Time Inc splashes the cash on another ad-tech firm

keen to bolster its programmatic advertising

Whats going on here

Time Inc has completed the purchase of programmatic ad-tech company Adelphic for an undisclosed price. This move comes several months after their $87 million acquisition of Viant, for its programmatic capabilities and first party data. It also continues Time Inc’s pivot from print magazine publisher to to big time digital media player.

What does this mean

In the past ad-buying was done by sales execs. Programmatic advertising basically removes humans from the ad-buying process in favour of using software also known as demand side platforms (like Adelphic, for example) to buy ads. As a result, making the ad buying process more efficient.

The idea behind this acquisition is to combine Viant’s data layer with Adelphic’s programmatic media-buying capabilities, thereby creating a robust ad-management platform.

Why should I care?

For the Industry

Does Programmatic really matter?

Yes. There are two types of programmatic buying; Direct and Real-time-buying or RTB. Programmatic direct is buying ads directly so it’s guaranteed to be yours, While RTB involves bidding for ad space in real time, think Google AdWords.

According to eMarketer, programmatic could make up to 70% of digital advertising this year and 75% of mobile ad spending. Programmatic is undoubtedly the future of ad-buying as the advertising industry marches toward automation.

It’s not just the ad-buying process that’s being automated too. Companies like Hubspot and Marketo have generated billions in revenue by creating software that allows marketers to automate various aspects of the marketing process. On average 49% of companies are currently using Marketing automation — according to Emailmonday.

For your career

Does this mean that my job will be taken by robots?

Yes, no, possibly. Historically technology has been used to replace some of the more menial tasks that humans have had to handle. Ultimately the best way to safeguard against a robot stealing your job is to learn and develop hard skills and aim for jobs that require specialised skills or at the very least do not involve repetitive or mundane tasks.

There are fewer ad-buyers in the world than before, however there are also more marketing specialists required to optimize campaigns. This role is often described as conversion rate optimization.

The bigger picture

An industry reacts to changing trends

This is the latest in a string of mergers & acquisitions between publishers and ad-tech firms. The reasons here for this trend are complex. But basically, many publishers are seeing revenues from print rapidly declining and for some even online due to ad-blocking. Many struggle to turn a profit with advertising as a business model.

Even the iconic Time Inc, reported in november that it had a net loss of $112 million and fell short of revenue expectations as its print ad sales fell by as much as 10 percent.

By buying ad-tech firms, publishers are able to expand vertically and gain higher margins as they are able to sell ad management and ad-targeting capabilities to marketers in addition to selling ad space on their website. Expect this activity to increase in the near future.

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