Commentary
Mediaocean On Acquisitions And Media Convergence in 2016
- by Tobi Elkin , Staff Writer @tobielkin, December 14, 2015
Wise:2016 will bring a lot of change in the market, with big players making strategic acquisitions to extend their scope and capabilities. “There will be more consolidation from the broadcast/supply owner side. We saw Verizon and Comcast both get aggressive this year, and 2016 will see more companies expanding their reach through major acquisitions. There’s already speculation about Verizon’s interest in Yahoo, and I predict that Salesforce will make a significant acquisition on the data side to combat Oracle’s recent moves.”
Wise: Media convergence will continue at a rapid pace, and ad-tech systems will need to be adjusted to account for TV/video convergence. “This will happen both through acquisitions and partnerships/integrations in 2016. We’ll continue to actively seek out strategic partnerships and acquisitions to drive our business, and the market, forward.
"Additionally, we've made recent strategic partnerships with companies like Videology, Pandora, Spotify and Videa in response to our clients' growing concerns around media convergence. For marketers, this will drive positive change, as more of the systems they use day-to-day will be seamlessly connected, offering them quicker and more efficient access to data and insights.
“As for IPOs, ad-tech companies have not fared well the past few years, so I predict we’ll see most companies avoid the public markets, with the exception of AppNexus.”
Grienenberger: More than ever before, advertising is expected to be seamless, relevant and timely. “As customers consume different types of content across multiple devices, I predict that we’ll see more emphasis on ‘moment marketing’ in 2016. The right message at the right moment feels more like a natural extension of the conversation, giving brands an authenticity that resonates with customers and increases visibility and engagement.
“After the successes we’ve seen from Oreo's and Arby’s this year, I believe we’ll see more brands laying the groundwork to be able to react and pivot in real time. You can’t always predict what will go viral, but you can be prepared to take advantage of an unexpected moment.”
Grienenberger: As viewing behavior continues to shift cross-device, advertisers and agencies need to get their messages across in a way that feels more natural to customers. “We’ll see a significant increase in investments across native advertising in 2016, especially in mobile. Organic content within an already engaged environment plays well in connection with paid, owned and earned media.
“When executed properly, native advertising can meet consumers’ expectations of seamless, relevant and timely content. However, because native advertising is still so new, the industry needs to development standards for measurement so marketers can prove ROI. This will be a major focus in 2016.”
Tobi Elkin is the Editor of MediaPost's Real-Time Daily and the RTBlog. You can reach Tobi at telkin@mediapost.com.
In many ways Mediaocean (nee DDS) was the original ad tech firm, decades before ad tech became the accpeted term of art. They've also got deep pockets compared to the early stage, Lumascape label firms. Acquisitions in the offing?