SHERMAN OAKS, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–BEN, the entertainment AI company that places brands inside influencer, streaming, TV, and film content, today announced record year-end revenue, as well as key updates to its industry-leading AI. In 2019, BEN saw YoY revenue increase 49 percent from 2018. The company also surpassed its target of placing 10,000 brand integrations. BEN’s record-breaking year was rounded out by several new client wins, including AC Hotels by Marriott, Golf Channel, Royal + Reese, and Seedlip (Diageo Company).
To facilitate brand integrations, BEN creates customized algorithms that identify the best channels and creators for brands to partner with. 2019 marked the company’s largest investment in its technology to date, with the industry’s first end-to-end, AI-driven brand integration system for influencer marketing. Now, BEN’s algorithms are able to identify viral trends, breaking news, and rising influencers in near real-time. The system also generates suggestions for potential partnerships, flags new opportunities in existing campaigns, and features improved insight into audience location.
As influencer marketing becomes more widespread, a growing concern among marketers continues to be vetting potential partnerships to ensure brand safety guidelines are met. BEN’s most recent AI updates generate high-level background checks and surface any historical content from influencers deemed inappropriate or inflammatory, helping brands scale campaigns with confidence.
In tandem, BEN refined its predictive capabilities for audience demographics. By offering greater clarity around viewers’ age and gender, the AI helps brands define and reach their target audiences with increased precision. BEN also made significant strides in predicting the performance of gaming content on YouTube. The company’s latest contextual models are able to understand an influencer’s specific gaming interests, and generate predictions. This helps gaming companies determine which influencers they should partner with to best meet campaign objectives.
“With an influx of streaming platforms and thousands of hours of film, television, and influencer content to sift through, identifying the most impactful opportunities for integration can be daunting,” said Ricky Ray Butler, CEO of BEN. “Our latest advancements in AI allow the world’s biggest brands to explore opportunities for non-disruptive advertising. This is just the tip of the iceberg, and we’re excited at the prospect of evolving alongside the industry.”
Outside of campaigns, BEN’s AI models are used to report audience metrics and offer deeper insights into streaming and broadcast viewership. Most recently, ahead of the fall 2019 broadcast season, BEN’s AI was able to predict 5 out of the 5 top broadcast television shows.
In 2019 alone, BEN’s AI team tripled in size and is expected to double in 2020. New additions to the development team include Schubert Carvalho, PhD, as the company’s Senior Research Scientist and Brad Ferguson, PhD, as Principal Data Scientist. Carvalho brings extensive experience in multidisciplinary research and a passion for AI, neuroscience, and deep learning to the BEN team. Ferguson brings 5+ years of experience in statistical and machine learning / AI methodologies, having previously overseen the building, deployment, and long term monitoring of large scale predictive models. Together, Carvalho and Ferguson will focus on refining and expanding the applications of BEN’s breakthrough AI.
About BEN Group
BEN Group Inc. is an entertainment AI company that places brands inside influencer, streaming, TV, and film content with guaranteed ROI. BEN Group consists of two companies: BEN, its brand integration and influencer marketing business, and Greenlight, its global rights clearance and licensing business.
With its proprietary AI and platform, BEN is the first and only company using machine learning and deep learning neural networks to identify high-impact opportunities for authentic, non-disruptive brand integrations. BEN combines its AI with 40+ years of experience and a team of industry experts to connect brands with the right audiences and content opportunities in meaningful ways. BEN works with the world’s top brands, including Microsoft, General Motors, Unilever, Tencent, and General Mills.
Greenlight offers unmatched expertise in global rights clearance and licensing with integrated solutions for music, photos, film, TV, celebrity, and talent. Its roster of celebrity legends, including Albert Einstein, Marlon Brando, and Steve McQueen, ensures instant recognition and appeal for its clients across the globe.