Collective Audience Appoints AdTech/MarTech Executive,

NEW YORK, April 19, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Collective Audience, Inc. (Nasdaq: CAUD), a leading innovator of audience-based performance advertising and media, has appointed Stacey Hawes to the Advisor Collective, the strategic advisory board the company formed earlier this year to support the transformation and advancement of the AdTech, MarTech and digital media industries.

Hawes is an award-winning AdTech/MarTech executive with more than 25 years of success helping hundreds of brands to leverage the power of data-driven marketing and drive exponential growth.

“Stacey’s extraordinary experience and history of achievement greatly enriches our Advisor Collective,” commented Collective Audience CEO, Peter Bordes. “As a contributing member of this growing collective of innovators and thought leaders, we see Stacey playing an important role in the realization of our shared vision of a new worldwide, data-powered digital media ecosystem.”

“We look forward to benefiting from her knowledge and insights,” continued Bordes, “particularly those gained from her years serving as president of Epsilon’s data practice, where she led the company through a digital transformation that drove unprecedented growth.”

According to Hawes, “The Advisor Collective under Peter’s seasoned leadership has been bringing together an incredible community of industry leaders and visionaries. I am excited for this opportunity to help guide the digital transformation that is underway.”

“Now that the proverbial ‘cookie has crumbled,’ it is critical that we set a new standard for a next-generation of advertising and media solutions in a data-first way,” added Hawes. “I hope to contribute my knowledge about data and digital media as well as my passion for leveraging data in ways that help brands unlock growth and market expansion.”

Collective Audience’s data-driven performance advertising utilizes the best of today’s digital technologies for direct connections between brands and publishers to drive measurable outcomes. The company recently launched Audience Desk powered by AudienceCloud as a next-generation AdTech and MarTech platform that delivers a new level of capabilities, trust and transparency.

Audience Desk empowers brands, agencies and publishers with performance advertising and media solutions in a way that unlocks unrealized value from unique audience data assets. The AudienceCloud’s flexible module infrastructure creates multiple revenue streams for Collective Audience and the partners and customers it serves.

Last week, the company announced an agreement to acquire the marketing-as-a-service provider, DSL Digital. The acquisition would strengthen AudienceCloud with a premiere B2B customer base and an international services team, along with proprietary AI-powered AdTech tools that have been generating positive EBITDA on annualized revenue of more than $5 million.

Stacey Hawes Bio
Hawes is currently the chief and data officer of MERGE, a full-service agency serving clients in retail, health, life sciences, and financial services.

She began her career in a leadership development program at the Fortune 500 company, LG&E Energy, where she found her real passion for leveraging data to drive positive business outcomes.

She joined Doubleclick after the company acquired Abacus, the largest cooperative database of its kind, where she focused on product development and strategy across the business. Doubleclick later sold most of their tech solutions to Google and Hawes stayed with the business that was ultimately acquired by Epsilon.

At Epsilon, Hawes rose through the ranks across a number of product and sales leadership positions and ultimately became president of its data practice in 2016. As president, she led the company through a digital transformation that drove unprecedented growth for the unit. She was part of the team that sold Epsilon to Publicis and helped lead the integration.

Hawes has been a frequent speaker at key industry events, a thought leader, a privacy enthusiast, and served on the DMA board when it was integrated into the ANA.

She has been recognized in the industry for her contributions with numerous awards:

• Business Insider Top 20 Executives Shaping the Future of Marketing Technology 2020
• Advertising Age Woman to Watch 2017
• Taylor Institute Direct Marketer of the Year 2017
• Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Data Rockstar 2017
• Stevie Award for Maverick of the Year: Marketing & Advertising 2016
• Folio Magazine Top 20 Women in Media 2014

Hawes holds an MBA from the University of Louisville.

Learn more about Hawes and her vision for the future of the industry and what she would tell her younger self by visiting Collective Audience’s Blog here.

About Collective Audience
Collective Audience provides an innovative audience-based performance advertising and media platform for brands, agencies and publishers. The company has introduced a new open, interconnected, data driven, digital advertising and media ecosystem that will uniquely eliminate many inefficiencies in the digital ad buyer and seller process for brands, agencies and publishers. It will deliver long sought-after visibility, complementary technology, and unique audience data that drives focus on performance, brand reach, traffic and transactions.

For the AdTech providers and media buyers who come onto Collective Audience’s platform, they will be able to leverage audience data as a new asset class, powered by AI as an intelligence layer to guide decision making.

To learn more, visit collectiveaudience.co.

Important Cautions Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes certain statements that are not historical facts but are forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally are accompanied by words such as “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “expect,” “should,” “would,” “plan,” “predict,” “potential,” “seem,” “seek,” “future,” “outlook” and similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. All statements, other than statements of present or historical fact included in this press release, regarding the company’s future financial performance, as well as the company’s strategy, future operations, estimated financial position, estimated revenues and losses, projected costs, prospects, plans and objectives of management are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on various assumptions, whether or not identified in this press release, and on the current expectations of the management of Collective Audience and are not predictions of actual performance. These forward-looking statements are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to serve as, and must not be relied on as, a guarantee, an assurance, a prediction or a definitive statement of fact or probability. Actual events and circumstances are difficult or impossible to predict and will differ from assumptions. Many actual events and circumstances are beyond the control of Collective Audience. Potential risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, changes in domestic and foreign business, market, financial, political and legal conditions; unanticipated conditions that could adversely affect the company; the overall level of consumer demand for Collective Audience’s products/services; general economic conditions and other factors affecting consumer confidence, preferences, and behavior; disruption and volatility in the global currency, capital, and credit markets; the financial strength of Collective Audience’s customers; Collective Audience’s ability to implement its business strategy; changes in governmental regulation, Collective Audience’s exposure to litigation claims and other loss contingencies; disruptions and other impacts to Collective Audience’s business, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and government actions and restrictive measures implemented in response; stability of Collective Audience’s suppliers, as well as consumer demand for its products, in light of disease epidemics and health-related concerns such as the COVID-19 pandemic; the impact that global climate change trends may have on Collective Audience and its suppliers and customers; Collective Audience’s ability to protect patents, trademarks and other intellectual property rights; any breaches of, or interruptions in, Collective Audience’s information systems; changes in tax laws and liabilities, legal, regulatory, political and economic risks. More information on potential factors that could affect Collective Audience’s financial results is included from time to time in Collective Audience’s public reports filed with the SEC. If any of these risks materialize or Collective Audience’s assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from the results implied by these forward-looking statements. There may be additional risks that Collective Audience presently knows, or that Collective Audience currently believes are immaterial, that could also cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. In addition, forward-looking statements reflect Collective Audience’s expectations, plans or forecasts of future events and views as of the date of this press release. Nothing in this press release should be regarded as a representation by any person that the forward-looking statements set forth herein will be achieved or that any of the contemplated results of such forward-looking statements will be achieved. Collective Audience anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause their assessments to change. However, while Collective Audience may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, Collective Audience specifically disclaims any obligation to do so, except as required by law. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing Collective Audience’s assessments as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release. Accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed upon the forward-looking statements.

Company Contact:

Peter Bordes, CEO
Collective Audience, Inc.
Email contact

Investor Contact:
Ron Both or Grant Stude
CMA Investor Relations
Tel (949) 432-7566
Email contact

Media Contact:
Tim Randall
CMA Media Relations
Tel (949) 432-7572
Email contact

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/628346bb-4c4e-4d3d-85ee-e94eeb58d848