Last week leading programmatic Ad-tech company TripleLift said it is acquiring 1plusX, a business that helps publishers and advertisers reach audiences using first-party data, for roughly $150 million.
The deal comes as the marketing industry is developing new strategies to efficiently reach consumers amid numerous privacy changes, including Google’s plan to block third-party cookies in Chrome next year.
Buying 1plusX, which is based in Zurich, Switzerland, will help bolster TripleLift’s first-party-data capabilities as privacy becomes more important in the U.S., said Ari Lewine, co-founder and chief strategy officer at New York-based TripleLift.
“We think that we’re moving into what we call a privacy-centric era for digital advertising, where all advertising will have privacy as a major consideration in a way that hasn’t been previously,” he said.
The acquisition is meant to bolster TripleLift’s two-pronged focus on CTV and identity, TripleLift Chief Strategy Officer and co-founder Ari Lewine told AdExchanger.
TripleLift has sponsored content integration tech and identity solutions for programmatic advertising without third-party cookies.
The best way to think about 1plusX, which solves for the identity challenge, is as a revamped version of DMP designed to address post-cookie advertising.
Full Release:
TripleLift Acquires 1plusX to Bring First-Party Data to Publishers & Advertisers
Combined company will help customers take control of their data and address audiences effectively in the absence of third-party cookies
TripleLift, the advertising technology company reinventing ad placement at the intersection of creative, media and data, today announced the acquisition of 1plusX, an award-winning first-party data activation platform. 1plusX has unique technology to help both publishers and advertisers address their audiences with privacy-centric solutions.
The media industry has been changing rapidly. Third-party cookies, cross-domain and cross-app targeting, and audience choice are all evolving to better control user information. As a result, digital advertising will need to be rebuilt from the ground up. By joining 1plusX’s privacy-friendly solutions and TripleLift’s scaled media marketplace, publishers can better monetize their content and advertisers can more effectively reach their audiences.
“The combination of TripleLift and 1plusX means publishers and marketers will have a scaled, independent platform that is designed for the privacy-centric future,” said Eric Berry, Co-Founder & CEO, TripleLift. “Now thousands of TripleLift publishers can access 1plusX’s best-in-class technology to leverage first-party data and TripleLift advertisers can apply that same data to targeting capabilities made for the privacy era. No third-party cookies required.”
“We have built one of the most sophisticated first-party data management platforms in the world,” said Juergen Galler, CEO & Co-Founder, 1plusX. “Our core product, an AI-driven intelligence solution, takes in a client’s data, enriches it, and then turns it into precise audience and asset profiles in real-time. By providing user-based behavior insights, our clients can activate them on relevant channels from the web to connected TV.” Primarily operating in the privacy-advanced European market, compliance is at the core of 1plusX’s technology which processes billions of data signals each day.
Many of the largest and most sophisticated publishers in the world have benefited from these solutions. “Working with 1plusX allowed us to break free from several third-party data providers and create a full in-house data strategy in time for GDPR’s enforcement,” said Carsten Schwecke, CEO, Axel Springer All Media. “As a result, while most media companies were experiencing shrinking targeting revenues, we increased ours with the help of 1plusX. Joined together, these two companies are uniquely positioned to deliver the first-party data solutions essential to helping publishers like Axel Springer increase yield in the wake of the privacy changes taking place across our industry.”
TripleLift is no stranger to cookieless solutions. It was initially founded by creating native ads for the open web, which are inherently contextual formats, and it offers data-driven Exchange Traded Deals (ETDs) – impression-level, outcome based targeting signals that drive advertiser performance without the use of third-party cookies. The acquisition of 1plusX gives TripleLift customers yet another powerful tool and it reinforces the company’s ongoing commitment to supporting both publishers and advertisers through the coming industry changes.
The acquisition also allows both companies to speed their roadmaps and bring new products to market. “We will grow 1plusX’s thriving business and create net-new products for both publishers and advertisers to leverage moving forward,” said Ari Lewine, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer, TripleLift. “Our ads will be enriched with first-party data. These new products are the scaled and privacy-friendly solutions our industry has been seeking.”
“Publishers are already sitting on one of the largest potential goldmines of data to fill the cookie void: publisher first-party data, which includes contextual, registration and on-site behavioral data,” said Paul Bannister, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer, CafeMedia. “This acquisition signals to the industry that a much needed investment in first-party solutions is finally here and it’s being jump-started by TripleLift with this acquisition.”
TripleLift is the advertising technology company reinventing ad placement at the intersection of creative, media and data. Our marketplace serves the world’s leading brands, publishers, streaming companies and demand-side platforms, executing over 1 trillion ad transactions every month. Customers choose us because of our addressable offerings from native to online video to connected television, innovations that insert brands into content in real-time, and supportive experts dedicated to maximizing partner performance. Part of the Vista Equity Partners portfolio, TripleLift has appeared on both the Inc. 5000 and Deloitte Technology Fast 500 for five consecutive years, has been named to Business Insider’s list of Hottest Ad Tech Companies for three straight years and was awarded Most Innovative TV Advertising Technology by AdExchanger in 2021. Find out how TripleLift is shaping the future of advertising at triplelift.com.
1plusX empowers publishers and advertisers to take control of their first-party assets to drive business results. Their real-time data management, data clean room, and CTV solutions converge to help customers engage their audiences with more meaningful and personalized content and advertising. 1plusX supports publishers in monetizing their inventory and optimize advertisers’ marketing performance through data. So far, 1plusX has enhanced the marketing performance of companies around the world including Axel Springer, BI Garage, Le Figaro, South China Morning Post, and Tegna.
Founded in 2014, 1plusX is a global MarTech company operating in Europe, Asia, and the US. 1plusX is built on the principles of collaboration, trust, privacy, and transparency. From their technology all the way to their customers, 1plusX values their partnerships to stay forward-thinking and adaptable in the ever-changing digital media ecosystem.
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