Brief:

• Video-sharing app Triller has partnered with advertising technology startup Consumable to sell programmatic ads that appear between short-form videos. Consumable's platform pairs short videos with digital display and video ads, per an announcement.
• Consumable creates ads that seek to catch the attention of consumers whose limited attention span makes them difficult to engage. AccuWeather, Bonnier, Cox, Nexstar, USA Today and Vox are among the publishers that carry its advertising, according to Consumable's website.
• The partnership comes as mobile marketers make investments in social video campaigns on platforms like Triller and Instagram's Reels that have similar functionality and appeal to TikTok, which faces uncertainty about a possible U.S. ban.

Insight:

Triller's partnership with Consumable aims to give mobile marketers another channel to reach consumers, especially music fans who follow their favorite artists on the platform. Triller uses artificial intelligence (AI) technology to help users create professional-looking music videos quickly. The app has been downloaded 250 million times, and performers including Alicia Keys, Cardi B, Marshmello and Eminem have used its platform to create music videos. Triller has been around since 2015, but has experienced a surge in growth in the U.S. as the threat of a ban on popular social video app TikTok has led people to look at other social video platforms.

For Triller, expanded ad sales will help the company to generate revenue from its content as it seeks to raise additional funds to help fuel growth. The startup is majority-owned by Proxima Media, the Hollywood studio founded by Ryan Kavanaugh, who produced films such as "The Fast and the Furious" and "The Social Network." Triller aims to raise $250 million in a funding round that would increase its valuation to more than $1 billion, TechCrunch reported, citing people familiar with the plans.

Triller's monetization plan comes as marketers await the outcome of negotiations for TikTok's parent company ByteDance to sell the app's U.S. operations or face a permanent ban because of national security concerns. TikTok recently disclosed that it has 100 million users in the U.S. and research indicates the app is especially popular with Generation Z, a demographic that's hard for marketers to reach through traditional media like linear TV.

However, TikTok's regulatory woes — including the loss of its biggest market when India banned dozens of Chinese-made apps amid growing miliary tensions with China — have led rivals to seek that audience by developing features in their apps that mimic its key features. TikTok's popularity suggests there is significant demand for video-sharing apps, creating an opportunity for apps like Triller to grow its audience and expand its ad inventory.