MarTech360 Interview with Jesper Benon, CEO & Co-Founder at SeenThis

“Build trust by aligning your brand’s values with those of your audience. Share your story, demonstrate social responsibility, and foster meaningful connections.”

Jesper, can you tell us about your professional background and your current role at SeenThis. Also tell us how SeenThis differentiates itself from other companies in the same space?

My professional background really is SeenThis, I have also been on the board of a few other companies for many years now. I began my career at Jönköping University in Sweden and then established SeenThis with Marcus Myrberg and Kristofer Ljungdahl.

As with many start-ups, Marcus, Kris and myself have been through various iterations of our core offering settling on bringing streaming advertising & content to the industry, for 8 years now.

I have always been intrigued with finding better ways of doing things embracing the latest technologies, rather than simply optimising previous businesses and hoping a marginal change would prove satisfactory.

SeenThis differentiates itself by being the only company today able to offer the suite of solutions & associated benefits that we do – we are seeing more companies offering streaming advertising but the core differentiator with SeenThis is what occurs before & after we stream data; streaming is simply a methodology of moving something from A to B – SeenThis ensures what is being sent (pre-A) is optimally configured to be accepted & played across all technological intermediaries our industry relies on and when the streams arrive on a device (post-B) every video starts instantly, and also transmits the minimal amount of data required to ensure the highest-quality video available to a consumer regardless of device type, operating system, and the local environment & connectivity of the device; it is very fair to say that the most important & impactful aspect of SeenThis technology is once we begin streaming to a consumer’s device.

How does SeenThis leverage adaptive streaming technology to enhance digital advertising performance, including faster loading speeds and improved audience engagement?

SeenThis has architected our platform with Adaptive Bitrate Streaming as the technology used to deliver client’s creatives to websites or in-app.

The client sends us their creative/s which we transcode into a streamable format. We then provide tags for our client’s ad servers and DSP’s for all the ad units they are buying, these are standard ad tags as used across the industry every day. When a buyer wins a bid in the programmatic environment, or their tags are called in a direct-to-publisher activation, this calls SeenThis technology and we begin streaming the creative when the ad placement is in-view in the viewport of the device, or screen of the laptop.

Adaptive Bitrate Streaming (ABR) adjusts the quality of a Video stream in real-time based on the consumer’s internet connection speed. If you have a strong connection, ABR can boost the Video quality to make it clearer and more detailed. If your connection weakens, ABR automatically lowers the quality to prevent buffering or interruptions. It’s like adjusting the flow of water from a hose depending on how much the bucket can handle at any moment without spilling.

The stream consists of many small data packets rather than one single file as we see with older forms of Video delivery, these data packets are delivered sequentially  and as such only 2-4 seconds of Video is being delivered at any one time. These individual data packets weigh far less than one single large file and as such are able to stream & play with a factor greater ease than historic Video-delivery technology; this in itself increases the speed of delivery to a level barely perceivable by humans and allow the ad to play instantly upon a viewport being in-view.

This speed is the essence of the increased performance metrics as an instantly playing Video captures the consumer-eye and drives performance; if a Video does not play instantly there is the real risk the consumer will scroll past whilst a file is downloading. Most advertising today is delivered via downloading technology and this is the basis for brands using SeenThis seeing substantial upticks in their performance metrics and ROAS.

In what ways does SeenThis help businesses maximize the impact of digital campaigns while reducing data consumption and environmental impact?

Performance & sustainability are delivered hand & glove with SeenThis; we can not turn on & off the benefits of adaptive bitrate streaming as they are integral to all of our solutions, and as such any activation we deliver for our clients comes with both the performance & environmental upsides as standard.

The other key substantial impact is ROAS; brands & agencies are able to deliver the same, if not more volume, of Video advertising utilising their Display media footprint than if they choose to activate via a social platform or Video ad network as we stream into Display placements which afford the buyer far more pricing-flexibility, and sovereignty over who sees their ad, where and when; as in-housing is such a hot-topic in 2024/25 we are able to return the sovereignty of Video activations 100% in-house for brands and agencies as they deliver against their own media buying and do not have to outsource to specialist Video media vendors, or platforms.

A substantial amount of the data wastage across the industry is driven by ads which are downloaded to a consumer’s device but are never seen – SeenThis solutions only stream into a viewable placement and as the placement is scrolled past the streaming stops – this alone ensures only consumed or viewed creatives are streamed, and as such a far smaller amount of data is wasted than historic Video activations leveraging VAST technology, as one example.

SeenThis has developed an Emissions Dashboard which enables advertisers to track and measure the carbon footprint of their campaigns in real-time. This tool provides insights into CO2e avoidance, the actual CO2e footprint, and data reduction, allowing businesses to see the environmental impact of their advertising efforts and make informed decisions to improve sustainability practices​.

Also Read: MarTech360 Interview with Adrianna Shukla, Director of Demand Generation at Snowplow

What potential challenges do you anticipate brands might face when implementing adaptive streaming technology in mobile advertising, particularly in terms of user experience, technical constraints, and scalability?

