• by Melynda Fuller , November 16, 2018

Publishers like the Associated Press and USA Todayhave been using Arkadium’s AI-powered “engagement units” to create interactive modules alongside their sports content. Now, Arkadium has adapted those modules into advertising units, giving advertisers a simple way to create branded content that sees a 6.5% engagement rate.

InHabit, Arkadium’s AI-powered technology, reads an article and automatically supplies an interactive editorial unit, called a “factive,” that relates to the material and is designed to engage the reader.

Arkadium’s in-house editorial staff conceives and writes the format found within the factives, then those units are populated by data and information collected by the AI technology.

To adapt the technology for the demand side, Arkadium built its own proprietary ad-server, a robust set of reporting capabilities that integrate with DoubleVerify, IAS and other media authentication platforms and brand safety tools, Arkadium CEO Jessica Rovello told Publishing Insider. 

Arkadium ran an initial pilot program with fashion retailer DXL. Results showed an average of 21.6 second dwell time. Users were also more likely to give their experience with the associated article a higher rating. In addition, 90% of InHabit engagements were in-target, hitting DXL’s core demographic of U.S.-based men aged between 18-50.

Currently, the technology is available only for sports advertising, however, Arkadium has built a sports publisher network that reaches over 70 million readers.

“And that network is constantly growing,” said Rovello, adding that all a publisher has to do to enable InHabit on its site is add a line of code to its article pages. The result requires no day-to-day maintenance or editorial involvement. AI is currently being developed for other segments, like finance and lifestyle.

InHabit campaigns are sold direct. Advertisers pay for inventory, and its creative execution is included in the cost. However, Rovello said in the future, InHabit plans to enable programmatic buys allowing advertisers create in-house creative and input existing assets.