The Times Group

WPP Media Tests Charity-Based Synthetic Audiences

WPP Media has partnered with data startup Givsly to test synthetic audiences built in part from charity donation data for programmatic media buys in the U.S. Givsly’s system — built using the Claude LLM and layered with national census, election results and nonprofit donation signals — generates audience segments that WPP enriched with its own first- and second-party data. Early PMP tests across four beauty and fashion campaigns (running on CTV and online video) produced a reported 2% lift in video completion rates. WPP says the approach helps target audiences by social values as well as demographics. Forrester and other industry observers cautioned that results depend on the quality of input data and matching capabilities (InfoSum was named as a matching capability referenced). WPP plans to roll the solution out to U.S. clients following initial tests.

News UK Builds Synthetic-Audience Tool

News UK has created Times ExplorAItion, a synthetic-audience planning tool that turns The Times' first-party data into modeled audience segments for advertisers. The tool ingests anonymized subscriber behaviour, reader panels, engagement metrics and PAMCo industry data and uses the Electric Twin platform to generate synthetic versions of key segments without using personally identifiable information. News UK is offering the capability as a value-add for branded-content deals while it is being rolled out to advertisers; the publisher has used the same modeling to inform subscription, content and product decisions across The Times and The Sunday Times. Company leaders say the approach reduces research cost and helps advertisers test messaging and formats quickly. News UK plans to extend the approach to other brands such as The Sun and its broadcast properties.

Harish Pandey Joins GoWit as Head of Growth for MENA & India

GoWit, a global ad tech company focused on omnichannel commerce and retail media, has appointed Harish Pandey as Head of Growth for MENA and India. Pandey brings over 16 years of digital advertising and retail media experience from roles at Landmark Group, Khaleej Times, Times Group, Network18 and Google. He will lead GoWit’s regional expansion, retailer acquisition, strategic account development, demand partnerships, and revenue-generation efforts across India and MENA. The hire follows GoWit’s recent Dubai office opening and its partnership with Publicis Media Middle East. Pandey will also collaborate with his company AdOmega to jointly support retailers and brands in building data-driven retail media capabilities.