Three Asian Ad Tech Firms Merge As CtrlShift

AdzCentral, Better Digital and Asia Digital Ventures on Tuesday announced that all three companies have merged to form CtrlShift, a programmatic ad platform. The new company will be headquartered in Singapore.

AdzCentral is a programmatic media trading platform, Better Digital is a digital ad firm and Asia Digital Ventures is an ad tech distribution company.

Per a release, the new company has partnered with LinkedIn, Spotify, MSN, ESPN and other publishers for supply. CtrlShift has also partnered with Sizmek, Lotame, comScore, Phunware and AppNexus for data, verification and technology.  

CtrlShift will comprise 130 employees across five markets in Southeast Asia, according to a release. Rene Menezes, CEO of Better Digital, will assume the role of CEO of CtrlShift. Reza Behnam, founder and CEO of AdzCentral, will be chairman of CtrlShift. Additionally, Peter Yoong, a partner at Asia Digital Ventures, will serve as president.

“Our plan is to be the number one independent programmatic, ad tech execution and consulting partner for advertisers seeking to win across Asia,” stated Behnam. “We have joined forces to create an Asia-focused digital marketing platform that understand the complex task of executing digital initiatives across markets, channels and languages.”

In a statement, Menezes and Yoong also stressed CtrlShift’s independence.

“Advertising-as-a-service is the future,” stated Yoong. “Brands must step up their game and use technology to better connect with their audiences.”

Independent trading desks were on the rise last year, at least in the U.S. The use of agency trading desks decreased 15% year-over-year in 2014, while the use of independents tripled (up from 8% to 30%), per a World Federation of Advertisers report.

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