YouGov Direct announcement Published: Feb 12, 2018

12 February 2018

YouGov plc

("YouGov" or "the Group")

New advertising platform YouGov Direct announced

YouGov Direct enables greater consumer data protection and effective ad targeting

YouGov, the international market research and data analytics group, today announces the development of a new digital advertising platform, YouGov Direct. Currently consumers have little control over their data, while ineffective targeting has a negative impact on brands and publishers.

YouGov Direct aims to overcome those problems in the ad ecosystem by harnessing blockchain technology to verify the data exchange between consumers and advertisers.

Through YouGov Direct, panellists will be able to choose which personal attributes to make available to third parties while remaining anonymous. For example, a user might decide to share information about favourite hobbies and withhold data related to health history. In exchange for sharing their data, users will earn additional rewards.

Advertisers, brands and publishers using the platform gain access to known audience attributes, which enable more effective advertising targeting and better campaign performance. YouGov Direct's transparent and verifiable record of transactions provides assurance that ads are reaching actual humans as opposed to bots and will support businesses in meeting the requirements of the forthcoming EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

YouGov expects to launch the product to customers during the course of FY19.

To register your interest in YouGov Direct, go todirect.yougov.com.

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YouGov plc