Posted on: July 19, 2024 04:42h.
Last updated: July 19, 2024 04:42.
Sports betting data provider Genius Sports has partnered with social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, for its “Trend Genius” product.
Elon Musk, owner of X (formerly Twitter). The social media site has signed a deal with Genius Sports for its Trend Genius product. (Image: Reuters)
Trend Genius is designed to deliver ads relevant to real-time conversations taking place on X. In a hypothetical example, an ad from a gaming company could be delivered to a lively, multi-participant conversation about “sports betting X.” Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“The new technology, developed by Genius Sports and powered by X’s advertising and trends APIs, allows advertisers to tune into real-time conversations taking place across a range of categories on the X platform. When a particular topic naturally reaches a set conversational speed, pre-programmed creative is executed, ensuring ads appear when viewers are most interested,” the statement said.
If a conversation changes or dies down, the ads served by Trend Genius will be paused until momentum returns. In simple terms, Trend Genius leverages its artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities to show you the most relevant ads for a given X conversation or thread.
X contract breaks new ground for Genius Sports
The agreement with X is a unique one for Genius and could demonstrate the company’s versatility while exploring new markets beyond the world of sports betting.
Traditionally, Genius’ business model has been to strike deals with sports leagues and then sell the data it acquires to sportsbook operators. In the US, Genius has lucrative deals with the NCAA and NFL, among others. Genius has long dominated the sports betting data market in Europe, having previously signed deals with the English Premier League (EPL) and Germany’s Bundesliga, among others.
Genius’ technology helps X advertisers target more efficiently and maximize their spend, which could be a long-term selling point in the competitive internet advertising industry.
“As the exclusive data distributor for the NFL, NCAA and Premier League, Genius Sports has leaned on our heritage of building data-driven products to design the real-time algorithms required to start and stop ad spend across the X platform,” Genius Sports’ Josh Linforth said in a statement.
Advertising fluidity in X
Ad revenue is a key part of X’s business model, and since Elon Musk bought the social media giant in October 2022, some advertisers have become squeamish and cut spending because of Musk’s political leanings.
According to Statista, “After the billionaire acquired the platform, advertisers and marketers have been closely watching any changes regarding its features and policies. The many contradictory developments at Twitter have made industry experts increasingly cautious about investing.”
Although X currently makes up a small percentage of total Internet advertising revenue, it is one of the most visited sites in the world, which could suggest that a partnership with Trend Genius could be fruitful in the long term.