Move Enables Advertisers and Publishers to Brand Globally, Execute Locally
NEW YORK – Undertone announced it has acquired WWN, a European digital representation firm that helps global brands connect with audiences on the world’s best websites. The acquisition unifies two organizations that are known for providing advertisers with premium reach on quality sites and gives publishers a unique opportunity to monetize both locally and globally. Financial terms of the acquisition were not released.
Acquiring WWN reflects Undertone’s continued commitment to quality display and video experiences for advertisers, publishers and the audiences they serve. Built entirely on professionally produced websites, WWN offers only high quality inventory to global brands. With more than half* (56%) of the anticipated spend on digital advertising expected to come from outside the United States by 2014, today’s leading brands need solutions that extend the reach of their campaigns to a global scale.
WWN’s publisher partners can now more effectively monetize their worldwide traffic. In addition, these premium sites can leverage Undertone’s comprehensive product portfolio, including U360 Audience Extension and new video capabilities. WWN’s relationships include hundreds of the world’s leading professional news and information publishers in more than 40 countries, including The Economist, The Times of India, Der Spiegel, Reuters and El Mundo.
“Undertone is aggressively scaling its business through rapid organic growth as well as domestic and international acquisition,” said Mike Cassidy, CEO, Undertone. “We are becoming a much more dominant player in digital advertising.”
Undertone also announced today that Steve Goldberg, one of the founders and an original board member of the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), has joined the company as Senior Vice President and General Manager of International to lead the firm’s expanding global initiatives. Goldberg brings executive experience from media technology and mobility companies such as Intellisync (acquired by Nokia), Go2Net (acquired by Infospace), and Microsoft, where he was group manager of the initial advertising team.
“WWN shares the Undertone commitment to quality,” said Goldberg. “The combined entity gives advertisers an unprecedented way to reach premium audiences around the world, as well as compelling revenue opportunities for our publisher partners.”
For more information about this acquisition and Undertone, please visit Undertone’s website.
Quotes
“Global agencies create value for their clients by building good partnerships in the media world,” said Arnaud Faure, Director of Digital, Havas Media International. “We are excited to see WWN join with Undertone and believe it will make our current partnership more meaningful.”
“We’ve worked with WWN for many years and they are one of our best reps,” said Paula Bacariza Perez, International Digital Trader, News International. “Global campaigns continue to be an important part of our business and WWN has been a consistent and brilliant partner. We look forward to the next chapter in their evolution as part of Undertone.”
“Reuters have successfully worked with WWN on behalf of a number of clients including Allianz, BNP Paribas, Cap Gemini, Credit Agricole, Lenovo, Mercedes and Société Générale,” said Jamie Madill, Head of Revenue, EMEA, Thomson Reuters. “Reuters are uniquely positioned to deliver high-end, global campaigns and the Undertone acquisition enables our partnership to move on to the next level.”
“WWN has been a very important and key partner for us in Europe for a long time and we are very enthused by their amalgamation into Undertone,” said Puneet Singhvi, Vice President of Digital Sales, Times of India Group. “We look forward to leveraging their enhanced strengths to drive greater international monetization – a key part of our sales strategy.”
“Consolidation in digital advertising is being driven by companies that have both vision and the ability to execute,” said Bradford D. Woloson, General Partner, JMI Equity, and member of Undertone’s Board of Directors. “Undertone’s experienced management team has the foresight and agility to identify and pursue new directions, ranging from rich media and video to overseas market opportunities. We’re excited about Undertone’s future.”
About Undertone
Undertone delivers quality display and video experiences for advertisers, publishers and the global audiences they serve. Undertone’s Digital Advertising Suite™ is a unified platform that supports targeting, optimization and reporting across multiple formats. Armed with the insights to turn data into better decisions, Undertone helps marketers around the world create value from their online investments. For more information, go to www.undertone.com.
*Source: eMarketer, June 2010
