Viewpay are visionaries working to create a brave new world of online advertising. A world of responsible advertising. But what is responsible advertising and how does it work? Read on to find out.

Viewpay is adtech but not as we know it. The company has been in business since 2013. It was launched by founder duo Mark (CEO) and Virginie (COO) Leprat. A couple who, over the past decade, have been on a mission to remodel the world of online advertising.

Virginie Leprat
Marc Leprat

For many years, flashing internet banners and content obscuring pop-up ads disrupting the online reader have unfortunately been the norm.

As annoying as online ads are from the internet user’s point of view, they also serve a purpose : they enable publishers to generate revenue meaning that otherwise paying content can be offered to their audiences free-of-charge. However, if the internet ads are too numerous, too intrusive and too interruptive, they become counterproductive. As with many things, It’s a question of achieving the right balance.

Introducing Viewpay

Viewpay offers advertisers and audiences that balance with a far more respectful form of advertising. Instead of bombarding internet users with an avalanche of ads that are as annoying as they are irrelevant, Viewpay allows audiences to choose the ads they want to be exposed to. These ads are selected with the audience in mind and tend to showcase products or services that they would perceive as being more relevant or useful.

The Viewpay solution works by asking readers who are looking to access the whole of a piece of online content – such as a premium news article reserved to subscribers – to view one of three thirty-second video ads. Once the ad has played through, the readers can then enjoy the remainder of their article uninterrupted.

Viewpay- whose technology and sales are all developed inhouse – first tried out their “Watch n’ go” system in a couple of areas – from gaming to unblocking access to wifi in public areas before finding their ideal niche, in 2017 with the online press. This said, it hasn’t been all plain selling 😉

With advertisers holding back due to the pandemic and publishers looking to traditional subscription models in an attempt to safeguard revenue streams, Viewpay have had to convince them that their solution doesn’t compete with the subscription model but on the contrary, favours it, by allowing readers to sample the content before they subscribe. A “try before you buy” solution encouraging users to sign up.

And happily, publishers are increasingly buying in to Viewpay’s vision. Viewpay is now used by almost all of France’s regional press editors as well as the online versions of popular national weeklys such as Challenges, Sciences & Avenir, Le Revenu and many more. Other deals with the much coveted Women’s press and a very popular sports editor are currently in the pipeline.

In today’s era which strives for respectful, transparent and responsible information, Viewpay’s solution caters for everyone. Audiences can decide whether or not to see an ad and choose which ad they see. Advertisers achieve an unusually high hit rate (according to a recent study, 80% of users said they actually like the Viewpay ad system !). And publishers can generate more revenue with image compatible ads whilst allowing readers to sample their content, therefore inciting them to subscribe.

It’s what Mark rightly calls a “win-win-win” situation.

Why Viewpay?

At Breega we’re always on the lookout for innovative and disruptive technologies that improve practises, sectors and services for the benefit of many. And Viewpay does just that.

The Breega x Viewpay relationship began back in 2016 when Mark was introduced by an entrepreneur friend to whom Breega Co-Founding Partner, François Paulus, was a business angel. Looking back, François says:

“When we invested in Viewpay, online advertising hadn’t really evolved since its introduction in the first half of the nineties. Viewpay’s technology was completely new, it didn’t exist anywhere else in the market. And their solution made total sense, providing a responsible, respectful and some would even say, enjoyable, form of advertising”.

Why Breega ?

When it comes to choosing Breega as their investor, Mark and Virginie tell us:

“Our relationship with François and the Breega team is excellent. Breega is our only VC, so we don’t have a lot of experience. We understand from speaking with other entrepreneurs however, that the experience we get with Breega is very different”.

Mark adds:

“Breega are entrepreneurs who not only understand what we’re going through but know how to help us. They do so by providing us with solid business advice, helping us to recruit for key posts and providing us with business contacts and communication advice and workshops. We’re pretty sure that we wouldn’t get the same level of help with anyone else”.

All things considered, 2021 is looking to be a year of great growth for Viewpay. Their ad tech solution is still the only one out there that is at the same time respectful, responsible and highly efficient. And we’d say that’s something worth advertising.

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