Snapchat Ads Coming Soon; Trending Agencies

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign-up here.

Ephemeral Ads

Though valued at a whopping $10 billion, Snapchat has yet to raise revenue. But that’s about to change, according to Bloomberg. Speaking at the Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit in San Francisco on Wednesday, Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel confirmed, “People are going to see the first ads on Snapchat soon.” Ads will be… “optional.” In somewhat related news, WSJ reports that Vessel, a soon-to-come online video service founded by former Hulu CEO Jason Kilar, is also courting advertisers. It’s autumn, and monetization is in the air.

Boutique Holding Companies

Small to mid-sized agency holding companies are trending, Ad Age reports, and attracting the attention of private equity firms. ”Our thesis is that pre- and post- the Omnicom-Publicis merger and lack of completion, there’s a real opportunity to create a middle-market player in the space,” said Terry Graunke, co-founder of Lake Capital, once such company. He added, “The world is begging for content, specifically digital content.”

Install M&A

AppLovin grabbed German-based mobile ad network Moboqo on Thursday for an undisclosed sum. AppLovin works with developers to expand its install base, and its gross revenue has surpassed a $100 million run rate, according to TechCrunch. The acquisition was driven by a hunt for talent, as AppLovin won’t be adopting Moboqo’s technology, which CEO Adam Foroughi described as “similar and smaller scale.” Germany will be AppLovin’s first European hub, with offices to come in London.

Videoplaza Unwraps Programmatic Tools

London-based video ad-management and serving platform Videoplaza unveiled its programmatic trading platform, which the company has named Konnect. “Videoplaza is dead serious about making programmatic trading work for the premium side of the market who is today not served by the ecosystem,” said CEO Sorosh Tavakoli. Press release.

Tech Halo

Interbrand’s yearly Best Global Brands report surfaced on Thursday and, according to the ranking, tech giants are on top. Apple ranked first, followed by Google. Tech brands are stepping into their golden age, according to Interbrand Global CEO Jez Frampton, but data security and behavioral data mining for marketing purposes could lessen their velocity. Read on.

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