20 Technology Acquisitions You Didn’t Hear About in 2011

19 Dec
2011

If you’re like me, you read all of the classic tech blogs, attend tech events and valiantly attempt to keep your finger firmly planted on the pulse of the tech world.  Our good friends at Dealaker Media provided this great list of “on the DL” acquisitions that  in the technology world about which you may have heard nothing.  See below for a few quick summaries of the acquisitions I found interesting.

Somex joins AMEX

You already know what AMEX is.  If not, go check your mailbox and get reminded.  Their acquisition of Somex was a well played.  Somex is an in-game payment and optimization platform that has payment methods available in over 150 countries in formats including: prepaid credit cards, mobile, direct pay and via advertising.  Their site claims that the Somex platform has proven to create a 30% increase in revenue via virtual currency monetization.  I should note that this is an LA-based company backed partially by the folks at Greycroft in Santa Monica.

Strobe joins Facebook

Simply put, the strobe platform helps developers build HTML5-based web apps for touchscreen devices (tablets, smartphones) and desktops.  It enables developers to centrally manage all of them via a simple interface.

DimDim joins Salesforce

Dimdim provides a cost-effective method for scheduling online and remote meetings. Similar to GoToMeeting and other competitors, they include real-time messaging, screen sharing and other services.  This is slated to integrate with Salesforce’s social networking product called Chatter.  Some feel this is a move to get another let-up on Yammer.

Wufoo joins SurveyMonkey

This one is not a stretch.  Wufoo is an online form creation company that has an HTML form builder that automatically builds the database, backend and scripts needed to collect and understand data.  This, in turn, empowers the users to create surveys, contact forms, registrations, etc…without having to write code.  Great purchase, SurveyMonkey.

To learn about some of the other technology acquisitions that “went down” in 2011, take a look at the list below.  Which one is the most interesting to you?  Why?

Forrester Releases Demand-Side Platform Rankings in New Report

15 Dec
2011

Forrester announced their Demand-Side Platform rankings report and the industry is abuzz with chatter.  There were a total of 48 criteria that was evaluated by their researchers.  While some of the results were surprising, it shows that the big dogs have some serious competition.  Here’s how it shook-out…

The overall top 3 DSPs were Media Math, Data Xu and Turn.  Here’s why:

  • Expertise in algorithmic optimization
  • Audience management skills (depth and strategy)
  • Depth and breadth of media access

The report discusses many elements and does not rule-out many of the other well known players in the DSP space.  That said, this report confirms the challenge with concretely defining what constitutes a demand-side platform.  The truth is that the lines are becoming blurry as DSPs refine their individual formulas for adding value to advertisers.  At the risk of sounding dramatic or cliche, the DSP and Ad Exchange industry seem to share characteristics of the wild west.  While there are constraints and expectations from the advertisers, the data providers, ad exchanges, etc. the industry is in flux and growing by leaps and bounds.

Overall monthly impressions were also mentioned in the report.  That data illustrates that the top ranked does not necessarily mean largest foot print in the space.

Monthly Impressions

  1. AppNexus: 26 billion monthly impressions
  2. Invite Media (Google): 10 billion-plus
  3. MediaMath: 10 billion-plus
  4. Turn: 10 billion-plus
  5. Dataxu: 3 billion
  6. LucidMedia Networks: 2.5 billion
  7. X+1: 2 billion

A valid point this report brings to light is that nearly all of the DSP companies are privately held.  This accounts for a large part of the “black box” factor associated in this space.  This is creating a mad dash to acquire as much market share as possible.  It’s as if there is a land rush for advertising dollars for this new era of ad spend and targeting.  These are exciting times.  I can’t wait to learn what 2012 is going to bring us.

ATS London Conference Panel Elicits Robust Display Advertising Discussion

2 Dec
2011


A few months ago in London there was a robust panel discussion about the future of media plans at the ATS London Conference.  The discussion quickly took a turn to address display advertising trends related to retargeting, role of the trading desk and the relevancy of media plans in the future.

Ad Trading Summit (ATS) London is an annual event that brings together executives, leaders and experts in the global data-driven display market.  This event is peppered with key players from many of the top global brands associated at all levels of the Display Advertising industry.

The good folks at Exchange Wire posted this video this morning. I’m glad they did. For such a short snippet of the “Wither the Media Plan” panel, it is packed with great discussions about the future of media plans, ad retargeters and ad networks.

