TotallyAwesome has appointed of Tom Simpson as non-executive chair of the digital advertising network for kids, teens, and families.
Simpson, who will be based in Singapore, will work closely with TotallyAwesome’s leadership team as the company scales its marketplace and builds the industry’s first YouthSafe Desk and YouthSafe Tag certification products to offer marketers ultimate brand safety online.
Will Anstee, TotallyAwesome CEO, said: “Surveillance advertising has become normalised by the big tech platforms, but it can be extremely damaging for young lives.
“TotallyAwesome is in a unique position to provide our partners with the tools and technology to create a truly youth-safe advertising ecosystem, and Tom will be an integral part of our progress towards delivering on our promises.”
Simpson said of his new role: “Youth-safe advertising is an exciting opportunity, with a significant addressable market of stakeholders in brands, parents, and young people.
“I’m delighted to join the TotallyAwesome team and work closely with them to provide a clear and ethical youth-safe advertising alternative to the current crop of behaviour-modification machines offered by big tech – which pose such a risk for the next generation of children.”
Simpson has more than 18 years’ industry experience, most recently as SVP APAC with AdColony, the world’s largest global in-app marketing platform. Simpson is currently a board member of the Mobile Marketing Association APAC and a strategic advisor to Anzu.io, an in-game mobile advertising company.
TotallyAwesome enables a youth-safe digital ecosystem by curating the largest supply of media inventory for brands to engage safely with more than 500 million monthly active under 18-users across APAC.
In July the company launched TotallyPlay, the industry’s largest brand safe gaming platform for brands to engage with under-18 gamers through in-game marketing, rewarded video in mobile games, pre-rolls around popular gaming YouTubers, custom integrations within a virtual world, or an in-stream placement during a gaming tournament.
TotallyAwesome is compliant with both COPPA and GDPR data privacy guidelines and regulations, and the company is a member of the kidSAFE Seal Program.
The appointment comes just weeks after the company announced that it successfully raised AUD$14 million (USD$10 million) in seed funding from Partners for Growth and Yefira Group to invest in product development, onboard sales, data science and machine learning talent; and explore strategic mergers and acquisitions.
See also: TotallyAwesome raises over $14 million in seed funding
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Top image: Tom Simpson