MediaMath snaps up second acquisition in a month

MediaMath has made its second acquisition in a month, purchasing startup ad tech player, Rare Crowds, to extend its programmatic ad capabilities for brands.

Rare Crowds is an open source technology vendors that uses machine learning algorithms and optimisation tools to determine the best media to match a marketer’s campaign and audience targeting to.

The programmatic vendor launched just under two years ago and is led by CEO and co-founder, Eric Picard, a Microsoft veteran and founder of ad technology pioneer, Bluestreak. The company’s investors include founder and CMO of Underscore Marketing, Tom Hespos; Hulu SVP of sales and former IAB America chairman, Peter Naylor; founder and CEO of Mediasmith, David Smith ; and PopTent CEO, Nick Pahade.

Under the agreement, Picard joins MediaMath as its vice-president of strategic partnerships, a role which also encompasses its Akamai alliance. Financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

The acquisition comes just a month after MediaMath purchased social advertising management tool, Upcast Social, adding a social advertising capability layer into its core TerminalOne Marketing Operating System.

The buying spree has been made possible after MediaMath raised more than US$73 million in its latest investment funding round in July, bringing its total funding to $175m.

“I have been following MediaMath’s success since the company’s earliest days,” Picard said in a statement announcing the deal.

“I couldn't be more excited to join a market-leading company on the edge of innovation, whose commitment to delivering marketer outcomes is one I share. I look forward to helping drive the company's growth as we look to bring the benefits of programmatic marketing into new parts of the ecosystem.”

Programmatic advertising: Digital marketing’s saviour or real-time headache?

MediaMath chief commercial officer, Mike Lamb, said Picard’s appointment would help its efforts to extend programmatic ad buying across the full media spectrum.

“We think there's a huge opportunity for new technology to transform media planning and buying. The combination of Eric's experience and leadership with Rare Crowds technology brings us two steps closer to delivering game-changing new capabilities for our clients,” he said.

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