
required to ensure buyers and sellers can transact across all
screens, across all data types, and all sales channels, in order to
ensure the ultimate goal – results for marketers. With offices in
New York, San Francisco, Chicago, London, Paris, Beijing, and across the globe, FreeWheel, A
Comcast Company, stands to advocate for the entire industry through
the FreeWheel Council for Premium Video. For more information,
please visit freewheel.com, and follow us on X and
LinkedIn.
About Direct Digital Holdings
Direct Digital Holdings
(Nasdaq: DRCT), owner of operating companies Colossus SSP, Huddled
Masses, and Orange 142, brings state-of-the-art sell- and buy-side
advertising platforms together under one umbrella company. Direct
Digital Holdings' sell-side platform, Colossus SSP, offers
advertisers of all sizes extensive reach within general market and
multicultural media properties. The Company's subsidiaries Huddled
Masses and Orange142 deliver significant ROI for middle market
advertisers by providing data-optimized programmatic solutions at
scale for businesses in sectors that range from energy to
healthcare to travel to financial services. Direct Digital
Holdings' sell- and buy-side solutions manage on average over
125,000 clients monthly, generating over 300 billion impressions
per month across display, CTV, in-app and other media channels.
Media Contacts:
Direct Digital Holdings:
press@directdigitalholdings.com
FreeWheel:
Elaine Wong
elaine_wong@comcast.com
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SOURCE Direct Digital Holdings