Short Takes: iSocket Bets on Simplicity

By Carla Rover • October 3, 2011 •

iSocket is one ad tech startup banking on simplicity. Its BuyAds platform wants to marry advertisers directly with publisher inventory. It is currently used by more than 600 websites and claims a growth rate of 10 percent per month.

The devil is in the details, of course, and the company may face challenges in the future from a market crowded with rapidly cloning real-time bidding products. That doesn’t mean that they will be able to get their hands on premium inventory, but it doesn’t take a genius to imagine that premium private exchanges and publishers can make multiple deals with RTB solutions that appeal, for whatever reason, to blue-chip buyers.

iSocket’s true strength appears in its dedication to simplicity, as it aims to streamline agency and publisher connections. This swims against an industry tide that seems to complicate ad buying, rather than simplifying it. iSocket has a healthy clutch of investors, and recently pulled Ben Trenda from the Rubicon Project to help direct sales. It also has a snazzy animated video explaining what it does.

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