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We were delighted to have Stephan Beringer, CEO and David Dorans, CFO, present at the latest Yellowstone Advisory webinar on 14th September.
Their ground-breaking tech enables adverts to be inserted into video content post production, generating new revenue streams for content producers and distributors by creating new advertising inventory. The algorithms and AI enable advertising opportunities within videos to be identified automatically and this inventory is sold to brands directly and through advertising agencies and by the channels themselves. Market research suggests their model generates superior returns for brands and improves the viewer experience by limiting commercial interruptions. Mirriad’s technology circumnavigates the problem for advertisers of the intensely clicked ‘Skip Ad’ button.
To really understand the technology the presentation included a number of show reels demonstrating the capabilities and there is a link here to one of them. The technology is protected by 19 patents. Stephan also went through the data from Kantar that show that when Mirriad is used in combination with traditional advertising there is a significant improvement in awareness, consideration and ultimately product sales delivering superior returns on advertising spend for brands.
Whilst Covid-19 had a negative impact on the global advertising industry and slowed adoption by some content owners we were told by a confident management that the overall opportunity for Mirrad had increased and the level of enquiries had grown significantly. Mirriad is in discussion with 55% of the top 100 global advertisers, 80% of the leading global entertainment companies and has identified an attractive new revenue stream from music videos, more on that later.
David Dorans, the CFO, went through the financials and a couple of things really stood out. The company has done a great job managing costs and cash flow. Both were down almost 25% and on the current run rate revenues the balance sheet takes the company into 2022. In response to a question from the audience David highlighted the company’s ability to scale without adding significant additional costs due to the operating capabilities the company has invested in.
Revenue growth was over 100% and revenues from the key US market grew 129%. It should be noted that sales from the US are still small, c£60k in the first half, although management talked very confidently about how their negotiations are progressing. They are talking to 6 out of the 7 major streaming companies (think Netflix, Amazon, Disney) and confirmed they were confident of signing with at least one of these by the end of the year.
To put the potential of such a contract into context it is interesting to make a comparison with their success in the Chinese market. Their contract with Tencent has a minimum value of £1m in year 1 and £2m in year 2. The company said that China is performing ahead of expectations so those numbers are likely to grow and would suggest any contract with a US streaming company will be a quantum bigger in size.
Management were also very enthusiastic about the potential from music video which has emerged as a new revenue stream. They talked about some early work with band Kodaline and the billions of downloads that music videos receive and are a particularly good way to target the 16-25 year age group. Musicians generate significant revenue from concerts which aren’t happening currently and so band management are looking for other sales from their clients and are very enthusiastic about this possibility.
A recording of the webinar can be viewed here.