Oracle has inked a deal to acquire digital measurement and ad verification company Moat. While the cost of the deal has not been revealed, an unnamed source told Recode’s Peter Kafka that Oracle will pay upwards of $US850 million for Moat.
The marketing cloud and software company says Moat CEO Jonah Goodhart and his entire team will sit under Oracle Data Cloud, which uses data and analytics to enhance media for marketers and publishers.
Oracle says the move “creates the world’s most comprehensive cloud platform for marketing data and analytics”, something its rivals such as Adobe, may contest.
Ad verification companies such as Moat track ad viewability, as well as brand safety and ad fraud.
Viewability is a major industry issue and locally Moat competes with Integral Ad Science (IAS) in this space. GroupM nailed its flag to Moat in January 2016, while in a deal thought to be worth nearly $2 million, Dentsu Aegis Network forged a partnership with IAS in the September.
“Moat will remain an independent platform within Oracle Data Cloud providing trusted measurement, analytics, and intelligence to the world's largest brands including Nestle, Procter & Gamble, and Unilever, and leading publishers such as ESPN, Facebook, NBCUniversal, Snapchat, and YouTube,” the company says.
“Moat's enterprise client base and industry-leading attention analytics and intelligence suite provide a strong complement to Oracle Data Cloud's audience targeting and measurement solutions.”
SVP and GM of Oracle Data Cloud, Eric Roza, says: "Moat has grown its attention analytics business by over 100% in the past year, providing actionable insights around viewability, brand safety, non-human traffic, and ad creative to over 600 publisher, brand and agency clients.
“With the Moat acquisition, Oracle Data Cloud now offers brands and publishers a full suite of targeting and measurement solutions to improve the outcome of virtually every type of digital advertising campaign."
Goodhart, who is also a co-founder of Moat, says when Oracle approached him about working together, it began to see the “huge potential to jointly drive innovation”.
“At our core, we believe there is an opportunity to fundamentally improve marketing and storytelling by brands and publishers through better data and analytics,” Goodhart says.
Oracle is currently reviewing the Moat product roadmap and will soon be providing guidance to customers.
“Oracle is committed to protecting and enhancing customer investments in Moat solutions,” the company said in an online FAQ.
“After the close of the transaction, Oracle plans to continue investing in Moat. We expect this will include more functionality and capabilities at a quicker pace. In addition, Moat customers will benefit from better integration and alignment with Oracle’s other product offerings.”
In January Snapchat revealed it was launching new measurement capabilities for advertisers, with Moat, as the company looks to increase its viewability for brands.
At the time the company was also looking to boost its global revenue ahead of its forthcoming IPO by providing clear definitions of what brands are getting when they use the various ad units on the platform.
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.