Welcome to the first installment of our ongoing series where we take a closer look at companies that are near and dear to our hearts for numerous reasons, and learn a thing or two (or more) about their operations.
Today, we are getting a glimpse into one of our latest investments: Cerebro, the company behind a Digital-Out-Of-Home (DOOH) advertising platform that allows real-time targeting of an audience by using facial and vehicle detection technology and displays the most suitable ads as a result.
That’s the short and sweet version for the TLDR people, now it’s time to go deeper!
A game changer
When someone mentions the words “game changer”, what’s the first thing that pops in your mind? Is it visionary people like Henry Ford and Elon Musk, a century apart in their brilliance? Is it an idea like the TV or the Internet that completely changed all facets of life? Is it a company like Amazon that altered the business landscape and practically became a synonym for e-commerce?
Or maybe it’s motorized lollipops?
In a way, it’s all of it, each with its own varying degree of influence on the business environment. When you have an innovative method of doing something in a more efficient way, you have the power to change the face of the industry. That’s how we at M51 know Cerebro is a game changer.
To tingle our senses, we must believe in you. As our CEO likes to point out, ideas are cheap commodities these days. Don’t get us wrong: we’re certainly not devaluing what a great concept can produce. For us, it’s also about how you define yourself as an entrepreneur: if you have what it takes to deliver.
On that ever-important entrepreneur side, things were smooth from the start because we already knew Dor Lahola, CEO at Cerebro, and other guys and gals through previous ventures. We were familiar with the passion and enthusiasm they bring to each project and Cerebro is no different.
Not only do they have business cunning, people behind Cerebro are also incredibly technology-savvy with some grade A tech and digital experts, which altogether makes for a major key differentiator – one we like very much.
Segev Levi, founder and technical specialist at Cerebro, brings over 20 years of technological experience with over 15 years as technological and engineering executive. Segev managed large engineering organizations and complex technological projects with different companies all around the globe. He led projects as a CTO with type A organizations such as the IDF, Lockheed Martin, Vodafone as well as some of the largest broadcast companies in the world like NBC and BBC.
Avishay is an AdTech expert that has been in the industry since 2011. He developed and managed various unique technological projects, including RTB ad-serving platforms and AI tools such as RTB bidder and prediction tools for both privately held and publicly traded companies. He also managed a programmatic media buying team with a monthly spend of over $10M.
The extensive technology background and willingness to tech the hell out of this project is also the reason why this time, the underlying technology will be the main focus.
The technology behind the Cerebro Platform
As we said before, Cerebro is a DOOH advertising platform that applies cutting-edge technology in order to collect and analyze real-time data. The company does an amazing thing with its platform: it matches the right advertisement to an individual based on the demographic characteristics of the individual in front of the billboard/advertising space. Think “Minority Report”, only in real life and far less creepy:
As a user of the platform, you can buy digital outdoor advertising via RTB model and target only a specific group of people – the one you want.
The way it works is the demographic analysis is being done through high-end sensors. These sensors scan through the crowd in front of the advertising sign and obtain demographic data like age and gender, as well as particular facial features such as mustaches, beards, and eyeglasses. The data is cross-checked and verified through numerous sources before an ad goes live.
Knowing if a person is male or female, how old they are, and if there are any distinct features allows advertisers and media buyers to reach and engage with their target audience in real time with specifically tailored content. What’s more, it goes beyond demographic data as users can also account factors like weather and events into their advertising schedule so that they can spend their budgets wisely.
The technology doesn’t just focus on humans. Cerebro also does vehicle detection and analysis, including static and moving vehicles. Currently, over 800 different models (with the number constantly rising) are categorized in the database, with specifics covering the vehicle type (motorcycle, track, etc.), vehicle vertical (luxury car, family car, etc.), maker, model, year and color.
End-to-end solution for the future
The advertising landscape is evolving at a fast pace and technological innovations are necessary to keep up with the changing market trends. No longer can you slap a billboard in one place and hope it attracts attention.
In that regard, we see Cerebro revolutionizing the way billboards and other advertising spaces work. It amplifies their core intent by adding a high-tech layer to the location-based advertising, extrapolating personalized data out of mass data and making it accessible for media buyers to buy for their brands. It’s a user-friendly, precise and reliable advertising experience that offers exciting possibilities, making Cerebro THE end-to-end solution technology to the digital-out-of-home ecosystem for years to come.
This is what a game changer looks like.
Check out Cerebro on: LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Twitter
Image credits:
https://www.buzzfeed.com/leonoraepstein/the-6-most-messed-up-candies-of-the-90s