WPP-owned digital marketing firm 24/7 Real Media acquired digital video advertising firm Panache, said David Moore, founder, chairman and CEO of 24/7 Real Media on Dec. 6. Moore declined to disclose terms of the acquisition.
“Video is the fastest-growing format on the Web today and advertising is a large percentage of it. [Before acquiring Panache], we did not have what I would call an end-to-end solution that we could offer to our publishers and advertisers,” Moore said.
Panache adds digital video ad fulfillment capabilities to 24/7 Real Media’s Open AdStream ad management platform. Moore said the addition is a “big deal” because “it’s very hard to manage the different types of video creative formats in the industry today.”
Steve Robinson, president of Panache, said the cost of testing and creating digital video ads constitutes 30% of ad buys versus 1% to 2% for TV ads.
Robinson was appointed SVP at 24/7 Real Media, effective Dec. 1, and reports to Moore and Ari Bluman, president of North American sales and operations at 24/7 Real Media. All Panache employees have been retained and will continue to work out of the company’s Los Angeles headquarters, Robinson said.
In the near term, Panache will retain its brand, but “over time the
Panache brand will go away,” Robinson said.
Jill Druschke, VP of
marketing and business development at Panache, said 24/7 Real Media will
launch the first product to integrate Panache’s capabilities during the
first quarter of 2012.The two companies have been working together for more than six months, Moore said. Publishers that were using Panache for its video ad services were connecting their video players to 24/7 Real Media’s ad server, Robinson said.
Moore said there are no client conflicts as a result of the acquisition.
The acquisition is 24/7 Real Media’s first since being acquired by WPP in 2007, Moore said. Asked whether 24/7 Real Media has any future acquisition plans, he said, “We’re always in the marketplace for good companies like Panache.”
The acquisition closed Nov. 30.