The main challenge is more sociological than technical; budgets are typically bucketed into either Video or Display and given SeenThis streams Video creatives into Display this can take some reconfiguring of budget activations, but as we have proven over the last 7 years this is not a substantial hurdle to bridge in the context of higher-performing advertising which is far less detrimental to the environment.

Given the scale of availability of Display advertising, SeenThis does not constrict where a brand can utilise Video, in fact it is the opposite – many brands embrace the fact they are able to work their Display media buying more fully, and enjoy scaled activations of Video on a level not seen before; previous times have seen Display used for DR campaigns due to the inexpensive nature of Display media, with Video typically reserved for larger budget Branding activations, when Video is far better at grabbing consumer attention and is ideal for DR, and branding activations

SeenThis truly democratises Video ensuring brands are able to deliver their messages in high-quality, with scale, to their chosen audiences.

How will SeenThis leverage its recent partnerships with two Australian agencies to promote eco-friendly streaming and drive innovation in the digital advertising industry, enhancing market growth and sustainability efforts?

Our plan in Australia mirrors what we are doing in all other markets – delivering high-quality cost-efficient video solutions to consumers. In working with local Australian brands & agencies we are able to provide solutions tailor made for local markets and how they deploy media activations.

Performance is at the heart of all solutions we co-build with our clients; whether that be a lesser CO2e footprint, enabling the higher consumer engagement driving better KPI’s such as CTR, ROAS, ROI, brand recall & recognition, through to developing unique media placements specific to Australia and their internal markets.

We are very excited about what the future holds for both our clients & ourselves.

What is the biggest problem you or your team is solving this year?

The ability to deliver scaled, cost-efficient, high-quality video to their chosen display media placements for every activation. Our company mission is to make the internet faster with a smaller footprint and in making high-quality video accessible regardless of budget size supports this mission. Our goal is to meet the market with a variety of activation options to ensure that regardless of what is being shown & where our clients can enjoy the benefits of streamed delivery.

By making scaled video accessible to all, we will also amplify the lowering of the impact advertising has on the environment through the avoidance of wasted data being transferred, all whilst delivering higher performing ads to consumers which streaming delivers.

What advice do you have for other leaders who are looking to drive growth for their brand?

Embrace Data-Driven Decisions

Use data to understand customer behavior and adjust strategies based on insights. Target the right audience with communication that’s effective, sincere, and aligned with your brand and try to stay jargon- and hyperbole-free – people know when it is corporate-speak or if it is actually drafted with someone within your organisation with a passion for what it is you do.

Foster Innovation and Adaptability

Encourage ideas from all members of your team. Stay agile and ready to pivot quickly to meet market changes or consumer needs. Host frequent meetings with the various geographies you are working within to ensure you are relevant everywhere and not only where you are based – be global-local and empower your teams to speak for themselves and their markets where possible.

Prioritise Customer Experience

Focus on creating exceptional experiences at every stage of your customer’s journey with you. Listen to feedback, personalise interactions, and strive to deliver measurable outcomes to build loyalty, advocacy, and trust. Having client feedback days is a great way to achieve this, and allows your trusted clients to be part of the journey with you – people buy into people.

Build Strong Partnerships

Where and if possible, collaborate with brands and organisations that align with your values. Strategic partnerships expand reach and create mutual growth opportunities whilst also feeding into your future planning, with invaluable ground-level input.

Invest in Talent

Develop your teams and encourage collaboration. A motivated and skilled team drives innovation and accelerates growth. Empower your teams to tell you what the culture is, and then work with your management team to address any challenges and report back to the wider company. You are no doubt employing smart and talented people so ensure they feel valued, and heard.

Set Clear Goals and KPIs

Define measurable goals and track performance to stay aligned with growth objectives. Adjust strategies as needed based on progress and ensure wider teams understand the need for change when change is needed.

Be Authentic and Purpose-Driven

Build trust by aligning your brand’s values with those of your audience. Share your story, demonstrate social responsibility, and foster meaningful connections.

Is there anything that you’re currently reading, or any favorite books, that you would recommend?

I wish I had more time for reading these days, but I tend to focus my time more on short podcasts and where I do have time, the books I read most now are my children’s books with them, which I won’t bore you with here.

Some great locally produced books from my native Sweden I recommend are:

“Lagom: The Swedish Art of Balanced Living” by Linnea Dunne

This book reflects Swedish cultural values of balance and moderation, which influence leadership and decision-making styles.

“Doughnut Economics” by Kate Raworth

This book by Kate Raworth appeals to entrepreneurs interested in sustainable growth, a core consideration in Swedish business circles.

“The Nordic Theory of Everything” by Anu Partanen

This book is a reflection on Scandinavian values and systems, offering insights into progressive approaches to work and life.

Thanks Jesper !

Jesper Benon is the CEO & Co-Founder at SeenThis

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