Thursday, May 31, 2018

Cradle funding a boost to AdEasy's expansion plans

KUALA LUMPUR, May 31 (Bernama) -- AdEasy, South-East Asia's first online marketplace to help connect businesses with traditional advertising media, was selected by Cradle Fund Sdn Bhd to receive RM775,000 in funding in 2017 under the Direct Equity 800 (DEQ800) plan.

From 800 companies, 13 start-ups were selected to receive a capital injection of between RM300,000 and RM800,000.

This is AdEasy's second round of seed investment, having received RM242,000 last year through equity crowdfunding platform, pitchIN. To date, AdEasy has booked 15 campaigns with a total ad spend of more than RM950,000 through its small-and-medium enterprise (SME) clients.

"There is a huge untapped market of SMEs which are not advertising yet, 86.6 per cent to be exact," said AdEasy chief executive officer, Melissa Sim.

"This is because they lack the knowledge, data and tools to make informed decisions. We aim to equip SMEs with advertising knowledge and media-planning tools so that they can confidently book ad space on their own," she added.

SMEs are able to save time, money and resources in finding the right ad space through a comprehensive marketplace in three easy steps via AdEasy by browsing, comparing and booking.

Total ad spend in Malaysia for 2017 was RM4.65 billion, with Malaysian advertisers allocating 77 per cent of their advertising budget for traditional media.

According to the Nielsen Consumer and Media View 2017 report, traditional media enjoys more than 70 per cent reach across the board. More than 90 per cent of Malaysians aged between 15 and 24 years consumed both traditional and digital media, while only one per cent of this demographic consumed digital media exclusively during the time period.

Evidently, traditional advertising is still thriving. Today, over 480 ad spaces are listed on AdEasy from more than 80 media options like GSC Cinemas, Astro Radio, BFM 89.9, The Malay Mail, Mingguan Wanita, Her World, Bernama News Channel, Astro Malay Channel, GrabAds, Hot Media and more.

"We are continuously adding more media options to the marketplace every month and plan to extend our ad space offerings to include neighbouring countries by the end of this year so that SMEs can easily book ad space anywhere, anytime in the region. We are determined to make AdEasy the leading online ecosystem for advertising in South-East Asia," said Sim.

"Cradle has more than 700 start-ups in its portfolio, providing them mentorship and networking opportunities, as well as growth guidance. Other than knowing we are in good hands, we believe AdEasy can add value to Cradle's start-ups by being their go-to advertising support. Ultimately, like Cradle, AdEasy is focused on driving growth for them through advertising," she added.

Cradle chief investment officer, Juliana Jan, said, "Digital innovation is at the heart of our investment strategy. An online marketplace for offline advertising space that allows advertisers to book offline ad spaces defines the future of traditional advertising."

"We are confident that AdEasy and its technology will be a game changer in the industry. We see huge potential in AdEasy and we are excited to support and be part of this company."

-- BERNAMA 

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