It’s not just content that matters in the advertising world.

Thanks to ever-evolving information technology, media platforms have become an equally important part of advertising.

Adknowledge, a U.S.-based company, found a business opportunity in IT. The company consults on and arranges the placement of advertisements based on its analysis of mostly users of social media ― Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

The company has become an online sensation by placing Samsung mobile phone commercials in front of every YouTube clip of someone breaking their iPhone, signaling the message, “Hey, you should’ve bought Samsung!”

And within 18 months into its operations in Asia, including four months in Korea, Adknowledge boasts a long line of lucrative clients, including Samsung and Hyundai Motor as well as SK’s e-commerce site 11st and deal-of-the-day operator Coupang.

“There is a growing demand for digital advertising once people realize that people are abandoning TV pretty fast and using social media and video on demand. This is great,” said Adknowledge CEO Ben Legg.

“What we are seeing in Korea is that people are ready to move much faster. They are usually global, e-commerce or gaming companies … and some of them wouldn’t even take trial tests to assess our performances. I guess they fear being left out from the global competition in a way,” Legg said, explaining that he has managed to arrange meetings with quite a few local industrial bigwigs already.

Legg said that the world of digitization has enabled advertisers to target specific consumers on different platforms for different use.

Facebook, where users post their personal information, says more about their demographics and lifestyles. For Facebook, Adknowledge was assigned to find a demographic which might buy audio books from Amazon. The company placed ads for people with long commutes through the information extracted from their profiles.

YouTube, which is filled with tutorials and introductions as well as other “useful” clips for specific hobbies or tastes, is better at targeting people with specific aims.

“When there is a clip saying, ‘How do I get from level 1 to 20 on Candy Crush?’ what a perfect time to recommend a different game, because he’s probably frustrated by the game then,” Legg said.

Legg is now eyeing video-on-demand services for broadband TVs, planning to advance into the field in 1-3 years.

“When you are on demand, you have the application, TV, iPad and you know a lot about the users ― age, sex, marital status, where they live, guess their household income, what car they drive, what they want to and do not want to buy through the user patterns or email information ― this guarantees a better target.

“TV as we know it will be dead in few years, and everything will be on demand. And that day, you won’t be able to remember those days when ads weren’t targeted!” Legg said.

Legg tried to soothe the anxiety that well-targeted digital ads means that Internet communication could create a culture of surveillance.

“Many people fear that telecom companies will know everything about your whereabouts. But in terms of advertising, it is not about where you are now ― I cannot serve a million ads on a million targeted people. What is interesting is the travel patterns ― whether they often go through sports stadiums, airports rather than a specific locations,” he said.

“Also, the minimum number of targets (for Facebook in particular as well as others) is 1,000. So as long as your data is used for these kinds of advertisements, you don’t have to be too concerned,” he said.

Legg said that people should accept that free Wi-Fi, mobile apps and TV programs come with advertisements.

“And in that time, it is better to receive targeted ads than irrelevant ads. My friend turned everything to locked on her Facebook profile, and this meant that she’s received average ads. She was annoyed because she sees ads about cars and children’s toys ― because she’s 33 and Facebook assumes she’s a mum. She has recovered the settings now because she decided to see the ads that are more relevant than annoying,” Legg said.

By Bae Ji-sook (baejisook@heraldcorp.com)