Ad-Tech Merger Frenzy?

The advertising technology industry is undeniably hot. By one estimate, over $2.5 billion has been invested in nearly 200 companies spanning 24 categories. The upside to all this activity: innovation keeps coming. The advent of ad exchanges gave birth to demand-side platforms and data exchanges, giving rise to agency trading desks. But it’s also led to innumerable point solutions, like ad verification, tag management and dynamic ad creative. That gives rise to the downside of all this: it’s a complex, messy landscape that’s hard and expensive to navigate. As Google CEO Eric Schmidt said this week, “It’s still too complicated to get a campaign up. It’s just too hard.”

A small step toward consolidation took place with click-fraud detector Click Forensics buying ad verifier Adometry. Our question of the week is, “Will the ad technology market see massive consolidation in 2011?” Put your answer in the comments below, or add your perspective on Quora, Twitter or Facebook. We’ll publish the best responses on Friday.

More in Media

How a fashion creator turned audience demand into a 500+ client styling business 

A creator with a fashion merchandising degree speaks on her quest to diversify revenue fast, from styling to sweat equity investment.

Forbes looks to Google AI pilot for insights as publishers seek value beyond the click

Forbes has joined Google’s paid News AI pilot that gives Google expanded rights to its content to test new ways of providing readers with context about stories before they click through.

The Verge switches up its audience team to prepare for Google Zero

The Verge has restructured its audience development team to prioritize loyal readers over traffic and page views.