One of the more interesting comments came from Marco Bertozzi from Vivaki Nerve Center. When answering a question about the distinction between ad networks and retargeting, he went on to compare the capping of CPCs and forbidding the bidding on certain keywords for affiliate marketers in the Search world to the need to centralize the retargeting so that there are not a glut of retargeting firms targeting the same content and networks.

He makes a very valid point. Controls- of some sort- must be in place. Whether that be done via a DSP or a via more transparent reporting of allocation and buying to the trading desks, it can’t not happen. The Search / PPC platform service providers have gone through the same evolution; arguably for the better. That’s not to say that DSPs or ad serving platforms need to fully lift up their proverbial skirts. Rather a dash of transparency and centralization goes a long way in building trust for the longterm.

What are your thoughts about the centralization of display buying? Natural evolution? Dangerous? Moot?

Chip Hall of Google Discusses DoubleClick’s Ad Exchange

27 Nov
2011

Google’s Chip Hall recently spoke at OMMA about DoubleClick’s ad exchange breadth.  Though he presented data about all formats within the DoubleClick ad exchange, his overall message was:  ”the brand is coming to the spot market”.

When watching the presentation, you’ll note that all of the other trends, data sets and case studies he provides points back to Google’s declaration about the brand coming to the spot market.  I’d venture to say that this trend goes-without-saying and will continue to prove itself out over the coming quarters in 2012.

Hall presented a slide at the end of his presentation that does a good job of simply, clearly illustrating the structure of the DoubleClick ad exchange.  I am truly fond of clear, concise explanations of systems.  While the illustration below errs on the side of being oversimplified, people new to the ad exchange space will find it helpful.

Another simple graph he discussed illustrated the usage of devices across different times of day.  While the findings aren’t all that surprising, it’s great to see the trends we all experience confirmed.  Those of us in the industry know that the future of a robust display campaign is to be able to effectively target tablets and smart phones in ways and at the appropriate times of usage.  Though the computer still holds the lions share of usage, tablets and smart phones dominate the post-work hours.

One of the key points that Hall wanted to drive home was the expansion of mobile inventory.   He presented a statistic illustrating that the growth of the mobile web (tablet and phone) is an expanding slice of the display pie accounting for 15% of the ad exchange inventory in the USA today.  While that’s a staggering number, it becomes more compelling when that’s compared to the 9% found globally on ad exchanges.

Midway through his presentation, Hall unveils DoubleClick’s ability to deliver in-app mobile ads *and* at newer dimensions of 320 x 50.

George Takei and Japanese Consul General Post Assumption in Los Angeles

18 Nov
2011

This week I was invited to the Japanese Consul General’s residence to celebrate his new post assumption and the Emperor of Japan’s birthday.  In a section of Los Angeles known for the Playboy Mansion, I was able to meet the most interesting mix of people.  Between spreading the word about the JETAASC and being engulfed in great conversations, the event was a success.

One of the most interesting people with which I was able to spend time was George Takei.  Many of you know George from his role as Sulu on Star Trek.  I’ve never met such a sincere conversationalist before.  He is so happy, present and interesting.  I have to say that I was sucked into his great stories.  How could one not!  He is involved with quite a few Japanese related organizations.  There were a few parallels between some of his organizations and the JET Programme.  As a side note, Russell Iriye (in the photo above) has an interesting family connection with George.  Apparently, Russell’s grandfather used to cut George’s hair in the US Internment Camps during World War II.  Talk about 6 degrees of separation.  Another side note is that my wife and George have the same voice over agent here in Los Angeles.  Who knew?!  We look forward to seeing him again soon at the holiday party.  I can’t wait to hear what he’s got up his sleeve that night.

The drinks continued to flow as the speeches by Consul General gave a speech before the Controller of the State of California gave his.  The speeches were peppered with live shamisen music by a young man from San Diego.  Once the music subsided, the drinks flowed again and local dignitaries were working the event like pros.

After speaking with George we were able to strike up conversations with Cyril (Consul General of South Africa).  He was another engaging person filled with wonderful anecdotes about Rwanda and South Africa.  We learned quite about South Africa’s current situation and people.  Additionally, we realized that we know the same person that works with the South African board of tourism.  Again, a small world.  Between Los Angeles, Tokyo and Cape Town we were able to travel the world yesterday.  I’ll keep you posted about the next time we have the pleasure of chatting with George.

oldie, but goldies
top