South Korean advertising company Wisebirds Inc. on Friday shared an ambitious goal of becoming a global comprehensive digital advertising firm after going public on the Kosdaq in August.

“The rapid growth of online and mobile [sectors] has led to a paradigm shift in the global advertisement market to one that focuses on digital ads,” said Kim Jong-won, chief executive of Wisebirds.

The company held a press conference in Yeouido, Seoul, on Friday, ahead of its scheduled IPO on August 5.

Wisebirds – founded in 2013 – is a real time bidding (RTB) ad firm. RTB refers to a form of customized ad shown on user website instantaneously through real-time auctions. The auction setting has been gaining popularity among online players in developed markets such as the United States. Facebook, Google, and Instagram are major websites that have introduced RTB system.

Wisebirds developed an optimized ad solution called Adwitt for Facebook and Instagram based on its ad technology and digital ad capacity. The company subdivides target screening criteria into gender, location, age, interest, and recent purchase records and monitors individual ad preference to show more appealing and customized ads to users.

Through Adwitt, Wisebirds has become an ad company carrying out the most number of RTB ads for progressive media such as Facebook and Instagram in Korea. The company’s clients include Samsung Electronics, Gmarket, Netmarble, Kolon Industries, Hyundai Motor, and Kia Motors.

The company has also been expanding its global media partnership. It is the country’s first company to be acknowledged as an ad technology marketing partner for Facebook and Instagram. It was selected as Google premier partner in 2017 and in the following year one that can use Google’s progressive ad platform DV360.

Based on its competitiveness focusing on RTB ads, Wisebirds has been able to solidify its market position and expand ad handling volume.

Currently, Wisebirds is engaged in ad business in 150 countries around the world. Last year, it raised 3.9 billion won ($3.2 million) in operating income on sales of 10.5 billion won. The company handled 107.6 billion won worth of ads last year – an annual increase of 114.6 percent from 1 billion won in 2013.

In the first three months of this year, Wisebirds raised 2 billion won in sales. It handled 21 billion won in ads as of end of March.

Following its IPO in August, Wisebirds plans to expand global media coverage to include Line in Taiwan and Thailand and Kakao. It also plans to launch search ad business, promote creative projects, and expand ad server business with an aim to expand its digital ad portfolio.

Wisebirds also plans to carry integrated marketing of search and display ads to satisfy client needs and expand ad material production domain from mobile to TV commercials. It also plans to develop and supply ad platforms to major media companies to secure profitability.

Kim said that the company will strengthen basic foundation for growth and diversify business portfolio to become a comprehensive digital ad firm.

By Pulse

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