<div>
  <ul>
    <li>
      <p>
        Simpli.fi, a demand-side ad platform (DSP), announced its acquisition of CoreMedia Systems, an enterprise-level ad marketplace and analytics platform for performance marketing, for an undisclosed amount.
      </p>
    </li>
  </ul>
  <ul>
    <li>
      <p>
        The acquisition would strengthen the existing technology integration between the two platforms and enable users to purchase linear and connected TV (CTV) advertising as well as other forms of programmatic advertising, including mobile, video, display, native, and social. Users would also be able to leverage CoreMedia&rsquo;s analytics tools, such as attribution reporting and performance analytics, to optimize media placements.
      </p>
    </li>
  </ul>
  <ul>
    <li>
      <p>
        With the acquisition, Simpli.fi expands its user base to more than 1,500 and its employee count to 500+.
      </p>
    </li>
  </ul>
  <ul>
    <li>
      <p>
        CoreMedia Systems&rsquo; platform is used by media agencies and retail marketers to purchase ads across multiple channels and to analyze their performance. The firm, which has been in operation since 1992, also provides marketing consultancy services to firms. As of January 2022, CoreMedia Systems had more than 100 clients and 34 employees.&nbsp;
      </p>
    </li>
  </ul>
  <p>
    &lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;
    <b>Analyst QuickTake</b>
    : Given CoreMedia's specialization in CTV and other display-based advertising, Simpli.fi hopes to gain an edge in the CTV ad buying space, which is one of the fastest-growing advertising segments. Other ad marketplaces, such as 
    <a href="https://sp-edge.com/companies/2531">
      Outbrain
    </a>
    , have also been strengthening their capabilities in the space. Outbrain introduced 
    <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/7235">
      native advertising solutions
    </a>
     and announced its 
    <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/6992">
      purchase of Vi
    </a>
    , a contextual video intelligence platform.&lt;/ul&gt;
  </p>
  <p>
  </p>
</div>


<div>
  <p>
    <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/simplifi-acquires-coremedia-systems-leading-software-platform-for-performance-media-management-and-analytics-301467768.html">
      <b>Press release</b>
    </a>
  </p>
  <p>
    <a href="https://www.coremedia-systems.com/">
      <b>CoreMedia Systems</b>
    </a>
  </p>
  <p>
  </p>
</div>


Marketing Automation

Simpli.fi acquires ad marketplace and management platform CoreMedia

ANALYST_QUICK_TAKE

PROMINENT_CATEGORY

<div>
 <p>AdTech firm Criteo has laid off approximately 4% of its workforce, equating to 140 employees. The company's business heavily depends on retargeting, a method of digital advertising that utilises users' online behaviour to present them with ads on various websites. The imminent end of third-party cookies, however, has pushed the company towards retail media, but it has had limited success. Google's impending introduction of its Privacy Sandbox as a cookie replacement is causing worries at Criteo for a possible decrease in revenue. The company's CFO hinted that this could potentially cost the company up to USD 40 million. </p>
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake</b> :<br>
 Criteo's recent layoffs can be interpreted as a preemptive move in anticipation of lost revenue. They also serve as a warning to Google about the potential for job losses in the advertising industry as a result of this shift. Despite industry calls for further delays in phasing out cookies, Google is sticking to its Q3 2024 deadline, insisting that the industry needs to adapt to the changes.</p>

Criteo lays off staff amid concerns over Google's phaseout of Cookies

<div>
 <p>Sprout Social, a social media marketing management platform, announced that its current CEO, Justyn Howard, will transition to the role of executive chair from October 1, 2024. The current president, Ryan Barretto, will take over as CEO.</p>
 <p>Barretto's history with Sprout Social dates back to 2016, where he has served in roles including president and SVP of global sales and success. Prior to joining Sprout Social, Barretto spent a decade at Salesforce, occupying various leadership roles during its substantial growth period.</p>
</div>

Ryan Barretto to become CEO of Sprout Social

<div>
 <p>HighLevel, a marketing cloud platform, has received a minority growth investment from General Atlantic, with Asher Hecht and Preston McKenzie of General Atlantic joining HighLevel's board of directors following the investment.</p>
 <p>The investment funds will be directed towards further development of the platform.</p>
 <p>Despite significant growth, scaling over 5x in the past three years, HighLevel has managed to maintain profitability.</p>
 <p>HighLevel's sales and marketing platform caters to marketing agencies, entrepreneurs, and SMBs, with features like CRM, website and app creation, automated marketing campaigns, reputation management, and social media marketing.</p>
 
</div>

HighLevel receives strategic investment from General Atlantic for further platform development

<div>
 <p>Ecommerce personalization platform, Bloomreach, and global cloud computing service, Google Cloud, have grown their collaboration to enhance Bloomreach Discovery, an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered tool that supports search and merchandising for ecommerce businesses. </p>
 <p>Google Cloud's Gemini models and Vertex AI platform will augment Bloomreach's proprietary AI, named Loomi. This strengthened AI power aims to bolster product discovery throughout the online shopping experience. The collaboration will concentrate on enhancing search relevance, customizing search rankings, refining natural language understanding for conversational shopping, automating and optimizing site searches, and tailoring the customer experience. </p>
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake</b> :<br>
 The partnership between Bloomreach and Google Cloud marks a significant advancement in Bloomreach's overall strategy, leveraging Google Cloud's AI technology to enhance its ecommerce search and merchandising capabilities. By integrating Google's Gemini models and Vertex AI platform into Bloomreach Discovery, the company strengthens its position as a leader in personalized ecommerce experiences. Moreover, <a href="https:<br>
//www.bloomreach.com/en/news/2023/bloomreach-discovery-now-available-on-google-cloud-marketplace"> Bloomreach's existing operation on Google Cloud </a> further solidifies the partnership, enabling businesses to benefit from lower total cost of ownership and faster return on investment.</p>

