Hivestack wins quartet of agency network appointments in Hong Kong

Adtech firm Hivestack has been selected as programmatic digital out of home (pDOOH) partner in Hong Kong by four major media agency networks: GroupM (and its programmatic firm Xaxis), Publicis, Havas and Dentsu International.

The partnership will enable the agencies to activate premium pDOOH inventory in Hong Kong on behalf of their advertisers through the Hivestack DSP. Inventory can be purchased via both open exchange and private marketplace deals.

It comes after Hivestack expanded its DOOH inventory supply in the market in June to deliver 210 million monthly impressions, the company said.

In addition to its premium DOOH supply within Hong Kong, Hivestack will also offer its new demand partners inside-out buys across China and its other locations across the world.

The expansion in Hong Kong is part of a broader push across North Asia being led by Troy Yang, who Hivestack hired in January from his previous role as The Trade Desk's SVP of North Asia. Hivestack launched in China in January and subsequently opened business in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Yang said the partnerships with the major media agencies "are a testament to continued growth of programmatic DOOH opportunities across North Asia".

Andy Chung, MD of GroupM's Xaxis and INCA in Hong Kong, explained why the network is investing in pDOOH: "Apart from overlaying data and retargeting, one of the key benefits of programmatic DOOH for marketers is that we can programmatically deliver the digital screen ad based on preferred weather conditions across a bundle of digital outdoor billboards with CPM pricing model. The ad can be programmed to stop automatically when it is raining or under typhoon signals thereby achieving cost savings to marketers.

"We are pleased to recognise that Hivestack is the pioneer and specialist in this area, capable of advanced solutions and features. We look forward to working with Hivestack and bringing these benefits to our GroupM clients," Chung added.

Tammii Pang, head of PMX in Hong Kong, said "this is an incredibly exciting time for the DOOH market in Hong Kong."

Anna Chan, CEO of Media LoB at Dentsu International Hong Kong, said DOOH is "becoming an increasingly vital media touch point", while Havas Media HK MD Andrew Cawte said the opportunity to buy pDOOH inventory at scale "is game changing for advertisers here".