Federal regulations and questionable practices have turned digital kids’ advertising into a murky space, but Hasbro and Animaj are teaming up to illuminate it. LUMEE is a new joint venture that will provide ad solutions on YouTube and connected TVs by leveraging the properties on Hasbro and Animaj’s respective rosters.
Rules related to children’s advertising on digital platforms tightened in 2020, when COPPA rules began prohibiting personalized targeting on kids’ ads. Since that decision, many agencies have shifted toward contextual placements, which do not rely on personalized data, but instead use AI and other pieces of ad tech to get family brands as close as possible to their target audience.
Firms like Precisifiy have used contextual solutions to enable brand-safe marketing across family channels. With LUMEE, Hasbro and Animaj are diving into that space. The new venture is promising “contextual, COPPA-compliant precision placement on YouTube” with video-by-video visibility for advertisers. In-video signals — such as the presence of a truck in a video that runs a toy truck ad — will inform LUMEE’s placements.
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In LUMEE’s case, those ads will be placed across a content library that includes a number of kid-friendly favorites. The new venture operates similarly to YouTube Select by operating in the “reservation media” ecosystem. Ad space will be roped off next to videos from properties like Peppa Pig and Transformers (which hail from the Hasbro side of the partnership) as well as Pocoyo and Maya the Bee (from the Animaj side).
“Hasbro is committed to delivering exceptional play and entertainment experiences,” said Hasbro Entertainment SVP of Digital and Distribution Yannick Ferrero in a statement. “Our joint venture with Animaj is a strategic move to maximize the value of our premier kids brands for advertisers, while ensuring digital interactions are valuable, safe, and inspiring for our audiences.”
A press release from LUMEE’s two founding companies noted that Hasbro and Animaj count 50 billion annual YouTube views across their respective content libraries. Thanks to the power of the pair’s new advertising solution, those videos are about to become a coveted piece of advertising space among family-oriented buyers.
