WINR Launches Australia’s First Advertiser-Funded Paywall

Australian media technology company, WINR, has today launched its first-to-market, advertiser-funded paywall, AdGate.

As the performance of conventional display ads continues to decline, digital publishers are being forced to compete with other channels for advertising dollars. This is causing increased concern around how journalism will be funded in the future. AdGate offers publishers a sustainable revenue stream by enabling real, human engagement, rather than just impressions.

AdGate’s innovative advertising experience creates a new hybrid model between the free ad-funded model and traditional paywalls; meeting the needs of brands, publishers and consumers.

Visitors to WINR’s partner sites are presented with an interactive ad which is embedded partway into an article. They can unlock and instantly read the remaining content in the article in exchange for one-interaction with the advert. This single engagement substantially increases the value proposition for advertisers, enables publishers to sustainably monetize their editorial content and gives consumers quality journalism for their interaction.

Over the last 12 months, WINR has been working with multiple partners, including Next Media, Interplay Media, Budget Direct and Balmain, to benchmark and test AdGate. On average it has delivered higher yields for publishers and 15x-20x higher engagement than conventional display ads.

WINR’s co-founder and head of product Perry Lyndon-James said: “At the heart of our innovation is the belief that there can be a win-win-win transaction for brands, publishers and consumers. Brands find more value in engagement than impressions, so that is what we have enabled. Advertisers only pay when a user has engaged which means our content and ads are one hundred percent viewable. What we’ve created is a simple value exchange, but the potential impact is enormous for publishers and advertisers alike.”

WINR co-founder and CEO Marcelo Ulvert added: “Ongoing media redundancies and a significant drop in ad spend over the last few months suggest we’re approaching something of a crossroads for the future of journalism. Research shows conventional paywalls are not a solution for the masses, with less than one in ten Australians willing to pay for news. Our goal is to support the positive evolution of digital publishing, get more money into the ecosystem and ensure quality journalism remains accessible for all despite how it is monetised.”

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