The Berlin-based start-up Framen aims to revolutionize the DooH market. In their pursuit of alternative paths, Framen is backed by its majority shareholder Axel Springer, Europe’s largest publishing house. The Framen platform is currently running on over 14,000 DooH screens, providing both free editorial content and an advertising platform. The latest addition is a target group-specific composer. In a pre-ISE interview, invidis spoke to Framen CEO and co-founder Dimitri Gärtner.
Berlin-based Framen is building an entire ecosystem of services around its programmatic DooH platform. This ecosystem includes high-quality editorial content from Politico, exclusive DooH Bundesliga videos, and newsroom reporting from Bild, extending to influencer content. Framen Screens can be found in over 10,000 locations, spanning hotel lobbies, shared workspaces and thousands of shops, boutiques, and restaurants. Instead of managing its own screen network, the start-up transforms existing Android-based displays into DooH touchpoints.
In return, Framen secures the rights to broadcast DooH advertising on the screen, with screen owners sharing the benefits. In essence, it’s a straightforward arrangement that has proven effective thus far.
The self-developed CMS
In the beginning of the year, Framen expanded the CMS offering with three target group-specific composers. Similar to the popular web-based platform Canvas, the composers enable users to create individual and visually appealling content. Most other digital signage platforms on the market offer similar features but they usually require a monthly subscription-plan. The Framen CMS suite with its three different composers can be used completely free of charge.
- Studio for Digital Signage is a classic template based digital signage composer. Content can be designed easily and users have access to copyright-free platforms such as Unsplash and Pexels. Larger retail chains, restaurants or hotels can also implement rules, CI-guidelines and corporate fonts.
- Studio for Advertisers enables businesses to create dynamic template-based DooH campaigns
- Studio for Creators is a video editing tool for social media influencers. Existing Framen clients like hotel chains and hardware stores showed great interest in implementing relevant influencer content. Influencer like travel bloggers and DIY YouTube creators use already Studio for Creators to adapt their social media content videos for DooH.
Content optimized with AI
Framen’s upcoming plans include the introduction of dedicated AI tools, encompassing both generative AI for content creation and AI-based Dynamic Content Optimization (DCO) tools. These tools are designed to continuously assess DooH campaigns and digital signage content for conversion, autonomously adjusting campaign copies as needed.
This vision is certainly shared by market competitors in the digital signage and DooH industry. But who is better positioned in the AI landscape than Framen? The majority shareholder Axel Springer announced a multi million Euro deal with OpenAI just a few days before Christmas. The recent announcement of a multimillion-Euro deal between majority shareholder Axel Springer and OpenAI just days before Christmas positions Framen uniquely. This deal ensures exclusive and swift access to the currently most popular AI platform, setting them apart in the DooH industry.
Dynamic ad optimization (DCO) is a type of programmatic advertising that allows advertisers to create personalized ads based on real-time data. DCO is a powerful tool that can help marketers create more relevant and effective ads.
“We believe in partner eco-systems and open ourselves up in all directions”, says Dimitri Gärtner. “The future of the Framen advertising business model is not just DooH budgets but also social budgets, among other things.” The startup, which is active across Europe and in the USA, wants to attract more creators to share their content on the platform.
Framen is also partnering upwith other CMS platforms, such as US-based Spectrio which has integrated Framen’s platform. Spectrio clients now have full access to the programmatic advertising platform and content offering. Additional CMS partnerships are currently implemented and the Framen team will be at ISE to meet new partners.
Framen CEO Dimitri Gärtner will also take part in the Retail Media Panel at the invidis retail conference on January 31st.
Axel Springer and OpenAI announce partnership
Shortly before Christmas Axel Springer and OpenAI announced a global partnership to strengthen independent journalism in the age of artificial intelligence (AI). The initiative will enrich users’ experience with ChatGPT by adding recent and authoritative content on a wide variety of topics, and explicitly values the publisher’s role in contributing to OpenAI’s products. This marks a significant step in both companies’ commitment to leverage AI for enhancing content experiences and creating new financial opportunities that support a sustainable future for journalism.
With this partnership, ChatGPT users around the world will receive summaries of selected global news content from Axel Springer’s media brands including Politico, Business insider, and European properties Bild and Welt, including otherwise paid content. ChatGPT’s answers to user queries will include attribution and links to the full articles for transparency and further information.
In addition, the partnership supports Axel Springer’s existing AI-driven ventures that build upon OpenAI’s technology. The collaboration also involves the use of quality content from Axel Springer media brands for advancing the training of OpenAI’s sophisticated large language models.