Snapchat May Buy Ad Tech; Foursquare Takes $45M In A Down Round

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Kicking Tires

Snapchat is suddenly sweet on ad tech, so much so that an acquisition may be in the offing. A few days after Digiday reported on its API dreams, Re/code’s Kurt Wagner notes the company is evaluating acquisition targets. Among the startups in its viewfinder: Beeswax, purveyor of an off-the-shelf bidder, and Metamarkets. But the strategy is murky. According to Wagner’s sources, “CEO Evan Spiegel and Snapchat don’t have a strong understanding of ad tech or what needs to be done in order to get some of these plans off the ground.” Zoinks, Scoob! Read it.

The “I” In Privacy

A Pew Research report digs into consumer sentiment over privacy, revealing (surprise) a gradient of personal preferences that morph based on the nature of the value exchange and the personal views of the target. The report’s authors write that “the phrase that best captures Americans’ views on the choice between privacy vs. disclosure of personal information is, ‘It depends.’” TechCrunch has more.

Pieces In Place

Two location analytics startups, Foursquare and PlaceIQ, have completed notable funding rounds. Foursquare grabbed $45 million in a so-called down round that values the company at about half its former worth, The New York Times reports. Meanwhile PlaceIQ raised $25M to build on its mobile location data offering, which leverages retail tech like beacons to create consumer data sets. Mike Shields of The Wall Street Journal notes that in the past year PlaceIQ pivoted from targeted media buying to other enterprise functions, such as retail attribution and operational efficiency.

Turning Paid Into Owned

Financial Times reporters say WebMD is considering a sale for around $2B, with pharmaceutical leaders and insurers – such as CVS, Walgreens and Aetna – interested in the deal. “WebMD and Walgreens already collaborate on a number of initiatives, including a virtual wellness-coaching programme that can be downloaded as an application on smartphones.” More. A sale to big pharma would be reminiscent of marketing-driven website acquisitions of yore, including J&J’s purchase of BabyCenter.com.

TV’s Old Age Problem

New research from Nielsen and Frank Magid Associates asks, “How do millennials’ media habits change as they age?” The answer, apparently, is not much. However, despite a steep dropoff in linear viewers, “TV remains an important part of life” for millennials and Gen Z audiences. Previous Nielsen research actually did point to changing consumer behavior, with young cord-cutters returning to pay TV when they become parents.