News Corp has invested US$10 million in programmatic ad platform AppNexus. As part of the partnership, AppNexus’ full suite of tech products will be made available to the publisher.
AppNexus, which in 2014 scooped a $25 million investment from WPP for a significant stake in the firm, already has a relationship with News Corp’s video ad tech firm Unruly, partnering in July this year to give publishers and advertisers the ability to transact video on scale.
“We’re deeply honoured to partner with one of the world’s great media and information services companies,” AppNexus president Michael Rubenstein says.
“Today’s announcement signals our joint commitment to innovation over the long term. As News Corp accelerates its digital expansion, AppNexus will provide leading-edge technology.”
David Brinker, News Corp senior vice president and global head of business and corporate development, says strategic partnerships with technology companies are important to the company's growth both digitally and globally.
“As individual businesses in our company started adopting AppNexus products into their technology stack, we gained further appreciation for their services. We are pleased to invest in AppNexus as we continue our partnership across our news, real estate and technology assets," he says.
Earlier this year News Corp was the lead investor in an augmented reality startup.
The investment from News Corp is part of a US$31 million strategic investment round for AppNexus with new and existing partners. AppNexus has signed a string of deals locally in Australia this year, including Nine and Spotify.
Yesterday AppNexus also announced the availability of LinkedIn display inventory through the AppNexus platform. This means advertisers can now target LinkedIn’s audience of more than 450 million professionals through AppNexus’ open and private auction buying options.
CEO of AppNexus Brian O’Kelley said the integration is a huge opportunity for programmatic buyers on its platform to access LinkedIn’s inventory with “unmatched professional audience targeting”.
“As top tier publishers like LinkedIn power more of the internet’s highly personalised content, AppNexus is uniquely positioned to enable our clients to leverage data science and algorithms to own, use, and learn from their data,” O’Kelley says.
“By creating a data loop that drives personalised content and marketing, we’re enhancing the online experience and choices of end consumers, while empowering publishers to monetise their content and helping advertisers deliver the right message to the right audience at the right time and cost.”
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.