ITV Invests $2.7 Million in Location Tech Service What3words

The U.K.’s largest commercial broadcaster ITV has agreed to a $2.7 million (£2 million) investment with What3words, an accessible location service—the first deal under its investment program, Media for Equity. Through the scheme, the broadcaster will take minority stakes within early-stage digital and direct-to-consumer businesses—alongside venture capital investment—in return for advertising inventory across its suite of media. New ways to explore TV advertising The first investment of its kind will be into What3words, an organization that gives each location a three word identifier address to help people find the location. ITV explained this using its own head office front door as an example, showing audiences that it could be discovered on the platform using the words ///drama.keen.buyers. Kelly Williams, managing director for ITV Commercial, said that the business was looking to introduce new ways for brands to explore TV advertising and that the scheme would provide an opportunity for it to invest and support entrepreneurial companies while also diversifying its relationships. "This initiative will also demonstrate to digital-led businesses the power of ITV's weekly reach of over 40 million people, as well as the storytelling and brand-building capabilities of TV. We are thrilled that our first investment is a leading U.K.-based tech company that also supports public services,” Williams added. Pandemic dip in profits ITV has had a tough pandemic year. It saw profits fall by 28% to £325 million ($445 million) from £530 million ($726 million) the previous year. Despite an increase in online advertising revenue, total advertising was down by 11% at £1.76 billion ($2.19 billion). Scottish commercial broadcaster STV launched a similar initiative with its Growth Fund, having onboarded over 200 businesses since launching in 2018. Media for Equity sees ITV aim to become a strategic partner for early-stage businesses that can use the channel’s advertising to grow its brand and service awareness. Minority stake of $2.7 million The deal will see ITV acquire a minority stake valued at £2 million in return for advertising inventory, with an option to invest a further £2 million in the future.For its 2019 year-end results, What3words reported a loss of £14.5 million against reported gross assets of £24.7 million. Giles Rhys Jones, chief marketing officer of What3words said that the business has experienced “a dramatic increase” in users as it helped individuals and businesses make deliveries, guide taxis to correct destinations and meet friends."ITV can take our message of helping people to know exactly where to millions of homes. It's fantastic to have such a great partner on our mission to make the world a safer, less frustrating and more efficient place,” lauded Rhys Jones. Leading the initiative for ITV will be venture capitalist Niko Waesche, who has held senior positions within IBM, German broadcaster RTL and market research institute Growth from Knowledge. ITV also runs “AdVentures Ignite” which is a matching scheme for companies who are new to TV and ITV Backing Business, which will offer bespoke content and resources like marketing initiatives and analysis tools to support British business growth. Google’s Post-Cookie Targeting Plans Stumble at a GDPR Hurdle

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British Broadcaster ITV Invests $2.7 Million in Location Finding Platform What3words

This is the first investment deal ITV has made under a new plan to support businesses

New ways to explore TV advertising

Stephen Lepitak

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