M&A

The convergence of on-site retail and shopping across the web got a little more converged on Tuesday with the news that Kevel has acquired Nexta.

Publicis looks to capitalize on potential fallout from the Omnicom/IPG merger; Google Cloud is seeing an influx of ad sales talent; and Spotify advises investors to be patient with its growing programmatic ads biz.

This year, expect ad tech consolidation to center on the biggest growth opportunities in advertising: retail media, connected TV and addressing the gaps in measurement.

The first half of this decade has left publishers reeling from a pandemic jab and an AI uppercut that rearranged our reality and knocked us to our knees. Here’s how pubs and their ad tech partners can punch back in the years ahead.

Commerce media just went shopping. On Thursday, ecommerce marketing company Rokt acquired customer data platform mParticle for $300 million.

2024’s most popular guest columns offer a snapshot of an industry in flux – and one that’s grown cynical due to repeated promises of unrealized change.

Publishers expect the agencies will eliminate tech redundancies as they consolidate, which could compel pubs to shed redundant tech themselves. The merger could also entrench principal-based buying, which may not be a bad thing.

What happens if the TikTok ban comes to pass; Netflix’s live sports Hail Mary play; and Channel Factory surfs for buyers.

IPG buying Node continues the trend of agencies trying new business models; IPG and Publicis support principal-based buying while WPP opposes it; and billionaire owners believe controlling their newsrooms will win back public trust.

Cyber Monday may be done, but the ad tech deal making just won’t quit. Experian has joined the ad tech consolidation parade with its acquisition of Audigent, a startup DMP and curation vendor.