ExchangeWire rounds up some of the biggest stories in the European digital advertising space. And in this week’s edition: AppNexus and WPP ink landmark deal; Even more consolidation in the mobile sector; Facebook mooted to unveil new Atlas platform, and more transparency in ad tech called for by brands. 

AppNexus mulls further buys after WPP deal
This week’s major development was the announcement that WPP will invest $25m in AppNexus, while the ad tech firm will acquire Open AdStream for an as yet publicly undisclosed fee from the agency holding group’s Xaxis’ arm.

The deal between the pair amounted to one of the most significant M&A agreements in the ad tech sector in 2014, when such activity has hit record levels, and marks AppNexus as an ally of the agency holding group model, which is at risk of disintermediation given the emerging trend of ad tech firms increasingly going ‘client-direct’ .

The $25m investment in AppNexus also means the ad tech firm is well-equipped for further purchases. Speaking with ExchangeWire, Brian O’Kelley, AppNexus, CEO, said: “We’re in a very strong cash position and our equity is also worth a lot, so I think that we’re in a strong position to be acquisitive. We see so many opportunities in the market that I think we will be very, very active.”

Meanwhile, Brian Lesser, Xaxis, global CEO, added: “AppNexus will be a conduit for us to access publishers, it will also be a partner as a DSP within the display space, but we also work across multiple other companies in the industry to develop products outside of the display space. So we will rely on AppNexus for that connection to publishers and for access to inventory.”

More consolidation, this time in mobile
As mentioned above, 2014 has thus far been a notable period for the frantic M&A activity in ad tech, and this week saw a second major deal with Millennial Media agreeing to acquire mobile supply-side platform (SSP) Nexage in a deal worth $107.5m

The deal will see publicly-listed Millennial acquire Boston-based Nexage for $107.5m in cash and approximately $85m in stock, subject to certain adjustments.

The deal will see the publicly-listed Millennial acquire Boston-based Nexage for $22.5m in cash and approximately $85m in stock, subject to certain adjustments.

Michael Barrett, Millennial Media, CEO and president, said the purchase formed part of his ambition to offer a “full-stack solution” to advertisers, as well as improve yield for its advertisers.

He added: “The opportunity to integrate Nexage’s programmatic technology with our deep remotes and heritage in agency relationships will uniquely position us in this fast paced ecosystem.”

Facebook tipped to unveil new platform
Facebook was this week reported to readying a new ad stack that will let advertisers target users on third-party sites.

The reports, which cite sources close to the developments, claim that Facebook will use its Atlas platform to improve how marketers can measure the performance of ads seen and clicked on by its users both on Facebook aas well as third-party sites and apps.

The planned service will function by anonymously linking ad measurement to Facebook profiles and aims to leverage the social network’s vast swathes of user data for ad targeting.

The reports also claim the planned service will provide better tracking across PCs and mobile than is currently possible via cookies. It will also feature a programmatic (automated) ad-buying interface for marketers.

Marketers demand more transparency
Transparency was identified as a key requirement for the ad tech sector’s development at this year’s ATS London, and this was further backed-up by a survey published this week by Marin Software that found 38% of brand-side marketers were unsure if their paid-for ads were actually seen by humans.

Of the 233 respondents, more than one third are unsure if ads are viewed, with any citing concerns over “black box optimisation”.

The survey found that 37% of respondents had concerns about click fraud when using programmatic media buying technology, with 51% of respondents claiming they only allocate 10% of their monthly marketing budget to the media due to such concerns.

Matt Ackley, Marin Software, CMO, said: "Advertisers have very little view into the ad inventory of the retargeting providers, how much was paid for the inventory, what sites their ads appear on – an advertiser may not want their brand associated with certain sites – or whether the ads were even seen.”

The survey also found that 15% of participants claimed they didn't have the budget to invest more in ad tech, 11% cited brand image concerns for reasons not to migrate spend, while 10% said there is not enough time to manage retargeting campaigns.

The ExchangeLab launch new platform
The Exchange Lab this launched a new platform which it claims allows a two-way data-flow between itself and multiple DSPs.

The automated trading platform that provides clients with a holistic view of the global programmatic marketplace by plugging into all major demand side platforms (DSPs) and audience pools via its API integration, according to the company.

Thus far, the connected DSPs include: MediaMath, Turn, AppNexus, The Trade Desk, TubeMogul, AdLearn Open Platform (AOP), Adbrain, Yahoo Ad Exchange, DoubleClick Ad Exchange and DoubleClick Bid Manager, with additional names to be added to the list by the close of the year.

James Aitken, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, said: "Proteus is modelled on the financial trading platforms used by banks and is a combination of the best of Bloomberg and the FX trading platforms.

“It evolved from the need to deliver our clients unprecedented access to the entire digital media marketplace. Proteus delivers a transparent, reassuring system through which brands can safely move into the programmatic space."