Branded Entertainment Network (BEN), which connects global brands to consumers through the power of popular entertainment, has unveiled major enhancements to its four key platform functions: searching integration opportunities, planning integration campaigns, executing the campaigns and measuring results.

The company also announced that it delivered over 5,000 brand integrations worth in excess of $1bn during 2017, powered by improvements to its platform. To drive further growth in the year ahead, the company is again enhancing its offerings to keep up with the shifting viewing habits of consumers.

BEN called out some statistics and trends in addressing the topic. Ad blockers continue to be an issue and with viewership shifts from traditional TV to non-ad supported platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Video, marketers struggle to reach customers when traditional ads do not connect. Cord-cutting is occurring at a much more rapid rate than expected, with 22.2 million people in the US abandoning pay TV during 2017, or 33.2% higher than 2016, according to eMarketer. Meanwhile, leading social platforms continue to garner massive audiences and high levels of engagement, especially with younger audiences. One-third of the global population and 71% of internet users are now active on social media, an 8.2% increase from 2016.

“The advertising industry is shifting rapidly and we’re investing significantly in technology solutions to help brands embrace this change and find the best brand integration opportunities in the programming their audiences are watching,” says Gary Shenk, chief executive officer of BEN. “Our goal is to offer the most complete suite of integration tools in the industry, available from a single platform, while our team works tirelessly across production studios and behind the scenes with content creators to find integration opportunities no other platform can match.”

Key enhancements to the BEN platform include searching, as BEN’s technology enables brands to search thousands of premium content opportunities across streaming, TV, film and influencer programming, using filters such as demographics, personas, integration categories, shoot and air dates, content type and genres, hot content, global distribution, Spanish language, projected impressions, and media value.

On the planning and execution front, BEN’s platform supports a full range of collaboration tools including content ‘liking,’ ‘rejecting,’ and ‘allocating’ as brands hone in on optimal content and develop their media strategies. The BEN platform allows brands to collaborate with BEN in real time, using chat and a unique integration with Slack.

In measurement, BEN’s platform integrates industry data from Nielsen, Rentrak, Survata and other leading data providers. The platform allows brands to view the performance of all their integrations, understand the ROI, and optimize their strategies based on results.

Major brands working with BEN include Microsoft, Zillow, Honda, Freixenet, Ubisoft, Motorola, GM, Dunkin’ Donuts, Jose Cuervo, CKE Restaurants, Hyundai, Dolby, Wix, Wounded Warrior Project, KFC, and Dyson.