In this weekly segment, ExchangeWire sums up key industry updates on ad tech from around the Asia-Pacific region – and in this edition: Wego.com goes mobile native in APAC; Tremor Video looks to fill ad tech gap in NZ; Dentsu launches programmatic audio; AsiaMX unveils programmatic TV ad exchange; and Sizmek beefs up SEA programmatic team.

Wego.com goes mobile native in APAC

The travel search platform has launched its native advertising offerings for mobile devices in the Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions.

Founded in 2005, and headquartered in Singapore, Wego operates in Dubai, Bangalore, and Jakarta; and its travel app is available on Google's Play Store and Apple's App Store. The travel services company refers flight and hotel bookings worth some USD$1.5bn (£1.06bn) to its partners.

Pointing to the company's mobile focus, Wego's vice president for mobile Honey Mittal said its native ad offering was designed to meet the region's needs.

Co-founder and chief advertising officer, Craig Hewitt, added: "Mobile is the new frontier for advertisers. Nothing connects advertisers with or gets closer to travellers than creative and relevant mobile messaging.

"Traditionally, ads were considered intrusive, and wasteful due to accidental clicks that return no value to the advertiser," Hewitt said, noting that Wego's mobile native ads were built to be embedded inside travel search results, pushing "relevant and highly personalised communications".

He said its clients were clocking CTRs eight to 10 times higher than industry standards.

Tremor Video looks to fill ad tech gap in NZ

The video ad platform has expanded into the New Zealand market, a move that follows its acquisition of Australia-based TVN last year.

Citing June 2015 stats from Nielsen, Tremor said more than 25% of consumers in New Zealand watched online videos every week and the number of smartphone and tablet owners doubled over the previous year. In comparison, the country's online ad market spend grew just 27%, according to IAB NZ's fourth-quarter 2015 report.

Tremor's vice president and co-founder of TVN, Josh Ismin, said: "New Zealand broadcasters and publishers have been hugely underserviced by ad tech companies focused on markets like Australia, Southeast Asia, and Japan. We saw this pronounced gap and decided the time is right to offer our fully server-side SSP."

Ismin moved to New Zealand to drive the company's launch and would continue to serve as its regional vice president.

Yael Milbank also had been appointed general manager, responsible for building the local team and demand-side operations. He previously served as general manager of digital solutions at TVNZ and currently is a member on IAB's board in New Zealand.

Dentsu launches programmatic audio

The Japanese agency group has unveiled programmatic audio ad services in its domestic market, making the new offering available in the Dentsu Private Marketplace.

The service is delivered via Triton Digital2's programmatic audio ad exchange, a2x, which is touted to allow advertisers to deliver targeted, contextual, and behavioural audio ads in real-time, according to Dentsu.

"Although demand for digital audio content, such as internet radio and music streaming services, is growing with increasing mobile use and better internet connectivity, the Japanese market remains nascent with no single established or widely accepted method to serve digital audio ads", the agency group said, adding that it hoped to fill the void.

Over the coming months, Dentsu said it would be partnering audio content providers, including radio broadcasters, to create its 'Premium Audio Ad Series', to be delivered as part of the Dentsu Private Marketplace's offerings.

AsiaMX unveils programmatic TV ad exchange

Asia Media Exchange (AsiaMX) has launched its programmatic TV advertising platform, promising to provide better targeting and 'high-value' linear TV ad inventory.

Through automation and data, the ad exchange would allow advertisers to better plan and manage their campaigns, bookings, and reporting, said AsiaMX. It added that the platform was integrated with audience measurement data from research firms, and could be accessed directly or through accredited DSPs.

The exchange currently had access to more than USD$60m (£42.44m) worth of programmatic ad assets from pay TV and free-to-air networks, encompassing premium primetime, online video, and mobile ad inventory. These included inventory from various broadcasters and online TV networks across the region, including A+E Networks Asia, Turner Asia Pacific, Thailand's BEC-Tero Entertainment, Nation Broadcasting Corporation, OTV, and Dek-D Interactive.

Advertisers tapping the AsiaMX platform would be offered 'first-look' ad assets at 100% viewability, according to the ad tech firm.

Citing research from PricewaterhouseCoopers and McKinsey, AsiaMX CEO Basil Chua noted that TV advertising in Asia-Pacific was projected to reach USD$53bn (£37.49bn) in 2019, while TV remained the largest and most important advertising asset for brands seeking to reach their target audiences.

Sizmek beefs up SEA programmatic team

Ng Po Yean

The ad tech firm has appointed three new executives to its programmatic team for Southeast Asia, as it looks to tap growing market demand in the region.

Ng Po Yean has been named its Asia-Pacific director of operations and leads the company's media, trading, and programmatic strategy teams. Previously account management director at Smaato, Ng has more than 16 years of digital ad experience and also held a role at Yahoo, where she was involved in pricing analysis.

Sizmek also roped in Sneh Singhania as sales head for its programmatic business unit in the region. The executive was formerly with Google's sales and business development team and had managed search, video, mobile, and display campaigns.

Nicole Guo also joined the Sizmek's team as its Asia-Pacific programmatic strategist, having moved from her previous role in Xpointo.

Sizmek's associate vice-president of programmatic business unit, Ryan Murray, said: "We are gearing up to meet agency and brand demand for deep expertise in the Southeast Asian programmatic advertising market. We recognise that advertisers are seeking experience and guidance to navigate complexity and reach audiences across multiple platforms.

"The nuances of running great digital advertising campaigns in Southeast Asia are significant. Each country has its own unique characteristics and an understanding of how the Asian media industry works is vital", Murray said.