Focus on: Adverts in the sky

Benjamin Coren discovers how Motus is using smart data to personalise advertising to airline passengers

Data is utilised more than ever by airlines to enhance the passenger experience, personalising everything from the entertainment available onboard to the food and drink offerings served.

Motus is a new company that targets individuals with relevant advertising onboard via a platform which uses data analytics and its own consumer travel insights.

Motus is at its core an offline advertising platform, which can be connected to an airline's IFE and operated by the airline. The carrier has total control over the ad content with approval mechanisms, black list and white list options.

From the ground to seats

The software works via an advertising server (that sits in an advertiser's office on the ground) and allows an advertiser to execute full campaigns. The advertiser and the airlines can see live analytics on a campaign's performance. Haris Zaharatos, ceo of Motus, says: “It is a product we have been working on since 2014. We are changing how advertising is done in the air and increasing demand.

“We can put our software into any IFE system and then connect ground-based ad agencies with the inflight audience via a dashboard. Advertisers can select specific flights and airlines to advertise with. They then receive their analytics to calculate return on investment.

Every advertising agency could be connected to the aircraft with Motus. It will change how advertising is done.”

Get connected

Motus enables advertisers to engage with passengers by using technology embedded in an airline's mobile app. It also has native advertising capabilities for non-intrusive viewing. This disruptive concept offers a new business model and revenue channel for airlines, connecting them to a market of €198 billion of spending on online advertising each year.

It also enables airlines to engage with the passengers before and after their specific flight.

Motus can be embedded in any platform and streams direct or programmatic advertising content from ad agencies or ad-exchanges to passenger devices either in an offline or online environment. It aims to keep brands and consumers connected throughout the entire journey.

Motus is currently in discussion with airlines and expects to be onboard with five carriers later this year. •

Advertisers can select specific flights and airlines to advertise on