SMX expands SEA reach with 7 more players, hires ex-Dentsu programmatic lead

Singapore Media Exchange (SMX) has partnered with seven media publishers and marketplace owners across Southeast Asia. These include Carousell, Viu, Astro, Blaze Digital, Mudah, Sanook Thailand, GMA New Media and Kaidee. With the new partnerships, SMX aims to solidify its position as the preferred programmatic platform in Southeast Asia to reach quality audiences at scale. This expansion will offer advertisers a one-stop selection of programmatic brand-safe options to reach audiences across Southeast Asia, including exclusive access to premium formats. SMX will also have more opportunities to combine its own first-party data with those of its partners, creating richer audience data for more precise and effective targeting. To help promote programmatic adoption for SMX partner publishers across Southeast Asia, SMX has appointed Rahul Raj (pictured) as programmatic market development director. He was previously with Dentsu Aegis Network as a programmatic director. He brings with him over 12 years of experience leading digital media planning and execution. Raj will be working with brands and agencies across Singapore to meet their programmatic demand and drive further adoption for premium programmatic as an above-the-line channel. A joint-venture by Singapore Press Holdings and Mediacorp, SMX currently reaches four out of five internet users in Singapore. Hari Shankar, chief executive officer of SMX, said the company was launched in early 2018 with the vision to provide premium, brand safe programmatic advertising at scale to brands. "As we approach our first full year of operations, it gives me a lot of cheer in welcoming our new premium partners in Southeast Asia. These regional partnerships I believe will propel SMX towards a strong regional offering that reinforces our ability to provide buyers with rich audiences, precision targeting and innovative ad formats while making the supply accessible with more buying options and across bidders," he added. Roger Moy, chair of SMX said the founding shareholders are encouraged by the commercial momentum achieved by SMX in under a year of operations. According to Moy, its recent coalition partners across Southeast Asia will bring new growth impetus as SMX scales up rapidly to meet advertisers’ increasing demand for premium programmatic inventory.