Bloomreach expands partnership with Google Cloud to improve ecommerce personalization

<div>
 <p>Innovid, a CTV ad-serving platform, has revealed Harmony Direct, the first product in a series aimed at simplifying CTV advertising supply path in a bid to increase advertising dollars towards actual media and improve system transparency. </p>
 <p>Harmony Direct boasts features such as the ability to simplify workflows for non-biddable CTV media, eliminate unnecessary technology steps ("hops"), and cut down fees and energy consumption. Furthermore, it endeavors to heighten fill rates and minimize risks related to latency and fraud.</p>
</div>

Innovid launches Harmony Direct to clean up the connected TV ad path

<div>
 <p>Lytics, a customer data platform, has formed a partnership with Pantheon, a WebOps platform. The partnership aims to make web personalization and streamlining of first-party data strategies more accessible, particularly for WordPress and Drupal users. </p>
 <p>The unique selling point of this cooperation is that they will offer a free tier for their services. This aims to reduce financial and technical barriers, and promotes a sustainable use model that harnesses the capabilities of Google Cloud Platform.</p>
 <p>Additionally, more resources such as tools and guides are anticipated to be released in the future. These resources are intended to facilitate users' transition to this platform.</p>
</div>

Lytics and Pantheon partner to democratize personalization and strengthen first-party data strategies

<div>
 <p>Adverity has introduced an AI-assistant, Enrichment Copilot, for the transformation and cleansing of data, supplied by its marketing data intelligence platform. </p>
 <p>The assistant is designed to enable users to alter their data in regular English, while providing thorough instructions to accomplish the desired transformation. Its major features include offering successive guidance on data transformation, removing the necessity for coding skills, and enhancing the data quality and process efficiency.</p>
</div>

Adverity introduces AI Assistant Enrichment Copilot for data transformation

<div>
 <p>ID5, a digital advertising customer identity service located in the UK, garnered USD 20 million in a Series B funding round. This round had TransUnion and S4S Ventures leading, and contributions were made by prior investors such as Progress Ventures, Seventure Partners, and 360 Capital Partners.</p>
 <p>The organization aims to use these funds to upgrade their technology framework and extend their market footprint.</p>
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake</b> :<br>
 ID5's funding round is a strategic move that enables the company to capitalize on the growing demand for privacy-first advertising identity solutions. In addition, the funding builds on ID5's partnerships, such as its <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/9907"> integration with Outbrain, </a> to increase customer addressability and revenue opportunities for publishers and advertisers alike.</p>

ID5 raises USD 20 million in Series B funding for further platform development

<div>
 <p>Social media management company, Hootsuite, has acquired consumer intelligence platform, Talkwalker. The aim is to drive revenue and the business impact for brands. Hootsuite intends to shift from regular social media management to social media performance by integrating Talkwalker's technology. This integration will create a feedback loop that uses AI to transform consumer data into strategic initiatives.</p>
 <p>Talkwalker was an independent company acquired by Marlin Equity Partners in 2017. It offers companies real-time access to millions of conversations across digital and social platforms. Using AI software, Talkwalker assists brands in analyzing and collecting data to improve communications and reputation management. Notably, the company reportedly serves more than half of the Fortune 500 companies as clients.</p>
 </div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake</b> :<br>
 Hootsuite's latest acquisition of Talkwalker builds upon its previous acquisitions, such as <a href="https:<br>
//www.hootsuite.com/newsroom/press-releases/hootsuite-acquires-conversational-ai-leader-heyday-for-ca-60-million"> Heyday AI </a> and <a href="https:<br>
//www.hootsuite.com/newsroom/press-releases/hootsuite-acquires-leading-digital-customer-engagement-platform-sparkcentral"> Spark Central, </a> by further expanding its capabilities in social media management and performance optimization. This acquisition aligns with Hootsuite's overall strategy to improve social media performance through advanced AI-driven insights, enabling businesses to leverage predictive analytics and social intelligence for more effective marketing strategies and customer engagement.</p>

Hootsuite acquires consumer intelligence firm Talkwalker to strengthen social media performance

<div>
 <p>AdTech firm, GumGum, known for their contextual analytics intelligence platform, has introduced a new mobile ad format named "Hang Time". This innovative ad format has been rolled out in Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands. </p>
 <p>"Hang Time" is a full-screen inline ad that appears in the middle of an article. It includes an interactive scrolling timeline and displays a 9:16 video within a 1,000-pixel footprint. The ad's unique "hanging" look allows it to remain on the screen longer than typical full-page ads, presenting plenty of space and time for creative storytelling.</p>
 <p>GumGum claims that "Hang Time" excels when implemented as part of its Mindset Platform. Advertisers, like Domino's, have reportedly experienced impressive returns on ad spend and elevated click-through rates. </p>
</div> <p><b>Analyst Quicktake</b> :<br>
 GumGum's Hang Time builds on its Mindset Platform by leveraging advanced contextual targeting, attention measurement, and optimization solutions. The Mindset Platform combines GumGum's high-impact media products with its cookieless contextual targeting platform, <a href="https:<br>
//gumgum.com/verity"> Verity, </a> and <a href="https:<br>
//gumgum.com/press-releases/gumgum-acquires-attention-measurement-and-optimization-platform-playground-xyz"> Playground xyz's </a> Attention Intelligence Platform (AIP). This integration enables advertisers to deliver ads to audiences with the right mindset for the message, increasing attention, improving results, and boosting ROI.</p>

All Updates