• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, July 6, 2011

Collective has announced the acquisition of ad technology firm Tumri. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

"Tumri gives us the capability to target the right audience with the right messaging and ad format, dynamically based on data intelligence," explained Collective CEO Joe Apprendi.

The acquisition should strengthen Collective's ability to manage the entire ad delivery process, enhancing audience buying, optimization and overall ad efficacy.

According to Apprendi, most optimization to date has focused on the "who" -- which represents the data piece -- and the "where" -- the ad environment -- while not enough emphasis has been placed on optimization of the creative, or the "what." The delivery of creative content, he added, should leads to higher interaction rates.

Seeking additional services and scale through acquisitions, Collective only recently acquired video ad platform and services company Oggifinogi. To date, Tumri has powered marketing campaigns for brands, including Nike, HP and Travelocity.

Tumri's AdPod -- a variation on the interactive display unit -- allows marketers to tailor ad content, such as a call-to-action, pricing and background on the fly, to different target audiences and boost performance. Lenovo, Sears and British Airways are among the advertisers that have used the AdPod platform.

Going forward, Apprendi said he expects to see continued consolidation of buy-side and sell-side platforms. "This is critical to simplify [the] process, eliminate waste and maximize ROI for advertisers and publishers."

"Outside of Google, very few players in a position to do this successfully as integrated media and technology provider," Apprendi noted. "We believe Collective is one of them."

Another challenge, according to Apprendi, is the changing demands of advertisers content first to audience first media buying/monetization strategies. "Display is leading the way here, but advertisers will want to apply this approach to all addressable media, including TV and Mobile."