Undertone to Provide More Equity to the Ad Buying Process

Digital ad company Undertone has launched a new platform called Uplift Collective. The brand calls it a first-of-its-kind network that's designed to connect its collection of minority, LGBTQ+ and women-owned publishers with advertisers. The biggest differentiator between what Uplift is offering versus a media agency that offers similar programs aimed at curated groups like BIPOC is that media agencies are making a pledge to the cause. Uplift will use its established network of publishers, which reaches more than 50 million people, to create a tool that will allow these media agencies to fulfill their pledges. Increase revenue and demand opportunities “Undertone is in a position where we can and want to be doing more for underrepresented communities and causes,” Karla White, chief of staff at Undertone, told Adweek. She added that most of these client-publishers are already in its network, and this move scoops up some of the dollars from the broader commitment they have made recently to spend a percentage of their media dollars toward underrepresented publishers. “This is allowing us the opportunity to increase the revenue and demand opportunities we drive to them, which is our main goal here.” Under the initiative, potential ad buyers can purchase across publishers including Her Agenda, SheMedia and Black Southern Belle to reach more than 50 million people worldwide. To further distinguish itself from other curated publishing programs offering similar access to specific groups, the program also pledges a donation to a charity of the publishers' or brands' choosing. It also provides access to creative services and support beyond the ad buy, including tech, formats and other tools to ensure the creative messaging is tonally appropriate. Undertone will be taking on any additional costs that come with running on these sites. More than an opportunistic move According to White, this new program benefits Undertone’s internal culture as much as the media community. “We saw a lot of emotion and passion behind this initiative as it means so much to our employees to do more for these communities and causes," White said. "However, we needed to make sure that we were not coming off as opportunistic or exploitive but, rather, really highlight that this is something we believe in and wanted to do what we felt was right.” Undertone conducted a “lot of research and detailed work” to make sure these curated publishers meet its strict guidelines. “There is no one list that has this information, so we had to comb our whole network one by one, as well as look into sites outside of network that fit the criteria,” White explained. “We are actively working on increasing the network daily to include all publishers in our ecosystem.” Undertone may have initially started this project alone, but now invites other participants. “We wanted to establish the groundwork and foundation first. We are, of course, open to working with others because the goal here is to support these groups and welcome others to join this initiative to take a stand with us.” Okayplayer’s Collaborative New Platform Aims to Fix Journalism’s Diversity Crisis

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Undertone to Provide More Equity to the Ad Buying Process

Digital advertising company Undertone debuts new platform

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