Can TotallyAwesome’s Programmatic Playground Offer Safe Advertising To Kids?

A report released by the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health at the University of Connecticut found that more than one-third of food products advertised to kids, such as sugary cereals and sweet snacks are not healthy dietary options. Of the food products that can be advertised directly to children under the Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative, 37% do not qualify as healthy and do not include fruits or vegetables, the data showed. 

According to data from HappyKids – Future Today’s owned and operated advertising video on demand (AVOD) streaming service – 67% of parents are heavily influenced by their children when deciding where to shop and what to buy. Families talk about streaming TV ads more than any other media platform. Future Today helps content owners create, distribute and monetize streaming channels across a multitude of OTT platforms.

While children under 18 increasingly control most household purchasing decisions, such as cars, beauty and technology – TotallyAwesome said it has been difficult for marketers to target them in a brand-safe and scalable contextual environment. 

Last year, Instagram announced a series of updates designed to make its app a safer place for online teens. The company said it would default users to private accounts at sign-up if they are under the age of 16 or under 18 in certain locales, including in the EU.

This would also push existing users under 16 to switch their account to private if they had not already done so. In addition, Instagram is to roll out new technology aimed at reducing unwanted contact from adults – like those who have already been blocked or reported by other teens and it will change how advertisers can reach its teenage audience. Facebook had earlier announced the same move to restrict advertisers targeting kids under 18.

To target the teens in a safe manner, TotallyAwesome Programmatic Playground engages with its under 18 audiences contextually via 7000 verified brand-safe media inventory formates, including apps, websites and games to deliver to over 300 million monthly active online users across the Asia Pacific. It does not collect any data or personal identifying information (PII).

Instead, it uses a custom data filter that prevents PII-sensitive data from being collected and transferred in the bid request. TotallyAwesome Programmatic Playground then leverages and optimizes over 200 interest categories under 18 and creates sophisticated audience segments for responsible engagement with this segment.

The Curation and Moderation Platform has ingested millions of brand-safe media ad units, publishers, and contextual environments. All inventory is vetted and qualified by human moderators, including teenagers, in the local language to guarantee brand-safe and ad fraud-free inventory. The company aims to deliver the most significant and best-in-class media supply across APAC to engage the under-18 demographic range.

TotallyAwesome Programmatic Playground is reported to be compliant with the data privacy guidelines and regulations from the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act and General Data Protection Regulation. Additionally, TotallyAwesome is a member of the kidSAFE Seal Program, an independent safety certification service and seal-of-approval program designed exclusively for children-friendly websites and technologies.

The company follows the most advanced government regulations protecting children’s data and privacy. A resident practising psychologist advises on what is age-appropriate and consequently helps shape the company’s products and develop bespoke research solutions.

Will Anstee, CEO of TotallyAwesome said: “We’re extremely proud to bring the world’s first programmatic solution to engage with audiences under 18 to market in APAC safely. We have invested significant time and resources to create this world-first solution that enables brands and agencies to engage with this powerful and influential audience with meaning and utility at scale and in a protected environment.” 

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