Koddi brings commerce media targeting to GIPHY ads

Koddi has partnered with GIPHY and LiveRamp to bring commerce media targeting to GIPHY's advertising platform, extending targeted advertising into GIF-based and search-led digital environments.

The partnership will let brands run targeted campaigns across GIFs, stickers, reactions and search experiences on GIPHY. Koddi will provide campaign infrastructure, while LiveRamp will supply identity and audience tools to help advertisers activate and measure campaigns with stronger audience matching and privacy controls.

The move reflects a broader shift in commerce media beyond retailer websites and apps. Advertising groups and media owners have been looking for ways to apply retail-style targeting and measurement to a wider range of digital properties, including platforms built around communication, entertainment and discovery.

For GIPHY, the deal adds advertising systems designed to help manage campaign activation and performance across a large consumer audience. Its platform reaches more than 1 billion users a day and serves more than 10 billion pieces of short-form content daily.

That scale has made GIPHY an unusual venue for ad targeting because users engage with branded content through self-expression rather than conventional browsing or shopping behaviour. Advertisers have increasingly sought placements beyond display banners and video to capture attention in online conversations and reactions.

Koddi, which provides commerce media technology, said the agreement also shows how owned digital audiences can become advertising assets even when they are not tied to a retail transaction. Its role is to provide the systems used to manage campaigns, serve ads and monitor results across those environments.

LiveRamp's role centres on identity resolution and audience activation. In practice, that means advertisers can match intended audiences to GIPHY inventory more precisely while retaining controls around data handling and privacy, an area that has grown more important as digital advertising faces tighter scrutiny over tracking methods.

The companies are framing the partnership around the idea that consumer intent is not confined to shopping sessions. People often search, share and react in ways that can still signal interest, giving advertisers another way to reach users in moments outside retailer-owned properties.

Eric Brackmann, Vice President of Commerce Media at Koddi, outlined that view in a statement on the partnership. "Consumers don't just interact with brands when they're shopping. They connect with them while they're searching and sharing," said Eric Brackmann, Vice President of Commerce Media at Koddi.

"This partnership brings commerce media capabilities to those moments, helping advertisers activate campaigns more effectively while giving GIPHY the foundation to scale and monetize its advertising business," Brackmann said.

Beyond retail

The deal points to an expanding definition of commerce media, a segment that first gained traction through retailers using their own shopper data to sell ad placements to consumer brands. That model has grown quickly because it offers marketers closed-loop measurement and audience signals linked to purchasing behaviour.

As the market matures, technology providers are trying to apply the same principles to publishers, marketplaces and other digital platforms with first-party audience relationships. The argument is that these groups can use their own audience data to create more targeted advertising products without relying as heavily on older third-party tracking methods.

GIPHY's ad business fits within that trend. The platform, acquired by Shutterstock in 2023, has built its audience around visual communication tools shared across messaging and social media. That gives advertisers access to a format built around participation and sharing rather than passive viewing.

Kevin Hein, Chief Growth Officer at GIPHY, said the company sees the partnership as part of the next stage of its advertising business. "As we continue to grow GIPHY Ads, we're focused on delivering more value to advertisers while creating a scalable foundation for long-term growth," said Kevin Hein, Chief Growth Officer at GIPHY.

"Koddi's technology helps us streamline campaign activation, improve performance and build the infrastructure needed to support the next phase of our advertising business," Hein said.

The arrangement also gives Koddi another reference point as commerce media vendors seek clients beyond traditional retail groups. Its existing partners include travel, marketplace and consumer platforms, suggesting the market for commerce-style advertising tools is broadening as companies with large digital audiences look for new revenue streams.

For advertisers, the immediate proposition is simpler: the ability to place targeted campaigns in parts of the internet where people communicate through images, search terms and reactions, rather than only where they browse products. GIPHY said this means brands can connect with audiences through ads people share, not just see.