Publisher alliance Ozone makes a larger play for U.S. advertisers

"The publisher alliance Ozone is on a growth tear in the U.S. It has signed a wave of U.S. publishers including the Wall Street Journal, New York Post, the BBC (US) and CNN, and is now pushing its pitch harder to the buy side. What began as a pure inventory play in 2018 at launch with its four stakeholders The Guardian, News UK, The Telegraph and Reach, has since evolved into a broader audience-connection platform that can map audience content consumption patterns across the publishers"

"To date, the model has driven more than £400 million ($532 million) in incremental spend back into the U.K. publishing sector and secured close ties with major agency groups, per Ozone.To match that ambition, Ozone is scaling up stateside - planning to expand its U.S. headcount from 10 to 50 next year, with new hires in Chicago to deepen relationships with agencies and brands, according to Ozone CEO Damon Reeve."

Ozone began in 2018 as an inventory-focused publisher alliance anchored by The Guardian, News UK, The Telegraph and Reach. The alliance has evolved into an audience-connection platform that maps content consumption patterns across partner publishers to create a stitched view of reader behavior. The model has driven more than £400 million ($532 million) of incremental spend into the U.K. publishing sector and built close agency relationships. Ozone is now scaling in the U.S., expanding headcount from 10 to 50 with hires in Chicago and adding U.S.-first media brands. Ozone differentiates itself by offering a technical layer beyond scaled inventory buys.

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