Online ad network Collective Media buys ad targeting company Personifi
Collective Media’s own market survey shows that advertisers think there are too many undifferentiated ad networks out there. Collective Media is one of the larger ad networks, itself. It ranked as the 21st largest one in the U.S. this past April, according to comScore, with 88 unique million visitors — 46 percent of U.S. internet users saw ads. The company runs ad campaigns for brand advertisers, that typically run on large media sites and various verticals, like travel sites.
By New York-based Collective’s own implications, then, the larger ad networks have an advantage in attracting advertiser dollars. Perhaps to help itself do that, Collective has purchased contextual ad targeting company Personifi for a price “in the low eight figures,” chief executive Joe Appendi says. The two companies have been working together for more than nine months — Personifi helps ad networks and exchanges target ads based not just on keywords, but phrases found on a page, along with other data.
Fort Wort, Texas-based Personifi has deals with other companies, including ad exchange AdBrite, which offers Personifi’s targeting technology, along with competitors, in its new “marketplace” for third party ad optimization companies.
Collective, meanwhile, also offers ad placement software used by many of its clients, including some large media organizations.
Collective itself isn’t disclosing more numbers. However, it raised an undisclosed round of funding late last year, apparently in part to make purchases.
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About the Author, Eric Eldon
Eric currently covers digital media technology and business news, especially what's happening on social networks and their platforms. He also writes and edits stories about venture capital, and lots of other stuff, too. He started at VentureBeat in the spring of 2007, half a year or so after Matt Marshall left his reporting job at the San Jose Mercury News to found the site. Eric previously cofounded a startup called Writewith, that was building editorial software for newspapers and other groups of writers. The startup didn't work out, but he learned a lot.