Online Advertising: More Acquisitions

Acquisitions in the online advertising world continues, as WPP Group buys 24/7. WSJ reports: “Ad agency WPP Group agreed to buy online marketing services company 24/7 Real Media for $11.75 a share, or about $649 million. The deal demonstrates the rapidly rising interest in companies that help broker online ads. 24/7 Real Media offers search-marketing services and a network of Web sites for advertisers to place their ads; its 2006 revenue was $200 million.”

Earlier, Google purchased Doubleclick and Yahoo bought out its remaining interests in RightMedia.

The frenzy of activity sure shows signs of a hot market, and recently funded companies like Adify are harboring high hopes. [Read my interview with the CEO of Adify.]

Time Warner has not acquired anything yet, but has invested in Adify, alongside NBC. I would like to see Yahoo leverage its Ad Networks and build verticals using a model similar to the potential Time Warner – Adify collaboration.

Yahoo has started building verticals. I have reviewed their Personal Finance and Online Travel offerings recently. They should add blogs to these verticals, as well as start other verticals like Business, Women, Parenting, etc. which they don’t have at the moment. They are also weak in the Teens, College Kids, and Pre-Teens segments.

My concern remains on both Time Warner and Yahoo’s execution capability and speed.

More about the 24/7 acquisition at: GMSV and Venturebeat,
where other smaller online advertising related deals are discussed.

This segment is a part in the series : Online Advertising