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ShareRoot targeting multi-billion industry with roll-out of MediaConsent platform

Published: 23:41 11 Mar 2018 EDT

company logo with user generated content such as pictures
The company's user base more than doubled during the December 2017 half

ShareRoot Ltd (ASX:SRO) will look to complement its existing platform with the roll-out of the MediaConsent platform this quarter.

The company’s current platform works with brands and digital agencies to easily find and legally source user generated content (UGC) such as photos and videos.

The new MediaConsent platform aims to protect companies from being sued in a world of rapidly changing legal framework.

The growing importance for companies to know their customers is evident in the high-growth Customer Identity Management market, which is estimated to exceed $14.8 billion by 2021.

Emerging market driven by regulatory change

Regulators are imposing a number of new policies on companies and brands to ensure they are respecting the legal framework designed to protect customer’s privacy.

Some of the world’s largest companies are already facing multi-billion dollar lawsuits and fines and ShareRoot intends to offer these companies a form of protection in the future.

ShareRoot is positioning itself to be at the forefront of this emerging market and the MediaConsent roll-out will produce revenue and significant value drivers over the next 12-24 months.

MediaConsent: 4 phase roll-out

The MediaConsent offering will be rolled out in 4 phases, with the first phase being the launch of Audit Services, on target for the upcoming March quarter of 2018.

The audits will evaluate company’s current content, review company policies, review databases of collected user information and evaluate relevant permissions.

During the lead up to the software platform release, the audit services will build revenue with impact expected this financial year and also build ShareRoot’s brand within the market.

The roll-out is planned as follows:

• 1Q 2018: Launch of Audit Services (building cash flow positive revenue);
• 2Q 2018: Launch of MediaConsent beta (building early revenue);
• 2Q 2018: Launch of MediaConsent trials (significant news flow with major brands); and
• 4Q 2018: Commercial launch of MediaConsent.

Forefront of an emerging market

The roll-out of MediaConsent positions ShareRoot at the forefront of the high-growth, billion dollar Customer Identity Management (CIM) market.

CIM refers to businesses storing identity-related data of their customers.

The market is estimated to grow at an annual compounded rate of 12.9% from US$8.09 billion in 2016 to US$14.82 billion by 2021.

A major driver of the market is the increase in security concerns among organisations.

During September 2017, German software giant, SAP SE (ETR:SAP) acquired CIM company Gigya for US$350 million.

Changing legal landscape

With a constantly changing legal landscape, companies must adhere to rules and regulations or face legal costs, fines and brand degradation.

Examples of the legal framework which MediaConsent intends to protect include GDPR, COPPA, internal policies and opt in regulations.

For example, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) alone will be penalising companies 4% of worldwide revenue per infraction.

GDPR is a European Union (EU) regulation that requires businesses to protect the personal data and privacy of EU citizens for transactions that occur within EU countries.

Silicon Valley team to get the job done

ShareRoot has the personnel in place to ensure MediaConsent’s successful roll-out, which will be spearheaded by Noah Abelson, CEO and Jason Weaver, Head of Product.

Significantly, Weaver, who has led the MediaConsent expansion, joined ShareRoot in July 2017 with a strong track record as an entrepreneur.

He has more than two successful social media ventures under his belt and has raised over US$50 million in social media technology funding.

Weaver founded and grew a social media group called Shoutlet to more than 100 team members and sold it to a larger U.S. social media group in 2015 called Spredfast.

Expansion to complement existing business

The roll-out and upcoming launch of MediaConsent will complement ShareRoot’s current platform that works with brands and digital agencies to easily find and legally source user generated content (UGC).

The platform allows customers to:

• Acquire: Legally gain access to user generated photos and videos from fans for marketing use;
• Display: Legally advertise with UGC and exhibit UGC galleries in a variety of ways;
• Organise: The UGC platform places content into customisable galleries; and
• Measure: Measure influence of user generated photos and videos to drive sales.

What is user-generated content?

User-generated content (UGC) is the term used to refer to user-generated photos, videos, tweets, or other creative material, often shared socially, and used by brands for marketing or advertising purposes.

Industry data shows that visitors spend 90% more time on websites that include UGC galleries.

UGC is important in a commercial context because:

• 86% of buyers want to access visual content on demand;
• 65% of users seek out UGC before making a purchase;
• A consumer consults 4 UGC sources before making a purchase;
• 65% of consumers prefer to know a brand through content;
• Social campaigns with UGC have a 50% lift in engagement; and
• Ads with UGC content generate 5-times greater click-through rates.

READ: Shareroot's engagement of blockchain advisor enhances security of content platform

In March 2018, Shareroot appointed blockchain and digital advisory company, DigitalX Limited (ASX:DCC) as the group’s blockchain advisor, a security enhancing initiative.

The company engaged DigitalX with the aim of introducing a suitable, high-quality blockchain solution that can be incorporated into Shareroot’s proprietary platform.

The integration of this technology will assist in tracking and facilitating the ownership and sale of Shareroot’s user generated content (UGC) platform.

READ: ShareRoot's rapid increase in user base a feature of half-year result

ShareRoot experienced rapid growth in the company’s user base, increasing from 180,000 June 30, 2017 to 436,976 as at December 31, 2017.

Positively, there was not only an increase in the number of companies interacting with the group’s platform, but there was also a lift in traffic.

Furthermore, ShareRoot continues to be at the forefront of innovation in the UGC space, with the introduction of the world-first UGC integration with Snapchat’s Ad Manager.

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