• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, January 30, 2009

Media and advertising network Glam Media has acquired display ad targeting and optimization startup AdaptiveAds. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

"AdaptiveAds gives us the ability to offer targeted ads by daypart, local targeting, and to change creative based on where ads are served," said Samir Arora, chairman and CEO of Glam Media. "We didn't have those capabilities before now."

In addition, AdaptiveAds' self-service ad technology will become the platform for GlamAds, a new self-serve brand advertising system focused on premium display ads.

"The platform is already up and running, but we'll take the next two quarters to tailor it specifically for agency clients," Arora said. "We hope to roll out a complete dashboard for agencies by mid-year."

Although it's too early to determine the real value of Glam's latest acquisition, analysts said it was wise to be investing in targeting and optimization technology.

"Intelligence and targeting are clearly really important trends going forward," said Linda Gridley, CEO and founder of Gridley & Co, a boutique investment bank based in New York that specializes in information services. "The guy that knows the most is going to be closest to the client going forward."

Broadly speaking, AdaptiveAds is expected to reinforce Glam Media's brand ads platform, Glam Media Evolution, and will be used to facilitate both agency direct and self-service media-buying efforts.

Now renamed GlamAdapt, AdaptiveAds' ad-serving platform makes real-time ad-serving and targeting decisions with the primary goal of optimizing brand engagement across a range of metrics.

The GlamAdapt BrandWords product is designed to help advertisers target audiences for brand engagement, similar to keywords used to optimize direct-response search ads.

For example, an advertiser can select women ages 24-40, fashionista, beauty, at home and above the fold for a campaign for a beauty product; or men, urban, New York, very high income, influential and follows style to help launch a new luxury product.

Based in San Francisco and Mumbai, India, AdaptiveAds is a three-year-old start-up with investors including Glam Media investor Draper Fisher Jurvetson. AdaptiveAds raised a total of $3.5 million, and was reported to have a valuation between $25 to $40 million.

Glam expects a net addition of approximately 20 new employees with this acquisition, bringing the total employees at Glam globally to 200.

AdaptiveAds' U.S.-based employees will join Glam's ad products team in Brisbane, Calif. Offices in Mumbai and Pune will become Glam's engineering and product development centers in India.

AdaptiveAds co-founder and CEO Yogesh Sharma will become vice president and general manager of Ad Solutions at Glam Media, while AdaptiveAds co-founder Sanjay Sharma will lead the team in India.

Glam is also presently reorganizing its technology, engineering and content teams to focus on brand engagement and display optimization, and expects to hire engineering employees in India.