action press AG: action press international makes 200 million images available as free streams
 

Through a groundbreaking collaboration with the market leader in image streaming, SmartFrame Technologies, action press international offers publishers worldwide the opportunity to not only publish image content for free, but to use it as premium advertising space.
 

Hamburg, - September 14, 2023 - German picture agency action press international is pleased to help usher in a new standard in the digitization of the image industry thanks to a new partnership with UK-based SmartFrame Technologies Ltd. (London). Following the successful launch of the partnership between action press, SmartFrame and New Zealand Rugby this summer, action press has now adopted SmartFrame's model, based on monetization through contextual advertising, for its entire content archive.
 

action press international gmbh (Hamburg), alongside ddp media GmbH, a subsidiary of action press AG (Frankfurt), is thus entering the fast-growing market for contextual advertising, which is estimated to grow by more than 300% from $178 billion in 2021 to $562.1 billion by 2030.
 

The partnership enables online publishers to publish the entire content of action press, which currently amounts to more than 200 million images, on their websites free of charge. Publishers thereby embed SmartFrame images as html code in their editorial content in a copyright-compliant manner. SmartFrame images are delivered at the highest possible resolution without impacting page load times. They provide end users with an engaging image experience that increases dwell time through interactive features such as full-screen viewing and the company's proprietary hyper-zoom technology. Similar to the YouTube model, SmartFrame monetizes user interest in image content, paying creators, distributors and publishers through the advertising displayed within.
 

SmartFrame's data and analytics panel provides publishers with new image data and insights into their readership. A calculation from the metadata of the photos, context of the page, location and device of the viewer ensures maximum contextual relevance of the displayed advertising and efficient addressing of relevant target groups. As a result, CPMs can be up to four times higher than the average from programmatic advertising or traditional display advertising. Publishers can thus generate additional revenue alongside their existing advertising revenues by embedding the free SmartFrames.
 

For Ulli Michel, CEO of action press international, and himself a successful press photographer worldwide for many years, another important feature of the SmartFrame technology is a matter close to his heart: the integrated copy protection of the SmartFrames and the digital localizability of each individual publication. "This finally attacks one of the biggest problems of the image industry" he explains, "the unlawful use of images on social media, the often unknowingly illegal use on the Internet through copy & paste, and the lack of awareness of the value of property and performance of photographers." Ulli Michel is certain that the loss of license fees for photographers and agencies, as well as the expense of rights tracking, will be a thing of the past in the coming years.
 

He added: "Following the success of our partnership with New Zealand Rugby, working with SmartFrame was a natural progression for us. Our commitment to capturing timeless moments with photography aligns with SmartFrame's vision for a fairer digital future for everyone involved in photography. We look forward to our rich archive of content gaining new commercial value through the SmartFrame platform, opening new avenues for engagement and revenue generation for all players involved in online media."
 

For Rob Sewell, CEO of SmartFrame Technologies, this collaboration marks an important milestone: "The addition of action press international to the SmartFrame ecosystem is a huge step forward in our mission to change the digital imaging landscape. By combining action press international's incredible image library with SmartFrame's technology, we are enhancing our position to deliver unprecedented value to photographers, publishers, advertisers and audiences alike."
 

About action press international: action press international GmbH (Hamburg) is active in 120 countries and, together with partners, relies on a network of around 5,000 photographers. Together with ddp Media GmbH, also based in Hamburg, it is part of action press AG, which is headquartered in Frankfurt am Main. The picture agency group has one of the largest databases of digital media assets in the world, with a stock of more than 200 million photos and videos. action press is regarded as the leading brand for news, sports and entertainment content. ddp is the cross-departmental quality provider of photos, which includes the brands ddp images, Picture Press, Intertopics and Food Centrale, as well as the photo agency Stella Pictures (Stockholm). The Management Board of action press AG consists of Ulli Michel and Prof. Moritz Hunzinger, Vicente Poveda is Managing Director of ddp Media GmbH.
 

About SmartFrame Technologies: Founded in 2015, SmartFrame Technologies is a London-based technology company that’s redefining the digital image standard. Its SmartFrame platform allows content owners and brands to protect their assets and present them in the best possible way, while also allowing publishers to source and embed high-quality authenticated images for free, and for everyone involved to generate new revenue streams by way of in-image advertising.

 

Queries:

action press AG Management Board

- Prof. Moritz Hunzinger: moritz.hunzinger@actionpress.de, +49 171 60 333 20
- Ulli Michel: ulli.michel@actionpress.de, +49 172 253 73 03
https://www.actionpress-ir.de