Ad Tech Companies Consolidation Coming? One Commentator Thinks So
There’s a great commentary by Matt Kapko, who covers social media for CIO, that anyone toiling in the fields of IT, marketing, programmatic, native, or related arenas needs to read.
“In just a few short years, advertising technology has become one of the fastest growing areas in the tech world,” Kapko begins. “There are now hundreds, maybe even thousands, of ad tech companies vying for a piece of the digital marketing pie, but few are self-sustaining businesses.”
What does Kapko think is going to happen?
“The crowded space of startups building tools and solutions for ad management, analytics, targeting and optimization is ripe for consolidation,” he predicts. “As companies run out of capital or drag on without appropriately evolving in this opportunistic but complex field, acquisitions are likely.”
The main issue is this: “complexity and uncertainty” are the watchwords of the day, as CIOs and marketing staffers try to wend their way through the increasingly confusing world of digital advertising.
The steep technology learning curves are part of the problem.
“Ad tech consolidation won’t resolve all the complexity over night, but comprehensive technology suites are emerging as large companies cobble various pieces together from within or via acquisition,” notes Kapko.
Kapko quotes David Berkowitz, CMO at creative and technology agency MRY, who says part of the complexity stems from “a bevy of new buzzwords like “programmatic,” “native advertising,” big data, or some other catchy term.”
“The more people use these terms, the less they mean,” Berkowitz says. “Programmatic and native are almost entirely at odds with each other, and yet you see some ad tech companies talking about ‘programmatic native’ without appreciating that it’s an oxymoron.”
While there aren’t any solutions just yet, Kapko is pointing out just how volatile the field really is right now. It’s a must read, to be sure. Check it out here.
