1XL announces audience transparency partnership

In the ongoing fight-back against Google and Facebook, premium local news publisher co-operative 1XL has joined forces with marketing research and technology company AudienceProject to launch an audience transparency initiative.

1XL, which represents 30 of the UK’s leading local news publishers in the national advertising market – including Johnston Press, Newsquest and Archant – gives advertisers access to 800 local newsbrands across the UK and Ireland in one purchase.

Under the new partnership, 1XL’s direct and programmatic advertising sales teams will be able to use AudienceProject’s core measurement and targeting tools to help establish key audience metrics including reach, uniques, demographic profiles and affinities – helping to verify that their inventory reaches the right audiences.

Because data points are shared with all contributing publishers, it allows them to sell audiences at scale.

“We strive to deliver 100% transparency and to achieve this it is not enough to mark your own homework,” said Scott Gill, managing director of 1XL.

“We’re continually enforcing key principles of safety and visibility in online advertising through the likes of our recent Advertising Charter, and this partnership is yet another wake up call to advertisers and agencies that they should be moving spend to blue chip publisher environments, where they are guaranteed a transparent and endorsed system of inventory quality.”

Jacob Lachmann, CEO of AudienceProject, added: “The likes of Facebook and Google have set the bar high due to their reach and data capabilities. With our partnership, 1XL will be able to close the technical gap and use its local presence as a publisher to give a superior product to its clients.”